I was excited when Spring started to bloom here in the Okanagan because that meant the Arrowleaf Balsamroot in Kelowna will start to dust the south-facing slopes with their golden blossoms. During a particularly hot and sunny week in the valley I travelled around the area trying to find the best places to photograph the Arrowleaf Balsamroot.
Captured here is what I found in Kelowna and West Kelowna.
To see the full series of Arrowleaf photos visit my collection page!
Kalamoir Regional Park
My favourite place to see, photograph and has the densest Arrowleaf Balsamroot’s have got to be Kalamoir Regional Park which is located on the shores of the Okanagan Lake in West Kelowna. I had visited Kalamoir earlier in the Spring and noticed the bushes that would one day form to create the Arrowleaves. When I came back when it was warmer the Arrowleaves were in fuller bloom… it was magical.
If you’re going to visit this park there is a small parking lot at the entrance, I visited the park for sunrise, however, if you visit at sunset you will get beautiful golden backlight.
Bear Creek Provincial Park
Bear Creek is another wonderful location to hike with the Arrowleaves and photograph them! You can do a nice and easy 45-minute hike to a beautiful viewpoint of the Lake or do the long 1+ hour Canyon Rim Trail.
If you want to do the easier trail take a left at the map of the park, at the fork follow right and continue on the trail. An even shorter hike would be to follow left at the fork.
I found the Arrowleaves here weren’t as dense as Kalamoir Regional Park but denser than Knox Mountain Park.
Knox Mountain Park
Knox Mountain is another excellent location to photograph the Arrowleaf and witness a sunset. At sunset the whole mountains bathes in golden hour glow which makes for backighting the Arrowleaves beautiful.
I found when I hiked from the bottom of Knox Mountain to the top via the Apex Trail that majority of the Arrowleaf were at the bottom or in the middle of the mountain. I saw almost none when I made my way to the top.
The downside with Knox Mountain Park is that it’s extremely busy. Parking can be hard to come by. If you’re looking for less crowds avoid the weekend.
Dilworth Mountain Park
Dilworth Mountain Park is a great location to photograph and visit the Arrowleaf if you’re not looking to do a serious hike. You can drive to the small parking lot they have on the mountain, and you don’t have to walk far to start seeing the Arrowleaf. No intense hiking is required at this location.
Dilworth Mountain Park faces Kelowna and the Okanagan Lake which means it’s a great location if you want to photograph the sunset. However, if you visit in the morning the sun does rise behind the park but if you stick around until it breaks past the houses it will shower parts of the mountain with a golden glow.
When the weather gets sunnier and warmer the Arrowleaf Balsamroot starts to come out and fill the south-facing slopes with their golden beauty. In early Spring you’ll start to see a few early Arrowleaves but this year mid to late April is when the Arrowleaves started to fully bloom.
I thoroughly enjoyed chasing these sunflower looking beauties and I look forward to seeing them again next year!