Kamloops Parks & Gardens

Popular with campers and day users, this small (96 hectare) park is known for its loveliness. Rainbow and lake trout are the potential rewards to anglers.

Lac Le Jeune Provincial Park at 213 HA is an easily accessible but away from it all spot close to Kamloops. It is known for rainbow trout and has a 250 ft fishing wharf located in front of the day use area. It attracts fishers, hikers, swimmers and canoe and kayakers.

McArthur Island Park is located on the north bank of the Thompson River. It is the home to many of Kamloops' sports and recreation facilities. Visitors can enjoy activities like golf, soccer, football, baseball, cricket, tennis and walking or running on the paved trail.

With 19,353 hectares of wilderness, this protected area features splendid scenery and fantastic backcountry recreational opportunities. Alpine areas such as Matterhorn Peak, which reaches an elevation of 2,634 m, are perfect for ski touring. Note there are no day use facilities. The park is located 90 km north of Kamloops, near Little Fort.

Visit Siberian tigers and Grizzly bears, and see how this zoological facility is providing conservation through education. Breeding and release programs help endangered species like the Swift fox and Burrowing owl. Hop on the Wildlife Express miniature train.

Located in downtown Kamloops and featuring multiple diamonds, Exhibition Park is a popular host of softball and baseball tournaments, as well as tennis and soccer matches. The park includes bleachers, concessions, dugouts, an announcer's booth and lighting for nighttime events.

Greenstone Mountain Provincial Park offers visitors breath-taking scenery, winding hiking trails and nature study opportunities. During the winter, snoeshowing is possible but is dependent on snow levels. No facilities exist in this park.

This 5075 ha (12,541 acre) park includes the man-made Tunka and Leighton Lakes. There are trails that are suitable for hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, snowmobiling and cross-country skiing, and other activities include fishing and camping.

Located on the southwest shore of the Kamloops Lake, Steelhead Provincial Park offers a multitude of opportunities for outdoor recreation. Visitors can fish, paddleboat, swim, hike and enjoy a picnic. In addition, there is a campground with a variety of amenities located in the park.

This 30 ha (74 acre) park was created to protect a U-shaped portion (or Oxbow) of the North Thompson River. The area is an important habitat for various waterfowl as well as beaver and otters. As the area is covered with water for approximately four months a year, there are no facilities offered.

A swimming area is available on the beach during the summer months at Riverside Park. Festivals are held here throughout the year, and picnic tables are available for use. A playground and The River Kids Centennial Water Park are also located here.

Named after former mayor Kenna Cartwright, this expansive park is the largest municipal park in BC and spans almost 800 ha of Mount Dufferin. More than 40 km of nature trails make Kenna Cartwright Park popular with hikers and mountain bikers, who are rewarded with panoramic views over Kamloops and the Thompson Valley. The park is open year round.

Home of the Adams River, one of the largest sockeye salmon runs in B.C., this 988-hectare area consists of forests, canyons, terraces and flood plains. Bears, deer, beavers, river otter and mink inhabit the park. Campgrounds are located at Shuswap Lake Provincial Park.

Bring the whole family for a day of excitement at the Little Farmer's Petting Zoo. See a variety of farm animals, such as bunnies, goats and chickens, as well as some exotic birds.

McConnell Lake is located 35 km (22 mi) from Kamloops and offers excellent opportunities to catch rainbow trout. Aside from fishing, visitors can hike the park's primitive trail, canoe or kayak on the lake's surface or photograph the wildlife.

Roche Lake Provincial Park contains seven lakes that are known for being good spots to fish for rainbow trout. The park is suitable for a range of other activities including hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, snowmobiling and ice fishing. The park includes three small and basic campsites with pit toilets and picnic tables.

Eakin Creek Canyon Provincial Park is a small 10 ha (24.7 acre) and includes a site that once contained a gold mining operation. Visitors can fish for trout in the creek or view the 8 m (26 ft) waterfall that flows into the creek.

Castle Rock Hoodoos Provincial Park is home to unique hoodoo formations, which attract photographers and nature lovers. Aside from the hoodoos, the park offers no other attractions or facilities.

Walloper Lake Provincial Park is located just off the Coquihalla Highway, 37 km (23 mi) outside of Kamloops. The lake itself is small but does attract anglers, canoeists and kayakers. The park is day-use only and no overnight camping is permitted.

This 10-hectare park, located 35 km (22 mi) east of Kamloops can only be accessed by kayak or canoe. This long and narrow island is environmentally sensitive and therefore the park cannot be used for recreational purposes, other than wildlife viewing and photographing from a boat. The park protects spring salmon spawning grounds and a variety of endangered birds and waterfowl who nest here. Evidence of Native habitation exists with the parks kekuli pits (semi-underground pit-houses).

This park gets it name from the distinctive rocks and soils found in the area. These multi-coloured rocks form a muted rainbow of natural colour, witnessed both from the park itself or from viewpoints along Kamloops Lake. No facilities are available at this park.

Tsintsunko Lakes Provincial Park's topography includes mountain lakes, wetlands and sections of Jolly Lake and Tsintsunko Lake. The park has no camping or day-use facilities but is still utilized for walk-in trout fising.

The Upper Adams River Provincial Park protects moose, elk, black bear and otter habitat. There are no facilities offered. The park can only be accessed via river canoe or kayak from three access points that can be reached from logging roads.

Named for the hoodoos that exist throughout, the 16 ha (39.5 acre) Deadman Hoodoos Protected Area is part of a river valley that includes waterfalls. Camping is not permitted in the area and there are no facilities.

Walhachin Oxbows Provincial Park protects a small portion of river riparian on the Thompson River. The park's cottonwood, willow and underbrush provide important wildlife habitat and the oxbow slough is home to a variety of waterfowl. The park offers no road access and boaters may enter the park from the west end of Kamloops Lake.

Attractions within Mount Savona Provincial Park include hiking, nature study, wildlife viewing and hunting. Those with 4x4 transportation can drive to the summit, where breath-taking views of the dry Thompson River Valley and Kamloops Lake await.

Spread out over an area that covers Eakin Creek's Valley floor, this provincial park covers 126 ha (311.4) and contains a variety of old growth trees. There are no camping or day-use facilities at this park.

At 19,353 ha (47,823 acre), Dunn Peak Provincial Park encompasses a number of ecosystems including lakes, swamps, alpine areas and floodplains. The park is home to a number of animal species such as cougar, black bears, river otters, wolves and mountain goats. There are facilities in the park but visitors can hike and bird-watch.

This large park was designated to protect local wetlands and includes Alexander Lake and Carlo Lake. There are designated trails for horseback riding and visitors can snowmobile and snowshoe as well. There are no facilities in this park.

One of BC's newest grassland parks, Lac du Bois Grasslands features sweeping grassland, quiet lakes, untouched forests and secret ponds. The park is notable due to its complex geology, and this variety is not lost on the park's wildlife species. Bighorn sheep, moose and waterfowl sightings are common, while western rattlesnakes and sharp-tailed grouse do their best to live more secretive lives within the park.