Roadside Nature Tours through the Okanagan

Road trips to introduce the diverse geography, flora and fauna, and historical landmarks of British Columbia's spectacular wine country.

Biologist Richard Cannings, who was born and raised in the Okanagan Valley, guides the reader along his favorite road trips through this fascinating region. The Okanagan attracts thousands of visitors each year to enjoy its beaches and wine, but more and more people are discovering its natural beauty. With desert sands and deep lakes, towering rock cliffs and rich benchlands, cold mountain forests and hot grasslands, the Okanagan has an ecological diversity unequalled in Canada.

The book opens with an introduction to the region's biodiversity, climate, geology, and human history, setting the stage for the route descriptions that follow. Cannings then takes us on twenty-one tours through the valley, from the arid benchlands of Osoyoos to the snowy forests east of Vernon. The routes vary from main highways to quiet roads, and along each one we're introduced to the animals, plants, and bedrock that create this national treasure. Each route also has a focal topic, ranging from owls to salmon and rattlesnakes to rock rabbits.

Richard Cannings is a veteran biologist, birder, and nature writer. A lifetime resident of B.C.’s Okanagan Valley, he is a founding director of the Okanagan Similkameen Conservation Alliance and a member of the national board of the Nature Conservancy of Canada. He is the author of Birds of Interior BC and the Rockies, An Enchantment of Birds, and The Rockies: A Natural History, and is co-author of Birds of Southwestern British Columbia and British Columbia: A Natural History. He lives in Penticton, BC.

"If you're on the road this summer pause to explore the wildlife and unspoiled beauty of Okanagan wine country with UBC field ecology instructor and biologist Richard Cannings's new guide." -Granville Magazine