Knox Mountain Park
Knox Mountain Park is a natural park and leisure area located north of Kelowna, British Columbia. It is one of the most prominent tourist sites in the Okanagan Valley. Apex Path is a 4.0-kilometer out-and-back trail that is best utilized from May to September. The park encompasses 235 hectares (580 acres) of woodland and grassland and is home to a variety of species, including deer, birds, and occasional grizzly bear and Kokanee salmon, which spawn along the park’s shoreline.
The park has ten paths of varied length and complexity that provide views of both Kelowna and Okanagan Lake. There are two viewing spots, including the mountain’s top, that can be reached by automobile, making the mountain a popular picnic spot as well as a hiking and jogging destination. Mountain cyclists frequently use the routes in the mountains. During the majority of the year, the park is open from 9:30 a.m. until 9:00 p.m. Knox Mountain Park is one of Kelowna’s most significant and well-known natural area parks, according to the City of Kelowna website.
In 1999, a group of Kelowna citizens founded the Friends of Knox Mountain Park to fight for and support park stewardship.
Each year, the park hosts the Knox Mountain Hillclimb automobile race, which has been held on a hilly track in the park for more than 60 years, making it the longest continuously operating paved hill climb in North America.
Knox Mountain Park was named after the infamous Arthur Booth Knox, a late-nineteenth-century Kelowna native. Knox, a rancher, was sentenced to three years of hard labor after being convicted of setting fire to many haystacks belonging to his competitor. Ken Mather recounts in his book Buckaroos And Mud Pups: The Early Days of Ranching in British Columbia that a cowboy working for Knox supplied the testimony that led to Knox’s conviction, despite evidence that he was bribed to give false testimony. Knox returned to Kelowna after serving his three-year term and continued to develop his ranching land.
As it progresses from the shoreline to the mountain top, Knox Mountain Park has numerous characteristic Okanagan habitats. Riparian, wetland, Ponderosa Pine Bunch Grass, and dry Interior Douglas-fir are among them. Because these habitats are fragile, arid, and prone to erosion and damage, park visitors are advised to stick to established paths.
The Arrowleaf Balsamroot, also known as the Okanagan Sunflower, grows in Knox Mountain Park (Balsamorhiza sagittata). In late April or early May, the bright yellow blooms cover the slopes of the park facing south. By boiling the roots and consuming the young shoots and seeds, the First Nations consumed almost all components of this plant.
Mule deer, coyotes, marmots, chipmunks, and, on rare occasions, moose and bear are among the most commonly observed animal species.
Everest Law Corporation Kelowna