Lebanon Creek, Cedar Mountain, Kelowna Crags! Wow, with names like that one would expect the park to be nothing short of amazing! My wife and I came away with not so amazing opinions of this hiking area. But to be fair, this regional park is new and it is more known for climbing opportunities than hiking trails.
The Cedar Mountain Regional Park Trail Head Map.
The hike began nice enough. The parking area and information board were very nice and welcoming. Soon after we left the trail head we were greeted by the rushing run-off water tumbling down Lebanon Creek. The surrounding area was completely burned. Burnt standing sticks remain in remembrance of the pine forest that once covered the area. The trail is actually a small road.
After a couple hundred metres of hiking down the trail we saw a nice home perched on a rocky sidehill above us and were reminded of the fact that Cedar Mountian park is nearly surrounded by private property. In another few minutes the trail forked and we veered to the right – towards the lake and the Kelowna Crags. We didn’t take the trail that went up to the top of the Crags as it looked pretty wet from the previous rain but did follow a trail along the base of the mountain until it ended.
After backtracking to the fork in the road, we decided to try the fork to see if it made a loop around the park like the map suggested. This fork soon came to a dead end with a wire fence and a gate with a private property sign. We headed back to the Trail Head and never did see another trail that could have been a loop. If there is a nice hiking loop to be taken in Cedar Mountain Park I hope someone comments on it below.
Not having much success with the hiking plan we decided to test out my new Ford Ranger. She went really well as we headed towards the KVR and a little backcountry exploration. See what I found out about Chute Lake Road by reading this post.
***update*** Had this note from an avid rock climber who knows all Kelowna Crags areas. “…If you look on our website kelownarockbc.com under Trails, it will tell you about the Lair Trail, which winds behind Cedar Park, between bluffs and along the lake ridge. When you hike in from the parking lot, stay on the road that goes down the right side of the crags.”
Rock climbers refer to this climbing area as Cedar Park, not Kelowna crags, as Kelowna actually has 4 main crags, and the Boulderfields are the largest Kelowna crag.
check out the book – Kelowna Rock Climbing and Bouldering