Camping Around Kelowna (Carr's Landing)?

Enigma · #1 05-25-2012, 07:15 PM

We've just learned that our August vacation rental at Carr's Landing has been snafued due to a bylaw implemented in 2011 that forbids rentals shorter than one month. We were going to be renting it for a week. My inlaws have another cabin for six weeks, and their plans are unaffected by the bylaw.

We would still like to join them out there, but we're going to need different accommodations that are reasonably close to Carr's Landing.

Does anyone have any recommendations for good campsites in the area? We've got a 25' fully enclosed travel trailer with shower and toilet . . . it looks like some places require this (the Holiday Park Resort on Duck Lake, for one). I found the website for Ellison Provincial Park, and I think that might do.

Any feedback or suggestions would be great. This vacation is so important to hubby.

lee9 · #2 05-25-2012, 08:13 PM

I was just out at Ellison Provincial Park camping last weekend. It's a nice campground. Right along the lake.

It's pretty busy though so if you haven't reserved a site already I'd do it right away.

mseepman · #3 05-25-2012, 11:58 PM

Just so you know...Ellison and Carr's landing aren't that close to one another. You are probably talking 35-45 minutes of travel...that may not be much for you but I just thought you should know.
Ellison is also very very busy...so best of luck with that reservation.

Enigma · #4 05-26-2012, 12:32 AM

Oh . . . 35-45 minutes away is way too far. It looked much closer on Google Earth. We'll be going to Carr's Landing and back at least once a day for six days.

Is there anything closer to Carr's Landing that is okay? I would prefer 20 minutes absolute max.

mike31154 · #5 05-26-2012, 03:24 AM

Thing with Carr's Landing is that it's a great location, but a bit of a pain to get to off Hwy 97. Whether your approach is from the north or south, it's a narrow road once you leave the Hwy, & it's about the same distance from the north or south once you exit the Hwy. Hope that makes sense. In any case there aren't any other RV sites along that road that I know of so you're going to be lucky to get anything closer than the 20 to 30 minute range from there.

I did a little checking & found this:

http://www.woodlake-terrace.com/

It's on Wood Lake between Oyama to the north & Winfield to the south. Closest I could find and probably not the best location since it's just off Hwy 97, so traffic at night could be an issue. If there was a road over the ridge between there & Okanagan Lake, you'd be at Carr's Landing in 5 minutes, but unfortunately, there isn't. You have to go south to Winfield before you're able to access the road to Carr's Landing. On the plus side, there are some top notch wineries along the way.

If I remember correctly the brother of a fellow soccer player may also have some camping/RV sites on the other side of Wood Lake. If I see him next Thursday, I'll confirm if that's an option.

If you have a boat, there are a couple of places on the opposite side of Okanagan Lake to Carr's Landing on West Side Road. Boat ride would be fairly quick across but you can forget about going anywhere by road from there in a hurry. Westside Road runs from Spallumcheen north of Vernon all the way to the south end of Kelowna, with no opportunity to exit, unless you drive into the lake or up the mountain on a Forest Service Road.

Best of luck with your hunt for a spot. The Okanagan is a popular spot in the summer. I'm always rather glad when fall rolls around & all the excitement dies down again.

EDIT: There's also Kekuli Bay Provincial Park a bit farther north on Kalamalka Lake. Worth checking into. Again, close to the Hwy, but a pretty spot & Kal Lake is much nicer than Okanagan Lake IMO.

Enigma · #6 05-26-2012, 01:38 PM

Thanks! You've all been a huge help.

The last few summers of vacationing in the Kelowna area have been a fiasco, to say the least. I personally don't like the area in the summer. I prefer it in the fall. Calgary is so yellow in the fall. I miss the colours of BC.

My inlaws vacationed in Idaho for decades, and they have a vacation property there. But, as they now foster large a large family group of children, they can't vacation outside of Alberta if they're taking the kids: with the exception of BC (that is all the biological family would give permission for).

We only have a SeaDoo to cross the lake. Hubby is pretty pleased with the thought of a location around Wood Lake. But, he's unsure if he wants to bring out the trailer or not. It would cost around $600 in fuel in my truck, and $400 in fuel in is (and we should use my F250 over his 1500). If we can't get a cabin at 'Tween Lakes we may have to drag the trailer out.