Rocky Ridge Park (Turtle Mountain)

Rocky Ridge Park is Vernon's quickest 360-degree view: a small Regional District park on the summit ridge of Turtle Mountain, in the Alexis Park neighbourhood on the west side of the city, where a few minutes of walking earns a panorama that Tourism Vernon counts among the city's iconic viewpoints. Start at the small trailhead parking lots on Turtle Mountain Boulevard, between Razorback Court and Leatherback Road, and follow the flat 0.4 km trail west behind Razorback Court to a wooden staircase; the stairs carry you up onto the open rock of the ridge, and from the top the whole of Greater Vernon turns beneath you — the city and Coldstream to the east, Swan Lake to the north, and Okanagan Landing and the north arm of Okanagan Lake to the southwest, with the three lakes that ring the valley in view on a clear day. It is short, steep in the stair section and exposed on the rock, so mind small children near the edges, and there are no facilities at the top. Parking is at the trailhead lots; the Regional District does not publish a fee, and none has been confirmed, so check on arrival. Come at golden hour, when the grassland and the lakes light up.