Okanagan Canada Best Beaches

Top 10 Best Beaches & Best Family Beach Vacations

In order to provide you with the Okanagan best beaches, we thought first hand knowledge and experience about summer vacations and the best beach towns would best be provided if we did this leg of research as indepth as possible :-)

Our goal is always inexpensive family vacations! There are more than 30 beaches in the Okanagan, from Osoyoos, Penticton, Kelowna, Vernon BC and Salmon Arm (Shuswap) to relax and yes, you can enjoy some pretty cheap beach vacations. For us, this adds up to a whole lot of summer beach lounging, one of our favorite fun summer activities. And it just happens to be in one of the most beautiful places to visit in Canada!!

You'll find lots of sun and shady trees, plenty of grass and picnic areas, washrooms, concession stands, beach volleyball, tennis and basketball courts; most are on or within easy reach of many local beaches in the Okanagan Valley.

As well, you can rent watersport equipment like power boats, Jet SkisŪ, windsurfers and paddleboats, or try out parasailing rides for a birds eye view of the lakes.

Playgrounds for kids, floating docks and floating water slides and splash parks for young children, leisure walking trails, barbecue areas and picnic tables are also available nearly everywhere.

Other, less known, beaches offer shade and soft sand, areas for boating and water skiing, and even some great spots for casual scuba diving.

There are No Lifeguards at Okanagan beaches, however swimming areas are generally well marked with water buoys.

Our Top 10 Best Beaches List

Well, ok, we'll admit that the research work wasn't actually all that hard! But as your personal Okanagan vacation guide, it is our duty to make sure you enjoy your best beach vacations here!! Check out some of the Okanagan best beaches and best beach towns!!

Okanagan Beach (Penticton)

On the south shore of Okanagan Lake in Penticton, Okanagan beach is both a favorite for locals and for visitors. The mile long beach extends along Lakeshore Drive and is backed by motels, restaurants, a playground and splashpark, and is walking distance to downtown, Loco Landing amusement park, and an excellent local skateboard park. The beach is lined with shady trees, the water is shallow and there's watersport equipment rentals available as well.

Boyce-Gyro Beach (Kelowna)

Located just south of Kelowna BC city centre, Boyce Gyro Park is a large beautiful park with picnic tables, a large playground, volleyball, washrooms and concession and shallow swimming area, as well as a rental shop with paddle boats and other watersport equipment. Numerous motels are located within a short distance from this park, as well as the Mission shopping centre. It's a great family beach, and a favourite of the younger local crowd.

Kal Beach (Vernon BC)

With a very large area marked for swimming, a warf, two swimming docks with ladders, beach volleyball, washroom and change room building, a family pub style restraunt, and concession stand, kayak rentals, and plenty of shade, Kal beach is the best and most well know beach in the city of Vernon BC.

Canoe Beach (Salmon Arm - Shuswap)

A large public sandy beach located on the shores of Shuswap Lake in the city of Salmon Arm, Canoe beach has a beautiful sandy beach with a roped off swimming area and big beautiful shady trees. There's grassy picnic areas, a beach volleyball court and a boat launch, as well as change facilities and washrooms.

Skaha Beach (Penticton)

On the north end of the city, Skaha Beach offers a beautiful long beach backed by a large grassy park with shade trees, picnic tables, tennis court, outdoor hockey court, basketball court, a watersplash park, playground marina and boat launch. You'll also find two concession stands, washrooms, and it's within walking distance to a number of local motels.

Mara Lake Provincial Park (Shuswap)

Mara Provincial Park is a very busy day use only park and beach with a beautiful longad stretch of sandy beach. It's a very busy place, popular for fishing, swimming, picnicing, boating, canoeing, and watersports. There are designated swimming areas, and with busy boat traffic, it is recommended that swimmers stay within those boundaries.

Sun Oka Beach (Summerland)

Sun-Oka beach is a day use only regional park located in Trout Creek, south of Summerland BC. This is a beautiful park, very popular for watersports, with an area to pull a boat up onto the beach. There is changeroom facilities and a concession, picnic tables, firepits (check campfire bans befor use) and lots of shady trees.

Sicamous Sands Beach (Sicamous)

Sicamous Sands public beach & park in Sicamous BC has playground & kids water park, beach volleyball court, picnic tables, change rooms and washrooms a beautiful brick walkway and a boat launch.

Gyro Beach (Osoyoos)

Osoyoos Lake is the warmest lake in the valley with an average summer temperature of 24°C/70°F and id most popular for wakeboarding, waterskiing, swimming and tubing. Gyro Beach is the largest beach in Osoyoos BC and is the site of many popular summer events. You'll find plenty of shady trees, warm shallow waters and closed off swimming areas, making it a perfect place for children. You can rent persoanl watercrafts, skiies, and tubes for loads of fun.

Hot Sands Beach (Kelowna)

One of Kelowna's best beaches,

Hot Sands Beach (City Park) offers volleyball and basketball courts, plenty of grassy fields, a skatepark, as well as washroom and change room facilities. It's is located near Kelowna's downtown centre, close to many restaurants and retail stores and is situated next to a free children's water park and playground, lots of shade trees.