A Perfect Day in Salmon Arm

By Marc Smith.

What does your perfect day look like? Sleeping in or getting up early? For me it can be both. Seeing as I’m spending my first summer in the Thompson/Okanagan I plan on making the most of my time here and that means getting up early some mornings to beat the summer heat.

This weekend I’m in Salmon Arm, the heart of the spectacular Shuswap region on the south shores of Shuswap Lake. With a population of about 18,000 people there is a lot to explore in this lakeside community.

Little Mountain Park Trail

My day starts with a hike. There are plenty of trails in and around Salmon Arm to choose from but the one I have chosen for this morning is the Little Mountain Park trail. Located near the Okanagan College campus this trail is perfect for hikers of all ages and abilities.

There are seven different trail loops within the 8 km Little Mountain Park trail system. I could do a small hike of 1 km or do the whole thing. My choice is to hike the summit trail and take the sidehill loop back to the parking lot.

The Summit Trail is probably the hardest portion of the whole trail as it includes a steep incline section. The sweating is well worth it though as the views overlooking Salmon Arm towards Shuswap Lake are spectacular.

It seems only fair that after all that exercise I treat myself to a wine tasting. There are six wineries in the Shuswap for me to choose from.

The Marionette Winery

I’ve chosen Marionette Winery as it is only a short drive from where I am staying in town and they have just opened for the season.

They are a small winery as they only produce about 1000 cases a year. I love small wineries!

Today is their open house so along with my wine tasting we are treated to live music, a food truck onsite and local Italian cheesemaker Tanto Latte offering samples. This is my perfect adventure.

Winemaker Jamie Smith poured my tasting and impressed me with the quality of wine produced at this young winery. It is only in its fourth season but the wine is showing that Jamie and Amanda Eastwood know what they are doing.

While I ordered a glass of Rose to enjoy on the patio, my favourite wine from the tasting was their Pinot Noir. I’m a big Pinot Noir fan and theirs definitely intrigued me. I see many glasses of Pinot being enjoyed during the BBQ season ahead of me.

If you read my first story you will remember that visiting Tanto Latte was on my bucket list of things to do. Lucky for me they had a table of black pepper Caciotta and bocconcini for me to try at Marionette Winery. Seriously this is some of the freshest bocconcini I have ever had the pleasure tasting.

Tanto Latte

It was so good I drove straight to their cafe & shop after I was done at the winery to buy some. Dinner tonight is definitely including a Tomato Bocconcini salad.

And that in my opinion is a perfect day in Salmon Arm. If I had a boat I may have included cruising on the lake but I’ll save that adventure for another day.

There is so much to explore in the Shuswap it is hard to choose. There are 24 hiking trails in Salmon Arm alone, six wineries and five golf courses.

What does your perfect day look like? Let me know and maybe we’ll share an adventure together. GoTravel@GonzoOkanagan.com

Featured photo: View of Shuswap Lake from the top of the Summit Trail on Little Mountain Park. Photo credit: Marc Smith.