Water Activities in the Okanagan
20 outdoor destinations for water activities across the Okanagan Valley.
Outdoor destinations with paddling, boating or lake access built in.
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Coyote Cruises – Penticton Channel Float
Floating the Penticton channel is the city’s signature summer ritual: a lazy 7 km drift down the river channel that links Okanagan Lake to Skaha Lake, with the sun overhead, ducks alongside and half of Penticton floating with you. Coyote Cruises runs the operation from 215 Riverside Drive at the Okanagan Lake end — single and multi-person tube rentals, larger “party island” floats for groups, dry storage for your things and regular shuttle buses that bring you back to the start when you climb out at the Skaha end. Visit Penticton calls it a must-do for the whole family; budget three to four hours for the full length depending on the current, wear sunscreen, bring water and do not tie floats together. The season opens at the end of June and runs through the summer into September.
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Holy Doodle Sailing Charters
Slip away from the dock on a private sail aboard a cozy 8.5-metre yacht. Choose a daytime cruise, a sunset sail or a full-moon night on Okanagan Lake, and help trim the sails or simply relax. May to October.
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Kalavida Surf Shop
Kalavida Surf Shop sits directly across the road from Kal Beach on Kalamalka Lake, so you can rent and be paddling the “lake of a thousand colours” within minutes. The rental lineup runs from inflatable stand-up paddleboards and kids’ boards to multi-person SUPs, including four-person mega boards for groups, plus kayaks that you can launch from the shore of Kal Beach or take with you to explore another lake for the weekend; group and party paddles can be arranged. Because the shop is also at the north end of the Okanagan Rail Trail, it doubles as a bike hub with Class 1 e-bikes, cruiser bikes and kids’ bikes for a lakeside ride along Kalamalka Lake.
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Kelowna Paddle Centre
The Kelowna Paddle Centre is a community-run, non-profit paddling hub on the Okanagan Lake shore at Pandosy Waterfront Park, operated in cooperation with the City of Kelowna to make paddling sports safe and affordable for everyone. Visitors can rent stand-up paddleboards, sit-on-top single and double kayaks, outrigger canoes and surfskis — a two-hour SUP rental is $40 and every rental includes a PFD, paddle and a brief intro lesson — or join drop-in paddles and public programs open to non-members, with youth summer camps in season. It is the easiest place in the city to get onto the water without owning a board, and the calm bay in front of the centre suits first-timers.
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Lakefront Marina
Explore Canada's warmest lake at your own pace with kayak, paddleboard, water-bike and boat rentals right on Osoyoos Lake.
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Lakefront Sports Centre
Kelowna's one-stop waterfront rental base: grab a boat, jet ski, paddleboard, kayak or bike right on downtown's Water Street, or try flyboarding. It's the easiest way to get out on Okanagan Lake.
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Luxury Lake Tours
Captained private boat tours on Okanagan Lake, from sightseeing cruises and fishing charters to wine tours that arrive at lakeside wineries by water.
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Okanagan Mountain Provincial Park
Okanagan Mountain is 11,321 hectares of rugged wilderness on the east shore of Okanagan Lake, opposite Peachland, with no public roads inside it — which is exactly its appeal. From the north parking lot, the Boulder Loop runs 5 km (about 3 hours, easy) and the Old C.N. Trail 3 km; the Rim Trail, the Pinnacles and the viewpoint near the south lot deliver the big views, and the canyons are good country for spotting sheep, goats and elk. The south lot is reached through Naramata on Chute Lake Road, 6 km of gravel followed by 1.5 km of very rough road. Paddlers can string together day trips or multi-day trips along the undeveloped shoreline, camping at the marine campsites and swimming in the bays. Mountain biking is allowed on the signed trails (e-bikes on designated trails), horses have their own routes, and the park has pit toilets only. Dogs must stay on leash.
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Oyama General Store Paddle Rentals
The Oyama General Store is a family-run hub on the Oyama isthmus — the strip of land between Wood Lake and Kalamalka Lake, 25 minutes from Kelowna and on the Okanagan Rail Trail — and its rental shop sits right on the beach, so you launch from either lake shore without carrying anything far. Inflatable stand-up paddleboards and sit-on-top kayaks are booked online in minutes, from $50 for a half day (three hours) for a board and $59 for a kayak, and the shop is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., April to October. Groceries, liquor, e-bike rentals and Lu Lou’s Lakeside Grill next door on the beach round out the stop. Turn from Highway 97 onto Pelmewash Parkway toward the isthmus; the store is on the water.
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Peachland Beach Rentals
Peachland Beach Rentals is the little rental shop on the corner of 13th Street and Beach Avenue, steps from the water on Peachland’s lakefront promenade. Stand-up paddleboards go out at a range of hourly and longer rates for a paddle along the Okanagan Lake shoreline, and single and double kayaks (10 and 12 feet) are available for the same easy launch from the beach across the road. The shop is equally a bike counter — beach cruisers and two-seater canopy bikes for a roll along Beach Avenue — which makes it the natural base for a Peachland afternoon that mixes the water with the waterfront.
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Penticton Boat Rentals
Two lakes, one town: rent a surf boat, pontoon or WaveRunner and spend the day on Skaha or Okanagan Lake, or book a captained charter and just relax.
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Pier Water Sports
Pier Water Sports is Penticton’s lakefront rental counter on Okanagan Beach at 185 Lakeshore Drive West, and by Visit Penticton’s account nowhere else in the city lets you rent as many different kinds of watercraft in one place. For a quiet outing there are single and double kayaks and stand-up paddleboards to launch straight from the beach; for a bigger day there are jet skis and double-decker pontoon boats with waterslides for a whole group. Rentals run by the hour with holiday surcharges, and the location puts you a short walk from the Peach concession, the SS Sicamous and the rest of the Okanagan Lake waterfront.
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SWR Boat & SUP Rentals
SWR Boat & SUP Rentals runs from the dock at Summerland Waterfront Resort & Spa on a secluded stretch of Okanagan Lake shoreline, 15 minutes north of Penticton, and it is open to day visitors as well as resort guests — the resort itself notes that you do not have to be staying there, and rentals are booked through an open online portal. Stand-up paddleboards and kayaks go out from the dock for a quiet paddle along the bay, and for a faster day there are powerboats and a luxury pontoon (minimum age 21 to rent motorized craft; towable water toys are not permitted with rental boats; fuel and taxes extra). The dock is reached along the public lakeshore path toward the yacht club. It is a seasonal operation — open Thursday to Monday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and it closed for the 2026 season on September 21 — with The Bistro at the resort open to everyone afterwards.
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Shuswap River Float
Enderby's classic summer ritual: launch a tube, air mattress or kayak at Belvidere Park and let the gentle Shuswap River carry you 2.5 km past cottonwoods and the Enderby Cliffs. It takes an hour or two. You must exit at Tuey (Waterwheel) Park, because dangerous rapids begin immediately downstream.
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Splash BC Floating Water Park – Kelowna
Splash BC’s Kelowna water park floats just off Hot Sands Beach in City Park, the green heart of downtown — a full-scale inflatable adventure course of towers, slides, climbers, balance beams and monkey bars anchored on Okanagan Lake, scaled for first-time climbers and the adults who insist they are only watching. It is open to ages five and up; children aged five to seven must be accompanied on the park by a supervising adult (19+), with discounted chaperone passes available. A day pass ($34) gives all-day come-and-go access during operating hours and an evening pass ($24) covers 5 to 7 p.m.; private sessions can be booked. The park operates through the summer season and the beach, concession and waterpark of City Park are steps away.
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Splash BC Floating Water Park – Peachland
Splash BC’s Peachland water park floats just off Beach Avenue, anchored within sight of the Ray Kandola Heritage Pier and a short walk from Swim Bay, on the slow-down-on-the-highway stretch of Okanagan Lake shoreline 25 km south of Kelowna. The course is a full-scale inflatable adventure park — towers, slides, climbers, balance beams and monkey bars — built for ages five and up, with children aged five to seven accompanied on the park by a supervising adult (19+). A day pass ($30) gives all-day come-and-go access during operating hours and an evening pass ($20) covers 5 to 7 p.m. Pair it with the beach walk along Centennial Way and the wharf at Swim Bay for a full Peachland lake day.
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Splash BC Floating Water Park – Penticton
Splash BC’s Penticton water park floats off Okanagan Beach at the north end of town, where the city meets Okanagan Lake: a full-scale inflatable adventure course of towers, slides, climbers, balance beams, monkey bars and a sprint runway built to end in a spectacular splash, for kids, teens, families and anyone who wants to test their balance. It is open to ages five and up, with children aged five to seven accompanied on the park by a supervising adult (19+), and Penticton is the only location with a separate Kidz Zone for ages three to seven. A day pass ($34) gives all-day come-and-go access; an evening pass ($24) covers 5 to 7 p.m. The park runs through the summer season on one of the busiest beaches in the South Okanagan.
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Splashdown Vernon
The North Okanagan's summer splash zone, with ten waterslides, a giant hot tub and shaded cabanas overlooking Swan Lake. It's a guaranteed win for families on a hot Vernon day. Open seasonally.
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Sun n’ SUP
Sun n’ SUP is Naramata’s stand-up paddleboard and beachwear shop, in the village at 151-176 Robinson Avenue across from the General Store, 15 minutes from downtown Penticton. Hourly rentals come with a SUP cart so you can wheel your board down to one of the three village beaches — Manitou, Centre Beach or Wharf Park — and if the wind picks up there are two protected bays to paddle in; the water here is far less busy than in town. Boards suit beginners and experienced paddlers alike, a standard paddle and PFD are included, lessons are offered, and the shop hosts group paddles for weddings and get-togethers. It operates April through September (closed Mondays and Tuesdays in April and May, except Victoria Day), with a credit-card deposit on all rentals.
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Wakepilot
Wakepilot is Osoyoos’ watersports operator on Canada’s warmest lake, working from three lakefront locations — Walnut Beach Resort at 4200 Lakeshore Drive, Desert Sunrise Marina on Spartan Drive and the Spirit Ridge beachfront in the Nk’Mip RV Park. Its signature “Wakeboard and Surf Osoyoos” charters put you behind a surf boat with an instructor, while the rental fleet covers stand-up paddleboards and single and tandem kayaks for an easy paddle along the shore, e-foils that let you fly above the water with an instructor or solo once you are certified, and personal watercraft and boats for the rest of the crew. Guided SUP adventures and SUP yoga sessions leave from the beachfront, and a newer wine-tours-by-boat service combines a lake day with South Okanagan wineries. Operations are seasonal through the summer.