This weekend for my birthday, my boyfriend surprised me with an overnight trip to Osoyoos. We stopped at beautiful wineries and enjoyed the breathtaking views along the way. I thought I’d share the routes we took, where we stopped and stayed, and which places were our favourites!
Kelowna to Osoyoos Itinerary
Saturday
On Saturday morning, we headed out around 11 AM from Kelowna. We decided to drive on the west side of Skaha Lake, and made Painted Rock our first stop winery stop, just under an hour from downtown Kelowna. But first, we stopped at Wayne & Freda for an espresso and a very yummmmmy breakfast sandwich.
The view at Painted Rock was remarkable and we enjoyed how quiet and pristine the experience was. The tasting was $10 each, the wines were a little on the pricier side ($35 – $55) and we actually didn’t love any, so didn’t purchase any here!
Our next stop was Oliver Twist Winery, a very pretty drive that took about 30 minutes. Oliver Twist had more of a quirky vibe, which we really liked.
We loved their 2018 Pink Cadillac Rosé and ended up buying two bottles. They had some picnic tables overlooking a pretty view so we decided to have a seat in the sun and enjoy a glass, it was a really nice experience!
From there, we drove 5 minutes to Road 13 Vineyards. Unfortunately, we hadn’t made a reservation so we didn’t get to do a tasting, but I would’ve really liked to. The property looked absolutely breathtaking, and it sounded like the tasting would have been a really neat experience with a tasting in the cellar and a walk around the property – they said you’d need about an hour for it!
The woman at Road 13 recommended we check out Rust Wine, just a few minutes away, and we were so glad she did! Our experience at Rust was our favourite. Very laid back and welcoming vibes. We walked in and before we could even say Hello, they had a glass of Gewurtztraminer for us. Everyone here was super nice and chatty. They made us feel like they would keep pouring tastings until we didn’t want anymore lol! We ended up buying their 2019 Gewurtztraminer, 2019 Rosé and 2019 Gamay. We really loved all of their wines and all at great prices!
From there we went to Burrowing Owl. Gorgeous property, and they even have guest houses you can stay in (apparently these book out extremely far in advance, like for the whole season I think).
My only criticism about our tasting at Burrowing Owl, was it was such nice part of the evening, and their property has such great views – it was disappointing to do the tasting in a room that didn’t showcase these views. It felt a little dark.
They are known for their red wines, and those did not disappoint. We bought a bottle of their 2017 Syrah and 2016 Meritage. Yum! They also have a restaurant on the property that I believe is supposed to be quite good!
We decided to head to Tinhorn Creek Vineyards for dinner. Really pretty view and the pizza was BOMB! We got the funghi pizza and it was sooooo goood.
After dinner, we were pooped so we decided to pick up DQ and head to where we were staying. Joel booked a place called Shiraz Villas, and props to him!!! The view was to die for!
Sunday
The next day we were all wined out but decided to still take our time making our way home.
We grabbed coffee at a cute coffee shop called Junction 3, which also apparently turns into a brewery at night.
From there we went up to a little lookout off of the highway. You’re so close to the border at this point. It turns into the U.S. around the part of the lake on the left side of this photo. The lookout is just a few minutes from downtown Osoyoos and these are the coordinates “Anarchist Mountain Lookout, 1345 BC-3, Osoyoos BC”.
From there, we drove up to to the top of Mt. Kobau. The drive was about 50 minutes from Osoyoos about 35 minutes on a dirt road up the mountain. The view was really pretty, and there were a few trails up there as well. Unfortunately a storm was rolling in right as we got to the top so our visit was brief, but even so the view was worth it!
From Mt. Kobau, we decided to take a different route back to Penticton to change up the views. We took Highway 3 through Keremeos, and the drive was very pretty this way as well. It took about an hour and a half.
We weren’t quite ready to go home when we got to Penticton even though it was raining, so we stopped at Salty’s Beach House for a happy hour drink and bite to eat. If you’re ever in Penticton I highly recommend stopping here! It’s right on the water and a really fun atmosphere. I got the fish tacos and they were very good.
We didn’t plan anything for this trip, as Joel and I seem to love to do, just figure it out as we go and these are just the spots we ended up at! There are so. many. wineries. along this route. As well as gorg views and things to do along the way. We’ll definitely have to make another trip out sometime soon 🙂
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