Okanagan Landing
Okanagan Landing was a small settlement and steamboat port at the north end of Okanagan Lake in British Columbia, Canada, southwest of Vernon. It was the end point of the Shuswap and Okanagan Railway and served as the port and shipyard for steamboats traveling south, as well as a transfer point for boats and trains.
The town started in 1892 when the Shuswap and Okanagan Railway arrived from Sicamous. It was built around a shipyard to build and maintain the SS Aberdeen, the first CPR steamship on Okanagan Lake. A post office opened on October 1, 1898.
Okanagan Landing connected CPR boat and train service. It hosted three luxury vessels and many smaller passenger and freight boats, and the Kettle Valley Railway ran from Okanagan Landing to Penticton to help CPR passengers.
Ships built or serviced there include the SS Penticton, SS Aberdeen, SS Kaleden, SS Okanagan, SS Naramata, and SS Sicamous. In Penticton, the Incola Hotel, run by CPR, catered to travelers by boat or train.
A 1916 photo shows steamboats at Okanagan Landing. After the last steamship, the SS Sicamous, was retired in 1936, ship repairs continued in the yards into the 1960s.
In 1971, the land was bought by the Okanagan Landing and District Community Association to promote recreation, education, and culture and to improve community life.
Okanagan Landing was annexed to Vernon in 1993, but the association continues to maintain the area, now called Paddlewheel Park. The Shipwrights Hall hosts monthly meetings; after a fire in 1999, a new hall opened in 2000. The station house now houses a museum, archives, and meeting rooms.
Today the association supports the playground, the North Okanagan Sailing Association, the Vernon Paddling Center, an annual regatta, community potlucks, dances, weekly bridge games, and fall and spring clean-up days.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 02:05 (CET).