Christie Memorial Provincial Park is a very popular day-use site on Skaha Lake. The park is located at the town of Okanagan Falls on Hwy 97. There are three developed beaches on Okanagan Lake at Kickininee Provincial Park: Kickininee, Pyramid, and Soorimpt (which features a boat launch). Take Hwy 97 about 9 miles (14.5 km) north of Penticton and bring your snorkelling gear to explore the lake's treasures. Sun-Oka Beach Provincial Park, south of Summerland on Hwy 97, has one of the most superb beaches in the valley and features two public boat launches nearby. Its name combines the words 'sunny' and 'Okanagan.'

Kalamalka Lake Provincial Park, south of Vernon off Kalamalka Rd and Hwy 6, has year-round appeal, especially if you're looking for a north Okanagan getaway that doesn't involve really getting away. On the northeast side of Kalamalka Lake (Lake of a Thousand Colours), this park is a well-preserved remnant of the natural grasslands that once stretched from Vernon to Osoyoos. Its easy walking trails wind through the grassland slopes and along lightly forested ridges. Scenic cliff-top viewpoints overlook a rocky shoreline indented with bays and tiny coves. From the spectacular wildflower display in the spring to the relative seclusion of the beaches and boating spots in summer; from the golden-hued forests in autumn to the rolling, cross-country ski trails in winter, this park is a favourite with visitors year-round. Two archaeological sites lie within park boundaries, and you may see coyote, deer, or black bear but are most likely to observe Columbian ground squirrels and yellow-bellied marmots. Pacific rattlesnakes, shy creatures who wish only to be left alone, are an important part of this fascinating ecosystem.

Mara Provincial Park, at Mara Lake north of Enderby, has a broad beach and boat launch. Take Hwy 97A to reach the park, which is situated along the east side of Mara Lake.

The Trans-Canada Highway: Alexandra Bridge Provincial Park, north of Yale on Hwy 1, provides an interesting place to stop in the Fraser Canyon. An interpretative display gives picnickers an idea of the canyon's history. The canyon was a major obstacle to transportation developers who needed to link Interior locales with the rapidly urbanizing coastal settlements, and it has seen the passing of Simon Fraser; the road building of the Royal Engineers; the fur brigade; thousands of gold seekers; railway, highway, and bridge builders; and early truckers. Since the Cariboo gold-rush days of the 1860s, a strategically located bridge has spanned the Fraser River here. The original, Joseph Trutch's spectacular suspension bridge, opened in 1862. A second Alexandra Bridge washed out in the flood of 1887; a subsequent replacement built in 1925 is now a neglected relic.

Since 1965, travellers on Hwy 1 cross the river downstream from the park over a four-lane, orange-arched beauty. Look up the canyon from here and you'll get a quick glimpse of its silver-coated predecessor, which still has some flash left in its boiler-plate finish. The old bridge leads nowhere and, like a monument desecrated by rebellion, has been stripped of officialdom. Graffiti-scratching day trippers took over when the old bridge was decommissioned. One of oldest of the many well-preserved markings reads, 'Eddie's getting married '65.'

If you've got a morning or afternoon to dally away, picnic on the old Alexandra Bridge's honeycomb plated-steel deck or at one of the picnic tables in the park. They are sheltered by towering Douglas fir, whereas the bridge sits in the open. Take your pick. A road leads from the parking lot to the old Alexandra Bridge, a five-minute walk from the picnic area.

Hwy 12 from Lytton to Lillooet runs along the Fraser River, a good way to see this important waterway. Hwy 8, 40 miles (65 km) in length from Spences Bridge to Merritt, winds through the Nicola Valley, with plenty of rest stops and opportunities for swimming in the cool and shallow Nicola River, in the sage-scented air.

Stop just north of Lytton on Hwy 1 for a must-see view at the confluence of the Thompson and Fraser Rivers. For a great view of Shuswap Lake, stop at the Shuswap Rest Area, 13 miles (21 km) east of Salmon Arm on Hwy 1.

Near the west end of Kamloops Lake, Savona Provincial Park offers a pretty spot for a picnic and a swim. Hwy 1 runs right by the park.

Columbia View Park, on Hwy 23 just north of Revelstoke is quite close to the Trans-Canada Hwy, and is worth stopping at for its excellent view of the Columbia River and the massive Revelstoke Dam.

If you're not going to camp in Yoho National Park but feel like stopping for a couple of hours, go to the Faeder Lake Picnic Area, the Finn Creek Picnic Area, or one of several roadside picnic sites beside the Kicking Horse River, all on Hwy 1.

The Coquihalla Highway
The Coquihalla Summit Provincial Recreation Area's Boston Bar site has picnicking facilities, and photography buffs might want to document the sheer rock faces towering skyward at Zopkios Ridge. There are hiking trails for the travel-weary, as well as information shelters to assist in nature study. The recreation area is located 26 miles (42 km) northeast of Hope on Hwy 5, just east of the tollbooths.