The Skaha Bluffs have always fascinated me. The moment that I enter its 80m high gneissic halls I find myself immersed in some kind of primeval time-warp. When you experience the area, you'll know what I mean. The physical layout of the Skaha Bluffs are unique in BC, in that it contains numerous long, steep canyons running north-south, many of which are cleared and passable to hikers and climbers.

Instead of leading this chapter with the usual map overview, I've substituted a Skaha Bluffs snapshot looking south/southeast. Special thanks to Dick Cannings for the use of his image; click to enlarge. The usual Google Earth header map - looking up from the south can be found here.

The area presented in the map above is locally referred to as "The Skaha Bluffs". It is located on the southeast perimeter of the City of Penticton, and is part of an overall conservation area consisting of approximately 485ha of generally rugged terrain. The Bluffs and land adjacent to the east and southeast flank will soon comprise the Skaha Bluffs Provincial Park.

The area as a whole, including lands south and east of the Bluffs rock climbing zone, is a mix of Crown, Land Conservancy of British Columbia, Nature Conservancy of Canada and the Ministry of Environment properties. These partners collaborated to acquire private land in order to protect it's ecological value and provide public access to the existing Skaha Bluffs, whose cliffs are internationally recognized for their excellent rock climbing.

Over the past few years, BC Parks has constructed two parking areas, provided signage for the main access trail to the climbing area and installed sealed vault pit toilets and several information kiosks.

The recreation area highlighted in this chapter is bordered on the south by Gillies Cr., as it flows down to Skaha Lake, by the Terasen gas line service road to the north, mountainous wilderness on it's eastern flank and Skaha Lake to the west.

Until recently, I shied away from providing access information about the Bluffs, but recent policies implemented by the area's land management consortium have opened the door to hikers as well.

Be aware that the Skaha Bluffs southern access routes do not offer anything in the way of mountain bike or equestrian trail access; this area is rock climbing and hiking terrain only. The trails are far too extreme for bike or horse, and most of the hiking within the Skaha Bluffs recreational area is of intermediate to advanced difficulty.

Those who venture into this amazing area need to be keenly aware that the maps provided in this text are a loose approximation of the actual trails. This is an unavoidable side-effect of the steep canyon walls interfering with satellite reception. Despite numerous attempts to record accurate tracks with a variety of the latest-greatest GPS recording devices, signal degradation through canyon wall reflection has conspired to limit the accompanying tracks to what might best be described as "more or less accurate". This is especially true within the floors of the canyons.

In zones above the canyon floors however, recreationalists will enjoy accurate GPS tracks and panoramic views of the Okanagan Valley, the City of Penticton and Skaha Lake.

Please stay on the main trails, as this region is home to a wide variety of flora and fauna, significant portions of which are blue and red listed species. This is a very unique ecological zone, one that we must strive to avoid affecting in a negative manner.

Ponderosa Pine and Interior Douglas Fir biogeoclimatic regions represent two of the four zones in B.C. that are of conservation concern. The Bluffs also host a critical Bighorn Sheep ram range and is a key segment of their north-south migration corridor.

Enjoy the hike / climb, and tip your hat to the many volunteers who made this all possible. Those of you seeking to explore the area's rock climbing will be interested in Howie Richardson's excellent 'Skaha Rock Climbs' publication (ISBN 0968247296) as well as perusing files in the 'downloads' section at the Skaha Bluffs website; http://skaha.org

The trail network is complex enough that I am unable to provide you with turn-by-turn directions (I could, but this chapter would become maddeningly frustrating to follow). That said, the area is not that expansive, and those equipped with a quality printout of this chapter's map, or a smartphone and the accompanying GPS / Google Earth tracks, should be able to navigate around the area with confidence.

Speaking of maps; this chapter, as with the latest Three Blind Mice missive, provides a secondary format of map to compliment the Google Earth and GPS files. Those of you who, like myself, grew up with "the bluish-green maps" as your back country guide, will find this map to be a familiar face. The other files are in their usual locations, but here is quick access to the NRC Toporama Map.

Enjoy yourself and watch your footing around the rock climber's belaying ropes. They will likely become quite testy if you step on their gear - and for good reason, they are literally depending on it to spare their lives!

This chapter chapter would not have been possible without input from Sean Dougherty and John Gullick - "Thanks guys". I [highly] recommend that you download and study the accompanying Google Earth map. It goes a long way toward making sense of the area if viewed in tandem with the static maps presented here.

Remember that all maps on this website are 'click to enlarge', including this chapter's header / lead image. Using the CTRL key in conjunction with your left mouse button and / or / the scroll-wheel will allow you to pan / tilt / zoom the downloaded Google Earth files.

Getting there: From the Peach by Lake Okanagan in downtown Penticton, travel south along Winnipeg St. to Eckhardt Ave. Turn left on Eckhardt, follow it two blocks and turn right on Main St. .Follow Main St. to Kinney Ave. Hang a left onto Kinney, then a nearly immediate right onto South Main St.

Follow South Main all the way out of town, watching for signs which will direct you to the Skaha Bluffs climbing area. You will be turning left onto Smythe Drive. Be very careful when driving up Smythe, as the road is narrow and folks often descend it with reckless abandon...

Low: 495| High: 780m | Length: Varies | Water: None | Cell Access: Spotty