Have you explored the Aberdeen Plateau? Don’t wait any longer, this area is an outdoor playground of all types. The most common ways of entering the Aberdeen Plateau from Kelowna are;
- Beaver Lake Rd. at Winfield
- Oyama Lake Rd at Oyama
- Highway 33 near Kelowna and Highway 6 near Lumby
High Rim Trail Head Sign near the Wrinkly Face Provincial Park border and Aberdeen Road crossing.
Along with the well known Dee Lakes and Beaver Lake Backcountry and Fishing Resorts, the Aberdeen Plateau encases part of the High Rim Trail and other hiking trails, appealing bushwacking destinations, free campsites – BC Forest Service Recreation sites, mountian biking areas, fishing lakes (many with a close proximity to each other) hunting areas with many types of game, 4X4 and other motorised vehicle recreation areas, peace and quiet! The route that I drove was from Beaver Lake Rd. in Winfield, past Beaver Lake Resort and along Aberdeen Road all the way to Lumby on Highway 6. The road is excellent for two or four wheel drive trucks. If you are very cautious, you could even take a car over the route.
If you drive the route – you must be aware of Logging Trucks and stay to your side of the road!
If you want to use one of the best free campsites around at Doreen Lake, you better have a back up plan as this site is very popular! Here is a map of the area that show the free campsites. If you really like to rough it, the area is great for some crown land camping. I would suggest to do some Google Earth mapwork, find an abondoned logging road, park on the side of the road and backpack in to your secret outdoor spot that you have input into your GPS! PS – Be Bear Safe!
Aberdeen Road heading to Lumby from Winfield.
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- High Rim Trail Head Sign near the Wrinkly Face Provincial Park border and Aberdeen Road crossing.
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- Aberdeen Road heading to Lumby from Winfield.
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- The view looks like it would be stunning from this hill. This picture does not do it justice. I could see logging roads that would take you to a good starting point for some bushwacking!
Some lakes to visit:
People always ask, “where is a good place to go camping near Kelowna?” With over 20 lakes right next to each other there is always a free spot somewhere, even on long weekends. Most of the lakes can be driven right up to, while a few are more remote. All have free camping, and many of the sites are within an hour of Kelowna. The Aberdeen Plateau is the go-to place for camping near Kelowna.
For camping fishing and dirt biking near kelowna: Aberdeen Plateau.
we went out this way the weekend after august long weekend. We ended up at the island lake rec site. the logging is crazy indeed. but what was more crazy was that if we had not been out there at 9am friday morning, we wouldn’t have gotten a site. so busy. huge rvs. lots of boats and people running air compressors and generators all day. next mission will be to find one a little further in. maybe on a smaller non-fishing popular lake. beaver lake site was busy like that too, and also 2 weekends before when we spent the weekend there. good to see people are out there enjoying the place, and mostly being responsible. but i prefer a little less company. this area is definitely a good place to check out. lots of options and decent roads.