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Whether you're in the Okanagan on vacation, or a local since birth, we're the best resource for trails in the valley to expand your horizons!
Knox Mountain and Bear Creek are the two most well-known hikes in Kelowna, but did you know that there are over 100 different trails within 1-2 hours drive of the city?
We were founded May 2011, but have local trail experts with over 15 years of hiking experience.
Our mission is to be the most complete, most accurate, trail guide in the Okanagan with a focus on stellar video and photography.
Never done a trail before and want one of us to join you for some companionship? Give us a shout!
Rapid weather changes, black bears, rattlesnakes and ticks are the most common causes for concern while hiking in the Okanagan. We have a quick reference guide for trail dangers and what to do in the case you encounter one of these.
Always bring bear spray, one litre of water per hour, a flash light, small first-aid kit, a paper print-out of the trail map, cell phone with digital GPS map and charging cable with battery backup, extra pair of laces, and appropriate clothing for weather changes.
Common trail courtesy is always a must! Take only what you bring in, and leave nothing but foot prints. Camp only were permitted, and be aware of fire-bans during the summer — keep smoking for the break back at the car. Stay on designated trails to prevent habitat damage. Keep music to your earbuds only.
Trinkets from our past.
The web site backend is finally completed, and goes live. Content begins to be added. Josh moves back to the Okanagan valley, and hosts a few hikes to add to the end of the 2022 season and our official web site redesign and relaunch is complete.
On January 7, our founder decides to launch the most comprehensive guide-book for the Okanagan after 15 years of hiking the valley, and registers Hike The Okanagan as a business in BC. We later decide to abandon the name change after we discover a simliar-in-name conflict with another group.
COVID-19 made it virtually impossible to continue hosting public hikes. From social distancing, and numerous trail closures. We spent this time revamping the web site for the future: adding new trail data, improving user-to-user messaging, and overhauling the backend code to bring it up to modern specifications. Founder Josh relocated nearby the Rocky Mountains in preparation for future hiking seasons!
Returning the interior temporarily in 2019, Josh scheduled a few new hikes that the group had never trekked previously. This was the first year we also began offering water sports rentals through our partner company, Okanagan Beach Rentals. The group participated in a city park cleanup in partnership with Sophisticated Social, an overnight kayaking trip to Rattlesnake Island, and a sunset dance cruise on Okanagan Lake. Departing Canada in late June 2019, Josh was pleased to see a number of group members step up and begin hosting their own events!
After hosting 7 events in 2018, making 262 events over 7 years, our founder Josh temporarily moved away from Kelowna to Victoria to launch HikeTheIsland and then the Kamloops branch. All members are can now create their own events (at no cost)! The site has also been opened up to all of the Okanagan including Kamloops and the Shuswap. The group is also now available to members of all adults 19+ without any limit.
With plans to host a variety of hikes on brand new trails we had never done before, 2017 marked the 7th year we had been running! Originally we planned to feature a massively extended season with a total of 80 events, including backpacking trip around Okanagan Mountain Park on September long weekend. This was also the first year recurring weekly weekday evening hikes were scheduled. Founder and lead host Josh participated on an archeological dig in Israel from May 29th to July 4th and many volunteers stepped up to host hikes in his absence.
Due to the extreme wild fire danger this season, a number of closed trails, and ludicrously poor air quality, the hiking season was substantially cut back during July and August. The hikes that were hosted during this time were brand new ones we had been hoping to do with the group for years, but quite a distance from town.
By the end of season, 60 hikes were hosted. The largest turnout of the year was 67 people on the Pincushion hike. This was also the first year we hosted a variety of winter snow hikes!
Centralizing on HikingAddiction.ca (while still spanning 4 separate FaceBook groups), a variety of awesome new site features were added in addition to a complete site redesign: from the ability to view GPS maps live on the site to an automated car-pooling system. By the end of season, 32 hikes on 29 unique trails were hosted. The group adventured on an overnight trip through Cathedral Lakes and mapped hundreds of more kilometres of new trails throughout the Okanagan including Zoa Peak, Glen Canyon, Terrace Mountain, and Sugarloaf Mountain. Cumulative group size reached over 5200 members!
Combined with MeetUp, FaceBook, and the .ca, the group has over 4,000 members and kicked off the season with a second attendance at Mudd, Sweat, and Tears! By the end of season, 31 hikes on 31 unique trails were hosted. The group spent a day at WildPlay, hiked the West Coast Trail, hiked Mt. Frosty, camped at Lightning Lakes (manning park), and did a one-day intensive 48 km hike through Okanagan Mountain Park. Mid-season another Lazer Tag tournament was hosted, and it was announced that hiking season would be unofficially extended throughout November, weather permitting.
The group booms to over 1,500 members. Kicking off the season with the White Rabbit Snowshoe Race and Lazer Tag, the group also participates in Mudd, Sweat and Tears, the Scotia Bank MS Walk, a camping trip at Halfway Hotsprings, and the Peachland Zipline. Mid-season an evening dinner/dance cruise is hosted. By the end of the year, 22 hikes were hosted on 20 unique trails.
Koingo Software, Inc. officially sponsors our group, providing a wash in new revenue to launch the business and begin an advertising campaign. The group booms to 800 members within weeks! First official attendance of the group at the White Rabbit Snowshoe Race and Ski2Sea. The group hosts 30 hikes on 23 unique trails.
Founder Josh moves from Kamloops to Kelowna and is in awe with the beautiful scenery. He seeks to find a hiking group of like-minded, similar-aged, adults. Struggling to find an existing group, he starts HikingAddiction as a casual FaceBook group and invites his immediate friends. His friends, in turn, invite their friends. The group grows to almost 200 people, and a special water slides event was hosted mid-season! The group hosts 21 hikes on 16 unique trails.