A classic Okanagan peak offering a wonderful combination of nature and city

Statistics

1 - 2

hrs

305

m

305

m

10

max°

Difficulty

FATMAP difficulty grade

Moderate

Description

Sitting in amongst the (ever growing) suburbs of West Kelowna, Mount Boucherie is a famous and easily identifiable landmark.

The steep sides of the mountain mean that the housing developments sprouting up across West Kelowna are unlikely to ever encroach on its slopes, so no matter how much the city grows Mount Boucherie will always be wild. The hike is straightforward enough but very steep in places and despite the relatively meagre height gain, this feels like a tough trip! If you want to make it significantly easier, simply do an out-and-back on the path we've marked as the descent. Park up at the southern access point to the trails and begin hiking up the rather uninviting-sounding Andesite Grinder Trail.

The trail is indeed a bit of a grind but it's an enjoyable one which takes you into peaceful forests which feel much further away from civilisation than they really are.

As mentioned earlier the path is very steep in places but there are some gentler sections too, and the whole ascent isn't too long so keep on going and you'll soon find yourself enjoying the spectacular summit vista. Kelowna itself isn't really visible from the summit because some dense trees obscure the view to the north, but there's an epic view to the south down Okanagan Lake, and east to the peaks of Myra Bellevue Provincial Park.

In October and November you should even be able to see some snowy peaks in the distance. Having filled a memory card with landscape photos, descend easily back to the parking lot via a gentle and well maintained descent path.