sntsk‘il’ntən–Black Mountain Regional Park

sntsk‘il’ntən–Black Mountain is a vast 640-hectare regional park on Kelowna's eastern slopes, where trails climb through endangered grasslands to open viewpoints over the city and the valley. The park carries an nsyilxcən name — the Regional District offers an audio clip to help with pronunciation — and was created through a collective effort to protect this landscape; further park development is still underway, so expect a natural, lightly built experience rather than a finished network. Seven named trails already cover about 13 km — the 3.3 km sntsk‘il’ntən Trail, the 2.7 km Grassland Trail, the 2 km Coyote and Ephemeral Pond trails, the 1.5 km Flume Trail, the 1 km Ridge Trail and the short Hoodoo Trail, rated easy to moderate — while the difficult Summit Loop is currently closed and a section of the park is closed for conservation. Dogs are welcome on leash. There is a parking area off Swainson Road, and the park can also be entered through Tower Ranch Hillside Park, with street parking on Tower Ranch Drive. Park hours shift seasonally, from 6 a.m. to between 6 and 11 p.m., with reduced maintenance from November to March.