Conkle Lake Provincial Park — Hotel in Area E (Beaverdell/West Boundary)

My favourite lake in and around the Okanagan. Beautiful scenery and views, crystal clear water, and awesome sand beach. There are a few nice hiking trails around the lake. Good enough to actually make you feel you went on a hike, not a walk. But not too long or difficult to do with kids. Above 6 or so, who are physically fit. Expect to carry smaller children, at least for parts of the way, if you intend to bring them along. Keep dogs on a leash when hiking. Bears and other wildlife are usually close by. Even if you don't see them, your dog might, and chase after them, leading to unpleasant experiences.

One of, if the the best feature of Conkle, is the park operator Darren. He keeps the park clean, tidy, and generally under control. Not like some other areas in the back country, that have become garbage dumps and/or places for teenagers to run the muck. Above all, him and his family are great people. Always ready to help out or have a good laugh with visitors. All in all, I'd say Conkle gives you that typical BC backcountry camping or daytrio adventure, that we are all hoping to find out there.

One advise. Choose your way in and out carefully. Out of the 3 roads into the park, only the access from highway 3a, east of Bridesville, is really suitable for trailers or even cars without 4WD/AWD. While the road from highway 33, around westridge is theoretically drivable for cars and trailers, chances you'll get stuck somewhere or end up with a flat tire are significantly higher, if you decide to come up that way without 4WD/AWD. !!!DO NOT!!!, under no circumstances, take the backroad from OK-Falls, if you tow a trailer or you are in a non 4x4 vehicle with at least 10" of ground clearance. While the Park operator, as mentioned before, is always willing to help out visitors on need, it is not really his job, to constantly fix peoples tires or advise them of leaking, cracked oil pans or transmissions. If you ard not sure you can make it off road,...

We drove up from Hwy 33 to test Frank's 'new' 4x4, & despite some bumpy/ rocky/ washboard sections - & encountering a logging truck coming towards us (luckily we were next to a pull-out) - we made it without mishap & were treated to spectacular scenery.

Being early Oct, we shared the gorgeous lake, sandy beach & woodsy off-trails (& serene silence) with only a lone Canada goose who swam away from us in disdain & a couple of cute squirrels scampering in the trees..

Though we observed 2 campsites occupied by RVs & a large fallen tree (roots & all) on the beach, the lake & surrounds were gloriously calm & quiet while we were there - & the air had a slight nip that fortified us from the dusty mtn drive.

We decided to descend down the other side to Hwy 3 (which seemed slightly longer & more precarious to me, but maybe that was due to the preponderance of clearcuts which had me wondering why NOT EVEN 1 TREE had been left unlogged to age gracefully as a respected elder/ monument of what might have...

We have camped here many times and do enjoy this campground. Pros are the great beach and lake for swimming and paddle boarding. Only small motor boats allowed so its usually quite calm. It is first come first serve and we have always had a site when we arrive on a Thursday. Every afternoon it gets windy which is a bit of a pain. There is no park or play structure which would be really nice to have and there are leaches in the water. The sites are INCREDIBLY dusty as are roadways. A very light silt dust that gets over everything so expect to do a deep clean when you get home. The road in is also long and terrible especially if you are hauling a trailer. washboard about 80% of the way. We always secure all drawers and fridge but things always get bumped around. The hosts are great and have been up there each...