Ellison Provincial Park

Canoes and kayaks are welcome. No rentals at the park.

This park does not have a boat launch. There are several nearby, approximately 10 minutes away. Houseboats can pull ashore at Sandy Beach, the standard park camping fee is charged for overnight use. Mooring buoys offshore in South Bay and Otter Bay are part of a marine park system sponsored by the Okanagan’s yacht clubs. Water-skiing and cruising are also popular.

The small granite cliffs by South Bay are used for climbing, mainly by locals and beginners due to their small size and moderate degree of difficulty. There is scrambling, bouldering and top-rope climbing in short pitches. Local recreation groups offer guided rock climbing and outdoor recreation day camps in the park.

Bicycles must keep to roadways and designated trails. Bicycle helmets are mandatory in British Columbia. The North Okanagan Cycling Society (NOCS) club along with BC Parks has added a network of scenic multi-use trails. Ellison Park offers fantastic biking opportunities for a wide range of skill levels.

Maps and app access can be found at okcycling.com/trails.

Various freshwater fish available in Okanagan Lake. Anyone fishing or angling in British Columbia must have an appropriate licence.

Over 6 km of easy walking trails, with some steep sections, access many of the park’s natural features and viewpoints. For your own safety and the preservation of the park, obey posted signs and keep to designated trails. Shortcutting trails destroys plant life and soil structure. Trails along the tops of the rocky headlands offer panoramic vistas of Okanagan Lake north to Spallumcheen and south to Fintry as well as Terrace Mountain and the communities of Westside road; however, please use caution while hiking as these trails are difficult.

The Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC has a fun, hands on, Learn to Fish Program that teaches basic angling skills to youth under 16 years old. Check back to this page or ask the Park Operator for more information.

Pets/domestic animals must be on a leash at all times and are not allowed in beach areas (except Sandy Beach) or park buildings. You are responsible for their behaviour and must dispose of their excrement.

Sandy Beach, a pet beach, is accessed from the trail leading out of the campground between sites 11 and 12. Backcountry areas are not suitable for dogs or other pets due to wildlife issues and the potential for problems with bears.

There are scuba diving/snorkelling opportunities at the underwater dive park located at Otter Bay.

There are no lifeguards on duty at provincial parks. Warm waters and a gradually sloping bottom provide excellent swimming at three main beaches. The swimming areas are designated with buoys to keep boats out. The park also features western Canada’s only freshwater dive park, where sunken artifacts add to the fascinating plant and animal life. Swimmers Itch may be present at times during the year.

Some facilities in the park are wheelchair-accessible. The trails down to the lake are paved; however, they are steep and require caution. There is a drop-off area at the beach, but vehicles must return to the parking lot. There are three wheelchair-accessible toilets and a wheelchair-accessible shower in the park.

While campfires are allowed and campfire rings are provided at each campsite, we encourage visitors to conserve wood and protect the environment by minimizing the use of fire and using campstoves instead. Firewood can be purchased in the park or you may bring your own wood. Fees for firewood are set locally and may vary from park to park. Limited burning hours or campfire bans may be implemented. To preserve vegetation and ground cover, please don’t gather firewood from the area around your campsite or elsewhere in the park (this is a ticketable offence under the Park Act). Dead wood is an important habitat element for many plants and animals and it adds organic matter to the soil.

Cold spring water is available for cooking and drinking; 6 taps are located throughout the campground.

Two beautiful bays with over 50 picnic tables and a group picnic area are reached by trail from the day-use parking lot.

There are two parking lots for the day-use area beaches. The two main beaches are accessed by a steep, coarsely paved trail with benches conveniently located at the switchbacks.

Otter Bay has a pit toilet, fountain tap and volleyball net. Picnic tables with views of the lake line the crescent-shaped beach of coarse pink sand. The area is shaded by well-spaced Douglas fir trees with an open understory. The tables are on cement pads and the ground is pebbly gravel. There are two fire pits in this area but no BBQ attachments for the tables. The swimming area is marked with swim buoys. The bay is sheltered by rocky headlands making it a great spot for swimming.

South Bay has a fountain tap. The picnic tables sit slightly above the large sandy beach and are separated from it by a low rock wall. Ponderosa pines are interspersed amongst the tables allowing for some shade. The area offers a great view of the Fintry delta to the south and the other side of the lake. The swimming area is marked with buoys and mooring buoys stretch to the south towards a third beach.

The third beach, Sandy Beach, is a pet beach accessed by a trail of hard-packed dirt from between sites 11 and 12. A pit toilet is found roughly 50m up from the beach. The beach has coarse pink sand and is the smallest of the three beaches. Pets are allowed in this area.

There is one pit and eight flush toilets, as well as a shower building in the campground. There are no electrical outlets or hot water in the washrooms.

A children’s adventure playground is found in a corner of the irrigated lawn flanked by sites 51–59 and 62–71. The lawn can be seen opposite the service yard and forms an open area with potential for a variety of games.

There is a shower building in the campground; the shower building has electrical outlets and hot water. There is also an outside cold water shower at the beach area to aid in prevention of swimmer’s itch.

This park offers 71 vehicle accessible campsites, 8 of which are double sites. There are no pull-through sites at this park. Campsite reservations are accepted (61 of these sites are reservable) and first-come, first-served sites are also available. While there is no gatehouse, an information shelter is located where the access road enters the campground.

The park is open during the main camping season. In the off-season, a locked gate blocks the access road at Okanagan Landing road. It is roughly 300 m down a steep grade to the campsites, making walk-in camping difficult in the off-season. Through the summer, the gate is closed between 11:00 pm and 7:00 am.

Most sites are large and well-shaded by a canopy of mature Douglas fir and Ponderosa pine. The sites are well-spaced and the abundance of low shrubs affords privacy. The campsite pads are gravel and have fire rings and picnic tables. For very large RVs (over 50 feet) the entrances to the pads may be narrow and there are a few low-hanging branches to watch out for.

The closest store is a general store roughly ten kilometres away in Okanagan Landing or in Vernon for more services.