Kalamalka Lake Lookout (Highway 97 Rest Area)

The Kalamalka Lake Lookout is the North Okanagan's classic drive-up view, and it has been stopping traffic for generations: from a bench of the old highway above the lake's north end, the whole of Kalamalka — the "lake of many colours" — lies below you, shifting from turquoise to jade to deep blue as the light moves across its limestone-rich water, with the Coldstream valley opening to the east and the hills rolling south toward Oyama. This is the old Highway 97 lookout, now on Kalamalka Lakeview Drive, and since 2015 it has been a full provincial rest area: turn off Highway 97 at the Vista Road / Kalamalka Lakeview Drive exit south of Vernon and you will find marked parking stalls (with room for larger vehicles), two toilets, six picnic tables, animal-proof bins and a xeriscaped terrace — all wheelchair accessible and free. Bring lunch; the picnic tables face the water, and on a clear day the view runs past Coldstream to the Monashees. The lookout is also a waypoint on the Kal Crystal Waters Trail, the 12.5 km walking and cycling route from Vernon to Lake Country, which uses this parking area as one of its access points if you want to stretch the stop into a walk along the old highway toward Kekuli Bay.