Enderby

Many people see Enderby as a place you drive through on your way to somewhere else. If you are planning on being in the North Okanagan, I would like to recommend spending a few days exploring the City of Enderby and the surrounding area.

Information Centre
One of your first stops should be the Travel Info-Centre where they can provide you with all the local information, maps and brochures that you can carry. To get there, turn east off the highway at Mable Lake Road, just across the railroad tracks, before you get to the bridge, the Info-Centre is on your right. If you go across the bridge, you can always turn around in the parking lot at Birchbark Park (nice place to have a picnic).

 

Mable Lake
Travelling 34 kilometers east of Enderby on Mable Lake Road, will bring you to Mable Lake. Almost 42 kilometers long, and three kilometers wide in some places, there is room enough for everybody to participate in their favourite pastime. Water-Skiing, fishing, swimming, canoeing, and sailing are all popular on Mable Lake. The average trout caught is one kilogram (two pounds), but fish up to 8.5 kilograms (19lbs) have been landed. Salmon fishing is only open mid August to mid September with Spring Salmon as large as 13 kilograms (30 lbs) being taken from the lake, with the average running between five to nine kilograms (12 lbs to 20 lbs). Don't forget your fishing licence before you cast.

 

Kingfisher Centre
On the way to Mable Lake, you will see a sign on your right announcing the turnoff for the Kingfisher Environmental Interpretive Centre. This is worth the stop.

The Kingfisher Hatchery conducts one of the most successful Salmon Enhancement programs in the country. Approximately 250,000 fish are raised in incubators to the alevin stage, then released into the Shuswap river with a survival rate of 15% (as compared to 0.04% average survival rate). In the late summer and fall, staff are available to explain what they are doing and to answer any questions.

There are also many marked hiking trails to follow which will take you past a half-size kekuli, a traditional underground home of the local First Nations people.

Enderby Cliffs
High above the Shuswap River and the City of Enderby, are the Enderby Cliffs, where two challenging hiking trails will reward you with a spectacular view of the Shuswap and Okanagan valleys, and a close-up look at volcanic rock and fossil sites. The two routes traverse private property, so you have to phone to get permission before you go, but the land owners are very generous in allowing hikers access as long as they don't leave any garbage behind and don't light any fires. The Brash Allen route is a steep and strenuous hike, suitable for those in very good condition, taking about 2 hours to reach the top. The McNabb route is not as steep and suitable for most people in good physical shape and takes about 2.5 hours to reach the top.

Hunter's Range
This area, stretching from the Enderby Cliffs to the Mount Mara Lookout, is ideal for hiking and horseback riding in the summer, and snowmobiling in the winter." Snowarama" held every February draws ski-dooers from the surrounding areas to compete. If you are heading up this way to the chalet, I would suggest that you take the Ashton Creek trail (right off Watershed Road), unless you have a four-wheel drive vehicle, then you could take the Brash trail (left off Watershed Road).

Other Stuff
I could write a book about what you could see and do in Enderby over and above that which I have outlined here including: the additional 13 lakes and three rivers in the area suitable for world class fishing, four additional areas for hiking, snowmobiling and trail riding, eight additional parks for picnics and play. I could also mention the museums, farm tours (Morgan Horse, Venison, Organic and Llama farms), golf courses and the numerous road and walking tours you can take of this area... but that will have to wait for another feature.

What to Bring
Things you should take with you:

How to get to Enderby
First you find your way to the Okanagan Valley, 450 kilometers east of Vancouver. Heading north from Kelowna, you will go 55 kilometers on Highway 97 to Vernon, 23 kilometers on Highway 97A through Armstrong and an additional 13 kilometers to downtown Enderby. Small airplanes may land at the airstrip at the Mable Lake Resort, and Mable Lake is large enough for float planes to land and do some fishing.