Welcome to the Similkameen Valley
British Columbia, Canada
Rugged. Rustic. Real.
With the arrival of winter, rivers and lakes that once flowed poetically are stilled into becoming outdoor skating rinks and ice-fishing holes for locals and visitors alike. Snowmobiling around Princeton and alpine hikes at EC Manning and Cathedral are two staple Similkameen winter activities. Wandering the terrain on skis or snowshoes at China Ridge, Manning Park, Cathedral Lakes…you will discover beauty and peace. You’ll find space to simply breathe and enjoy the crisp, fresh air. Check out our winter activities.
The Similkameen Valley is the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Similamix and Smelqmix People.
Official visitor website for the Similkameen Valley, British Columbia, Canada including Cathedral Lakes, Cawston, Chopaka, Coalmont, Eastgate, Hedley, Keremeos, Manning Park, Olalla, Princeton, Similkameen Valley, Tulameen and Twin Lakes
Top Rated Experiences
Getting Here
Getting Here Is Easy
The Crowsnest Highway (BC Highway 3) runs straight through the Similkameen Valley. It travels from Princeton to the Okanagan Valley at Osoyoos in the Thompson-Okanagan Region of BC’s Interior. We are a 3-hour drive from Vancouver.
If you were to drive the valley from end to end, you’d cover 180 kilometres. Start at Manning Park in the west and end up at the BC Highway 97 junction in Kaleden or Osoyoos in the east. How long it takes to drive it will be up to you, there is plenty to see and do!
What Does Similkameen Mean?
The Similkameen river and valley is named for its Indigenous people, the Similkameen, meaning “people of the river.”
