Seven Must-Do Indigenous Experiences in the North Okanagan
The North Okanagan is more than a scenic destination of sparkling blue lakes and fruitful rolling valleys—it is the living, storied land of Secwépemc and Syilx Peoples. Present-day communities in the area, like Enderby and Vernon, offer meaningful opportunities for travellers to connect with Indigenous experiences rooted in land, culture, and community.
Enderby is located on the homelands of the Splatsin, part of the Secwépemc Nation. Nearby Vernon is situated within the Traditional Territory of the Syilx Okanagan Nation, and is home to the Okanagan Indian Band.
Seasonal rhythms still shape life here. Spring brings movement from winter dwellings, the gathering of roots, and preparation for the return of salmon, honoured through ceremony. Summer is a time of abundance and harvest, of berry picking, gathering on the land, and celebrating at powwows, before fall preparation gives way to the quiet of winter yet again–the perfect season to share your stories from time spent in the North Okanagan with Indigenous hosts on Syilx and Secwépemc lands.
1. Experience Syilx Okanagan Hospitality at the Komasket Powwow
Each June, the Okanagan Indian Band hosts the vibrant Komasket Powwow in Vernon. This free, family-friendly gathering brings together dancers, drummers, artists, and food vendors from across Turtle Island.
Timed to celebrate the impending arrival of summer, when communities historically gathered for trade, ceremony, and renewal, the powwow is a powerful expression of continuity and connection. Visitors are welcome to attend, enjoy the Grand Entry and experience the heartbeat of drum and song in a respectful, shared space. The celebration highlights community connection at a historic gathering site on the Okanagan Indian Band reserve. The 4th Annual Komasket Powwow is scheduled for June 12-14, 2026, at Komasket Park.
2. Learn Plant Knowledge at Kalamalka Indigenous Garden
Overlooking the turquoise waters of Kalamalka Lake, the K’nmalka? Senqalten (Kalamalka Indigenous Garden), located at the Vernon campus of Okanagan College, offers immersive, guided experiences rooted in Syilx knowledge. Pay a summertime visit, when the warmth on Kalamalka Lake forms the most calcium carbonate (marl) crystals and reflects sunlight, making this renowned colour-changing lake a shifting palette of intense blues.
Here, visitors learn about traditional foods, medicines, and the Captikʷł (pronounced: chap-teek-cool), oral stories that carry Syilx laws, values, and worldview. Seasonal visits in May and June align with the Root Digging Moon, when plants like bitterroot and glacier lily are traditionally harvested. Beyond the botanical, these teachings reflect the deep, respectful relationship between the land and its people.
3. Stay on the Land at TK Glamping and Wellness
Opening in Spring 2026, TK Glamping and Wellness offers a unique way to stay immersed in Syilx territory. Blending comfort with cultural grounding, this Indigenous-owned glamping experience invites guests to slow down and reconnect with land, sky, and story.
Glamping yurts and safari tents deliver a dose of the outdoors with all the comforts of home, including en suite bathrooms and king-sized beds. The entire property is built using reclaimed, recycled and re-used wood and materials. Healing, meditation and wellness experiences to guests and breakfast is included with your stay.
The experience reflects a welcoming spirit, creating space for visitors to engage thoughtfully with the land rather than simply passing through it, and connecting them with other Indigenous experiences and hosts in the area.
4. Find Your Story with Studio sisp̓l̓k̓
Art, story, and land converge at Studio sisp̓l̓k̓ Gallery & Tours. This space is dedicated to preserving and sharing both contemporary and traditional Syilx art practices through gallery exhibitions, walking tours, and land-based workshops.
Studio sisp̓l̓k̓ is inspired by a love of land-based performance art, contemporary and traditional art practices, wild horses, culture, language and storytelling. Let the land inspire you through digital art, walking tours, land-based performances, and natural-material workshops that raise awareness of Syilx First Nations’ sovereignty.
With a focus on land, culture, and art, Studio sisp̓l̓k̓ invites visitors to consider their own relationship to place as they engage with Indigenous perspectives grounded in thousands of years of presence.
5. Walk Ancient Landscapes with Ancestral Heartbeat Tours
To truly understand a place, you have to walk it. Ancestral Heartbeat Tours offers guided Indigenous hiking tours at Tplaqín/Enderby Cliffs Provincial Park from April to October. Known as Tplaqín in Secwépemctsín, the cliffs rise steeply above the Shuswap River near Enderby and the hike opens into wide, panoramic views of the North Okanagan.
Beyond its geological significance, dating back to the Tertiary period, it is a place of story, presence, and teaching. Tours share knowledge rooted in Splatsin territory, offering insight into land stewardship, history, and lived experience.
6. Camp with Splatsin at Quilakwa RV Park
Located in Splatsin territory near Enderby, Quilakwa RV Park & Campground is an Indigenous-owned campground offering RV sites and cozy yurts.
Staying here supports community-led tourism and offers a chance to experience the landscape more intimately, with Tplaqín/Enderby Cliffs as a backdrop and the Shuswap River and quiet Mabel Lake nearby. The Splatsin, whose name means people of the flat along the edge, are the owners of this family-friendly campground and stewards of this land, with ongoing work in language revitalization and cultural preservation.
7. Restore and Reflect at Tranquil Temperatures
Wellness meets land-based experience at Tranquil Temperatures, located within Secwépemcúl̓ecw. Featuring a cedar sauna and cold plunge, this Indigenous-owned spa invites visitors into a slower, more intentional relationship with the environment.
Rooted in the natural elements of water, wood, and air, the experience echoes seasonal cycles that have guided life here for generations, from spring’s movement to summer’s abundance.
Nearby communities Armstrong and Spallumcheen also reside on the unceded lands of the Secwépemc and Syilx Peoples. Evidence of overnight camps used for hunting and berry picking by local Indigenous Peoples has been found around the local mountain and family ski favourite, Silver Star.
A Living Landscape
Indigenous tourism in the North Okanagan is not a curated performance, it is an invitation from Syilx, Secwépemc, and other Indigenous hosts to enjoy your time in Syilx and Secwépemc Territories.
By choosing Indigenous-led experiences, travellers support local communities while gaining a deeper understanding of the land they are moving through. In the North Okanagan, every trail, plant, and shoreline holds stories, and those stories are still being told.
These lands are precious to your Syilx and Secwépemc hosts who have cared for them and raised families here for millenia. Learn how to be a respectful visitor on Indigenous lands here.
