A remote and seldom visited mountain in the south Okanagan.
Overview
The Snowy Mountain Protected area is south of Keremeos, BC between Cathedral Park and Osoyoos. It is usually visited on horseback due to the long distances involved with traversing the park. Hunting is the main activity in the park and there are several cabins scattered around the area. Many of these cabins burned down during recent fires – a big one in 2018 and another in 2023. The 2023 fire actually closed the whole park for a couple years. The park does have one of the Okanagan’s ‘big’ peaks so it does attract hikers once in a while.
Access
The common entrance to the park is south of Keremeos at Ewart Creek or Webster Creek trailhead. If the destination is the summit, this is a bit inconvenient as it means approximately 50km round trip with 3000m elevation gain.
Preparation
Joe lake is an obvious mid-way point for camping. Contrary to many accounts of the Joe Lake cabin burning down, as of Fall 2026 it is still standing and usable! There are bunks for 3 and a small wood stove.
Trail
As of 2026 the “horse” trail is in excellent condition to Joe Lake. After Joe Lake it becomes more difficult to find the trail but it does generally exist to Harry Lake. Above Harry Lake it gets pretty rocky and there is not trail to follow. There is no real technical difficulty in reaching the summit. There are some boulderfields near the end but aside from poor weather or snow, it is relatively straight-forward despite the long distances.
