Summerland has a rich history that includes First Nations heritage, the fur trade, cattle ranching, fruit farming and a close connection with the age of great railway building.
Explore the past at the Summerland Museum, on heritage walking tours and aboard the Kettle Valley Steam Railway.
Habitation in the area goes back thousands of years. The Okanagan Nation - Interior Salish peoples - were successful hunter/gatherers, taking full advantage of the bounty of lakes and rivers, grasslands and forests. While there are no First Nations attractions in Summerland, the Summerland Museum presents a good display of artifacts. The oldest map of the Okanagan Valley (1827) shows the Summerland area as Nicola Prairie, named for Grand Chief Nicola of the Okanagan Nation.
Summerland Museum
Follow the course of Summerland history in the compact Summerland Museum. Exhibits include First Nations artifacts, the Priest Camp and Brigade Trail, the use of camels as pack animals in the region, beaded purses and silver bangles from well-heeled settlers, life in a tent house, fruit packing, a farm kitchen and Edwardian parlour. See a model of the Kettle Valley Railway and examples of the "cannon balls" fired from the exploding volcano that created Giant's Head Mountain.
Historic Walks
Fur traders of the Hudson's Bay Company trekked through the region along the Brigade Trail from 1812 to 1846. The trail was again used in the 1860s during the Cariboo Gold Rush. Follow in the footsteps of the 300-horse pack trains on the 4.1km/2.5mi Brigade Trail.
By the 1880s, cattle ranching was established, then in 1902, Sir Thomas Shaughnessy, president of the Canadian Pacific Railway, took an interest in the area and formed the Summerland Development Company to promote a new fruit growing community.
Pick up a Walking Tour of Lower Town brochure at the Summerland Museum and take the self-guided tour of the city's original town site on the shore of Okanagan Lake including a 1922 log cabin, fruit cannery, heritage homes, site of the wharf used by a succession of sternwheelers and the Summerland Trout Hatchery.
The museum offers a similar walking tour brochure for Summerland's town centre, originally known as West Summerland and built on "the flats" above the lakeshore. Check out sites like the stone church, heritage homes and the badminton hall.
The museum's most unique walking tour is a guide to the heritage trees of Summerland, which points out 26 interesting specimens including a 250-year-old ponderosa pine.
Kettle Valley Steam Railway
Built between 1910 and 1915, the Kettle Valley Railway was a wonder of railway engineering as it traversed some of the toughest terrain in BC. A 10km/6mi section of track in Summerland is the only remaining part of the line where trains can still run. The rest of the rail bed now comprises the Kettle Valley Railway (KVR) Trail, part of the Trans-Canada Trail.
Board the train west of downtown Summerland at Prairie Valley Station for a 90-minute guided ride through the history of the area. A restored 1912 steam locomotive pulls the combination of vintage rail cars and open observation cars through the farmland of Prairie Valley with its orchards and vineyards, and around the base of Giant's Head Mountain. The run ends on Trout Creek Bridge, the tallest on the KVR at 73m/240ft, providing excellent views of Trout Creek Canyon. On board, join in the lively musical entertainment. Check the schedule for special events like the Great Train Robbery barbecues held from May to September. Facilities at the station include gift shop with railway memorabilia, a covered picnic area and the heritage walkway with railway artifacts, storyboards and restored locomotive number 3716.
For more information on historic and heritage sites around Summerland, pop into the Visitor Centre.
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