The Okanagan has plenty of river floats – Enderby, Rock Creek, OK Falls. Why not Mission Creek? One day I was cycling the Greenway in Kelowna which follows Mission Creek from up in the hills into Okanagan Lake. There were a couple drunk guys in floating down the river in tubes. Of course, I just knew this was a thing. But why have I never heard of people doing this? Time to find out.

Aya not super enthusiastic.

We got together a couple families and put in at Casorso Rd. Starting near the end of the river adds the bonus of floating into OK lake at ‘secret beach’. Right off the bat the float was a bit slow. No worries – perhaps we chose a bit too late in the float season.

Exit into Okanagan Lake

Along the way there were a few ‘snag’ points. No deal-breakers yet for sure. Most portions of the float were pretty good. Some sections even had a bit of speed. The reason why people aren’t flocking to float Mission Creek is probably because there are many section that are just too shallow. Safe, yes, but fun… not really.

There remains the possibility of trying a different portion of the river. I’ve heard that the further up stream you go, the more dangerous it is. It’s worth a try though. The ever popular Enderby float is pretty fast, deep and sketchy at the best of times. How could Mission Creek be any worse?

Another option is to go earlier in the year when there is more water. Lets just say the water was pretty cold in June. I couldn’t imagine going any earlier. By the time August comes and the temperature is nice, I doubt the water level would be good at any part of the river.

Secret beach, at the mouth of Mission Creek.

PADDLE?

Yes, this is a thing. We’ve tried Kayaking and Supping from Mission Creek Park to Okanagan Lake. Best done in May + June. After that the water is not deep enough! Any higher up river from Mission Creek Park (ziprick/hollywood) is rocky and dangerous.