Vaseux Lake Wildlife Centre & Migratory Bird Sanctuary

Vaseux Lake is the Okanagan's one federal Migratory Bird Sanctuary, and the Wildlife Centre at its north end is the place to see why. Managed by the Canadian Wildlife Service as part of the Vaseux-Bighorn National Wildlife Area, the site is simple and superb: a small gravel parking lot off Highway 97 about 5 km south of Okanagan Falls, an information kiosk, and a boardwalk that runs out through the rushes to an enclosed two-storey wildlife viewing tower with the lake, the marsh and McIntyre Bluff spread out in front of you. More than 200 bird species have been recorded here — trumpeter swans and great blue herons, wood ducks, blue-winged teal and wigeon, Lazuli buntings in the thickets — and the cliffs and grasslands around the lake are home to California bighorn sheep, badgers, painted turtles, the pallid bat and the rare night snake, so bring binoculars and take your time. The boardwalk and viewing tower are open for day use year-round, admission is free, and the entry level of the tower is wheelchair accessible. Because this is a Migratory Bird Sanctuary, pets are not permitted on the site and motorized boats are banned on the lake, which is also why the water stays so quiet. The parking area sits inside the boundary of Vaseux Lake Provincial Park, whose campground and beach are a separate BC Parks destination along the east shore; the two make an easy pairing, but the sanctuary boardwalk is its own reason to stop.