Park overview
Skaha Bluffs Park provides a variety of recreation opportunities including hiking, rockclimbing, and wildlife viewing while also protecting habitat for a variety of species at risk.
World-class climbing opportunities are found at Skaha Bluffs though it is important to note that climbing is prohibited in the southern area (the section of the park that encompasses Gillies Creek).
The distinctive terrain features of the bluffs along with the Gillies Creek corridor reflect extremely threatened riparian and grassland plant communities.
Advisories
Dates of operation
The park gate is open March 15, 2024 to November 15, 2024
- Winter season note
When Smythe gate is closed, park along Smythe road. Do not park in front of the gate.
Safety info
- Rock climbing involves risk and should only be attempted by properly equipped and experienced climbers. Access trails may be steep and rocky and may expose users to cliffs or steep drop-offs. Use caution.
- Bring your own drinking water as potable water is not available in the park.
- Vehicle break-ins: There have been a number of recent vehicle break-ins at the parking lots at Skaha Bluffs. If possible, don’t leave valuable items in your vehicle. Ensure that any valuables are out of sight and that your vehicle is locked. Report suspicious activity and thefts to the RCMP.
Special notes
- Park opening and closing dates: The park is open year-round. The parking lot access road gate is seasonally closed from mid-November to mid-March and closed daily from dusk to dawn. There is no overnight parking permitted in the park at any time.
- There is no parking along the single-lane park access road: Visitor numbers are high on long weekends in spring and fall. As the parking lots fill up, vehicles parking along the paved park road have caused access and safety concerns. Cars parked on the single-lane road present a physical barrier to emergency vehicles (fire, ambulance, search and rescue) and impede regular traffic flow. Overflow parking is available at the bottom of Smythe Road.
- Dogs must be leashed at all times in the park: This park protects a rare and fragile ecosystem, and experiences increasing visitor numbers each year. Dogs impact park values, posing a threat to wildlife, ecology, and public safety. Keeping dogs leashed reduces their impact.
- Campfires and camping are not permitted.
Facilities
Accessibility information is available for this park.
Pit toilets are located at the parking lots. There is a gate on the access road that is open from 7 am to dusk.
This park only has pit toilets, no flush toilets.
Activities
The area contains essential habitat for bighorn sheep. Please keep your distance from bighorn sheep as they can be very territorial and sensitive to human presence.
Dogs must be leashed at all times in the park. This park protects a rare and fragile ecosystem, and experiences increasing visitor numbers each year. Dogs impact park values, posing a threat to wildlife, ecology, and public safety. Keeping dogs leashed reduces their impact.
Mountain biking restricted to designated trails. Bicycles must keep to roadways. Bicycle helmets are mandatory in British Columbia.
Please note that bicycles with electric assist motors (e-bikes) are permitted on signed or designated trails within Skaha Bluffs Park, provided they meet the definitions and criteria for e-bike use as outlined in the BC Parks cycling guidelines.
Skaha Bluffs is south of Penticton on the east side of Skaha Lake. Access is from Lakeside Road to Smythe Road up along Gillies Creek.
Please note that road access is closed seasonally, approximately from November 15 to March 1.
Park and activity maps
- Area Map [PDF]
- Climbing Area Trails Map [PDF]
- Multi-use Trails Map [PDF] Mountain biking is only allowed on the designated routes in the Gillies Creek corridor. No new trail building or climbing is allowed in this section of the park. These trails are multi-use and dogs must be leashed.
Learn more about this park
Park details
- Date established: April 21, 2010
- Size: 554 hectares
Park contact
This park proudly operated by:
Kaloya Contracting Ltd.
camping@campokanagan.ca
250-766-7972
- This is not a campsite reservations number.
- Please specify the park name when leaving a message.
Nature and culture
History
Recreational climbing has been occuring in the area since the 1980s.
Culture
Skaha Bluffs lies within the asserted territory of the Okanagan Nation Alliance, with the closest geographical member band of the ONA being the Penticton Indian Band. The greater land area holds tremendous spiritual and cultural significance to the Okanagan Nation.
Conservation and wildlife
The landscape consists of a variety of distinctive terrain features, which function together to provide habitat for many provincially or federally listed species at risk, including bighorn sheep, fringed and small-footed myotis, night snake, and western screech owl. Other notable species include Clark’s nutcracker, pygmy nuthatch, red squirrel, pacific chorus frog, white-throated swift, canyon wren, and western rattlesnake.
- Rugged terrain (i.e., cliffs, crevices, outcroppings and talus) and the grasslands that occur on the shallow-soiled terraces, provide a variety of habitat types. These habitat types include escape terrain, nesting/roosting habitat, travel corridors and foraging areas.
- Grassland benches in the western portion of the proposed park are remnant examples of this habitat type. The majority of these terraces outside of the proposed park along the east side of the Okanagan basin have been impacted by agricultural and residential development. The vegetation is in good condition with far fewer invasive plants than is typical for this site series throughout its range in B.C.
- The park retains critical bighorn sheep ram range, and is a keystone segment of the north-south migration corridor.
Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples
BC Parks honours Indigenous Peoples’ connection to the land and respects the importance of their diverse teachings, traditions, and practices within these territories. This park webpage may not adequately represent the full history of this park and the connection of Indigenous Peoples to this land. We are working in partnership with Indigenous Peoples to update our websites so that they better reflect the history and cultures of these special places.