Don Urquhart, Times Chronicle
According to the Destination Osoyoos website, the Osoyoos Lake Regional Park features “many shady trees, a large sandy beach, washrooms, picnic tables, and parking.”
Indeed it does, and more. And in fact, the concrete picnic tables are of particular note and the reason this reporter took a leisurely drive out to Lakeshore Drive last week.
The trip to the park was to report on a group of community-spirited individuals and companies who donated their resources to move the heavy tables from Vancouver to Osoyoos and then into the park.
Osoyoos Lake Regional Park. Don Urquhart photo
The Osoyoos Rural Ratepayers Association (ORRA) has been gradually purchasing the tables over the years at a cost of around $1,500 each, partly funded by money that was paid by the former trailer park owner and through other funding, says the Association’s Denis Potter.
Potter and fellow Association member Gail Hochsteiner explain that the most recent addition of two benches was delivered from Vancouver to Osoyoos in 2020 by Sunfire Transport, owned by Osoyoos resident Dean Vincent.
Vincent said simply that his company is “happy to help the community,” adding that the credit should go to his lead driver Chris Doucette who did the driving.
Sunfire Transport’s Lead Driver Chris Doucette and his son Levi. Contributed photo
Once in Osoyoos, the tables were delivered to Manuel Vieira’s Osoyoos Aggregates yard who later delivered them to the park after RDOS park staff had constructed the concrete pads for the tables. All of this was of course delayed by COVID-19.
Potter and Hochsteiner say the Association is “very grateful” for the assistance of the two local companies because of the high cost of transport.
Not widely used if even known by many Osoyoos residents, the park is as described above, but in reality, it’s more. It’s a gem of a park, a little rough around the edges, nestled in a quiet bend of the lake almost up against the US border.
“A lot of people who live in Osoyoos don’t even know this park exists and many think it’s still a campground,” says Potter. “Right now it’s mainly the campers staying at the trailer park who make use of the park, and it’s nice to see tourists but I think local people need to come and see the place once and awhile.”
The park’s lack of prominence stems from a couple of factors. Firstly, it’s located slightly off the beaten path, although it could hardly be called remote.
Secondly, it has an odd history. It has been a park for some time, falling under Electoral Area A. For a few years it was operated as a trailer park for the former campsite owner across the street from which some money trickled into public coffers.
In 2010, largely as a result of lots of hard work by the ORRA, the park was returned to its proper state as a park.
Osoyoos Lake Regional Park is located on the East side of Osoyoos Lake at 16th Avenue and 45th Street, across from Brookvale Holiday Resort Campground.
The Association started out in the 1980s as an ad hoc committee which gave advice to the area director. In 1984 it was registered as a legal society and is open for participation for anybody living in Area A.
