 Oliver, JF Bergeron photo
Oliver’s Golden Mile is a concentration of wineries along a short, beautiful stretch of the Okanagan Valley. Wine tours and tastings are main attractions. Downtown wine shops offer more than 300 BC wine varieties for sale.
Experience local history, from ranching to gold mining, at the Oliver Heritage Museum. View local heritage buildings on the Museum’s Heritage Walk. The Vaseux Lake area is popular for viewing pictographs.
Some 220 bird species and a sizeable herd California Big Horn Sheep are highlights of Vaseux Lake Provincial Park. The park is also a great fishing spot.
Scenic places to paddle, swim, golf, hike and cycle can be found across the countryside. The International Bicycling & Hiking Trail winds along the Okanagan River offering access to local wineries/vineyards.
Venture into desert lands inhabited by Aboriginal populations for thousands of years through the Nk'Mip Desert Cultural Centre and Osoyoos Desert Centre.
Winter brings opportunities for scenic downhill and cross-country skiing, snowboarding and snowshoeing.
The Vaseux Lake area is a fine spot to view pictographs—often depicting human, animal and abstract figures--dating back thousands of years.
The Nk'Mip Desert Cultural Centre offers tours, programs and interactive displays, guiding visitors through thousands of years of Aboriginal habitation of the Nk'Mip Desert.
Cyclists, joggers, bird watchers and horseback riders join the International Bicycling & Hiking Trail that winds along the Okanagan River for 18.4 km (11.4 miles), offering access to local wineries/vineyards.
The Golden Mile Trail is a delightful 10 km (6 mile) path, offering panoramic desert and valley views as well as good wildlife viewing.
Minutes from Oliver, play a round at the Nk’Mip Canyon Desert Golf Course or the top-rated Fairview Mountain Golf Course.
Try horseback riding at one of the area stables and ride the ranges above town, for fine mountain and desert views.
Witness histories unfold at the Oliver & District Museum housed in the old Provincial Police Building.
Follow the Oliver Heritage Walk to see diverse architecture such as the 1940s-style Oliver Theatre, the Oliver Hotel (which was transported to Oliver from Vancouver where it was built in 1912), as well as St. Edward the Confessor Anglican Church.
Visit the Oliver Art Centre gallery, the Oliver & District Museum as well as the Archives Building to learn more about this historic region. Or take the Museum’s Heritage Walk to view the town’s distinct heritage buildings.
On Oliver’s western slopes, visit a kiosk marking the old townsite of Fairview, a former gold town turned ghost town. Drive to the old McCuddy Ranch or to Camp McKinney, a place that boomed in the 1880s with the discovery of free gold-bearing quartz.
Oliver’s celebrated Golden Mile is dotted with wineries offering great tours and tastings. Select your favourite bottle from the hands of the local vintner who made it. Cycle the Golden Mile Trail, a 10 km (6 mile) round trip journey that features panoramic valley and desert views. The 18.4-km (11.4-mi) International Bicycling & Hiking Trail gently meanders through the heart of the South Okanagan following the Okanagan River, providing easy access to local wineries/vineyards. Black Sage Road is a great countryside route passing many vineyards, orchards and wineries between Oliver and Osoyoos. It’s a scenic alternative to Hwy 97. Tour the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory to see how picking up waves from stars and other celestial bodies help map the universe. A 500 m (547 yd) walk from the parking area leads you to the Observatory’s 26 m (28 yd) telescope and seven-antenna synthesis telescope.
Catch your favourite SOAP in Oliver. The SOAP (South Okanagan Amateur Players) stage comedies, musicals and other dramas each year.
Attend a South Okanagan Concert Society presentation, held four times annually. The Tinhorn Creek Winery offers a monthly musical event staged in the outdoor amphitheatre from spring to fall.
Don’t miss the Kinsmen Pro Rodeo in August or catch the curling and hockey action in winter.
Fall festivals include the Festival of the Grape in October, the Tomato Festival in September and the Lavender Festival in October.
Wine tasting and shopping is a pleasure-filled pastime. Buy directly at the vineyards or be dazzled by the 300 or more BC VQA wines available at downtown retailers.
Vaseux Lake is a sanctuary to more than 220 bird species. Follow the boardwalk that winds along the marshy shore to spot Canada Geese, Trumpeter Swans, Blue-winged Teals, Wood Ducks, Lazuli Buntings and Golden Eagles. Vaseux Lake also provides range for a sizeable herd of California Big Horn Sheep.
See the much-photographed McIntyre Bluff, a natural rock formation with the profile of an Indian Chief. Hike McIntyre Bluff for valley vistas and wildlife viewing.
View Balancing Rock, a natural rock form balancing at the edge of a cliff on three smaller rocks.
In nearby Osoyoos, the Nk’Mip Desert Cultural Centre offers 4 km (2.5 mi) of self-guided paths through desert lands inhabited by aboriginal populations for thousands of years. The Osoyoos Desert Centre also offers interpretive desert walks.
A small picnic spot and play area make Rotary Beach on Tuc-el-Nuit Lake popular with families.
You can swim all summer long at The Parks and Recreation Complex outdoor pool, or float down the Okanagan River on an inner-tube or floating raft.
You can also star-gaze on a secluded Oliver hillside or tour the Dominion Observatory.
Vaseux and Tuc-el-Nuit Lakes draw paddlers, swimmers and those who love to fish. Tuc-el-nuit hosts the Great Canadian Carp Off annually in July.
Madden, Ripley and Burnell Lakes are always favourite local fishing spots. You’ll find over 1000 m2 (1,308 yd2) of beach along the lakeshore at Vaseux Lake Provincial Park.
Kayakers and canoeists can spot shoreline birds while paddling small Vaseaux Lake.
Play in the snow at family-friendly Mt Baldy located approximately 40km (25 mi) from Oliver. Take in the relaxed atmosphere then take on more than 40 hectares (100 acres) of groomed trails offering plenty of room for downhill skiing and snowboarding, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing.
Test your skills at the full terrain park and snow deck park. Enjoy 20 km (12 mi) of marked snowshoe trails and a variety of non-groomed cross-country trails. And bring the whole family because Mt Baldy welcomes all skill levels, from beginner to expert.
There are also three cross-country ski trails on the way to Mt Baldy. You’ll also find a Nordic cross-country club right in Oliver.
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