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ACCESS TO MARKETS

• Location
• Climate
• Transportation

Location

The Okanagan Valley is located in south central British Columbia, Canada, encompassing over 782,950 hectares. The Okanagan is a long north-south trench in the Interior Plateau of the province, and the valley is in a rain shadow of the Coast Mountains. The North Okanagan is located at the north end of Okanagan and Kalamalka Lakes between the Monashee Mountains and the Okanagan Highlands. Vernon is the major commercial centre of the North Okanagan and is half way between Vancouver, BC and Calgary, Alberta. Other communities in the North Okanagan region include Lumby, Armstrong, Enderby, Coldstream and Spallumcheen.

Latitude / Longitude: 50 15' 30"N 119 16' 00"W

DISTANCE & TRAVELLING TIME TO OTHER CITIES FROM VERNON

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Climate

The North Okanagan is renowned for its warm, balmy summers and mild, temperate winters. The spring provides warm days great for spring skiing at Silver Star Mountain in the morning, and playing a round of golf in the afternoon. With over 152 frost-free days and over 1900 hours of sunshine annually, the growing season in the North Okanagan lasts over 159 days a year.

For local, up to date weather forecasts visit the Weather Office.

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TRANSPORTATION

• Highways
• Rail
• Air
• Bus
• BC Transit

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Highways

The North Okanagan has a strong highway system providing connectivity throughout the region and access to many major destinations. The highways are well maintained and are all-weather highways permitting efficient travel and easy access by car. Travel to the USA is possible via many different routes in the North Okanagan.

Click here for highway condition updates within the region.

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Rail

For passenger transportation, Kamloops, BC, is the nearest city centre for individuals of the North Okanagan to embark/disembark. The Kamloops station offers two rail services – Via Rail Canada to areas outside of BC, and Rocky Mountaineer Rail within the Canadian Rockies in BC and Alberta.

The Okanagan Valley Railway provides rail service to and from CPR's east-west main line at Sicamous. The Kelowna Pacific Railway has recently taken over as the short line operator of the Canadian National line with rights over the 77-km (40-miles) between Kamloops to Kelowna and Vernon to Lumby.

To date, the Okanagan Valley Railway has transported a wide variety of products for companies such as Owens-Illinois (formerly Consumers’ Glass), Canada's only producer of glass beverage containers; forest resource company Tolko Industries; animal feed suppliers Sure Crop and Unifeed; OK Builders Supplies, and Okanagan Fertilizer. Major commodities conveyed include sand, lumber, grain, chemicals and fertilizers, cement, and soda ash. The entry of the Kelowna Pacific Railway in 1999 provided companies more options in getting their products to more markets.

The Okanagan Valley Railway and the Kelowna Pacific Railway provide a direct connection to the Canadian Pacific Railway and the Canadian National Railway lines and provides Okanagan businesses with continued rail access to Canadian, US and International markets.

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Air

Kelowna International Airport:

The Kelowna International Airport is located approximately 30 minutes drive from downtown Vernon, north of Kelowna. In terms of passenger activity, the Kelowna International Airport is the third busiest airport in British Columbia and the eleventh busiest airport in Canada with almost 864,000 passengers transported in 2003.  Passenger activity has more than doubled since 1995 and is predicted to reach 1 million by 2011.

Air carriers that service the airport include: Air Canada, Air Canada -Jazz, Horizon Air, Central Mountain Air and WestJet. The Canada Customs office, located within the airport, provides service 24 hours a day. The Kelowna International Airport provides connections to five major international airports opening up connectivity to the world, and currently air carriers operate over 30 departures per day.

The Kelowna International Airport has a single, paved runway 7,300 feet in length and 200 feet wide, equipped with a Track Guidance Localizer (TGL) and Distance Measuring Equipment (DME) for poor visibility operations. As well, the runway is equipped with edge lighting for night operations, and six hazard beacons are situated on the hills around the airport.  NAV Canada’s new $1 million Instrument Landing System, commissioned in 2003 provides improved airport accessibility during poor weather for pilots.

The Kelowna International Airport also houses three full service Fixed Based Operators on the grounds, A.O.G. Air Support, Kelowna Flightcraft, and Southern Interior Flightcraft Centre.

The airport terminal has been expanded from 30,000 square feet to 76,000 square feet. This new terminal will have the capacity to serve 450 passengers an hour as well as provide a range of services including a new departure lounge, expanded restaurant and lounge facilities and international arrival facilities for up to 120 passengers.

At the present time the air carriers operate over 30 departures per day from Kelowna utilizing Boeing 737, Fokker F28, Dash 8 and Beech 1900 aircraft. Non-stop service is available to four major international airports: Calgary, Edmonton, Seattle, Hamilton and Vancouver. Daily service is also provided to several regional airports.

Vernon Regional Airport:

The Vernon Regional Airport is a commercial airport located on 90 acres of land approximately five miles southwest of downtown Vernon. The Corporation of the City of Vernon owns and operates the Vernon Regional Airport, and the Mayor and Council appoint an Airport Advisory Commission that recommends policies at the airport and for land use adjoining the facility.

The Vernon Airport is classified as a CODE 2B airport. The commercial aircraft currently operating at the Airport include Cessna Citation II, Cessna Conquest, Cessna 414 and 340 as well as single Otters and Beavers. Currently, there are about 100 aircraft based at the airport and generally the aircraft operating at the airport vary from smaller aircraft such as home-built, to the Cessna 172 and twin-engine six-seaters.

The Vernon Regional Airport has one operating runway that was designed to accommodate the prevailing winds in the area from Okanagan Lake. The runway is 3,360 feet in length and 75 feet wide, and is equipped with Medium Intensity Lights but is a non-instrument runway.

The Airport houses industrial-based businesses focusing on aircraft manufacturing and maintenance and provides a base for corporate, commercial and general aviation. The aerospace industry at the Vernon Regional Airport hosts: Interior Pacific Flight Systems, Kal-Air Repair Ltd., Rotech Research Canada Ltd., Skytech Aircraft Services Ltd., and Seaflight Industries Inc.

The Corporation of the City of Vernon has initiated the preparation of a Master Plan for the Vernon Regional Airport to provide vision for the future of the facility and remain updated with the changes in the aviation industry and the growth of the community. For information on this report or other Airport inquiries contact: Vernon Regional Airport (250) 545-3035.

Vernon Regional Airport has passenger service provided by Northern Hawk Aviation that flies to and from Vernon in a turboprop King Air A100.  Non-stop service is available to Calgary, Trail and Vancouver with other destinations including Abbotsford, Bella Bella, Nanaimo, Port Hardy, Powell River and Tofino. 

Links:
Air Carriers by Region
BC Air Transportation

Vancouver International Airport - gateway to the Pacific
Calgary International Airport - gateway to the East
Seattle International Airport - gateway to the USA & Mexico
Edmonton International Airport - gateway to the North.

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Bus

Greyhound Lines of Canada Ltd..

The North Okanagan is served by Greyhound Lines of Canada Ltd., providing a network to all Canadian and US destinations. Greyhound has departures to over 2,100 cities nationwide in Canada, plus cooperative service to the US and Mexico with major bus lines in those countries. Greyhound Courier Express services over 3,700 locations in Canada, with frequency of service unmatched in the courier industry.

Fares and schedules for Greyhound can be obtained through any of the local offices in Vernon, Armstrong or Enderby.

Vernon:
3102 - 30th Street
Vernon, BC
V1T 5E2
Telephone: (250) 545-0527
Fax: (250) 545-3466

Enderby:
704 Cliff Avenue, PO Box 522
Enderby, BC
V0E 1V0
Telephone: (250) 838-7404
Fax: (250) 838-2187

Armstrong:
#12, 3305 Smith Drive, R.R. #2
Armstrong, BC
V0E 1V3
Telephone/Fax: (250) 546-8376

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BC Transit

Locally the Vernon Regional Transit System provides a conventional, fixed-route, wheelchair-accessible transit system for scheduled services to the Greater Vernon and Coldstream areas.  The conventional transit service includes mapped routes with scheduled stops seven days a week, and is fully wheelchair accessible.  In addition, a blended conventional/custom “community bus’ services the North Okanagan Regional District including Armstrong, Enderby, Spallumcheen, Whitevale and Lumby. 

More information can be obtained by calling (250) 545-7221 (information) or (250) 545-7286 (office).


Vernon Regional HandyDART

Vernon Regional HandyDART is a custom or supplemental transit system that offers individualized door-to-door service for people with disabilities who are unable to access the conventional fixed-route system. Passengers must be registered in order to use the service and rides are pre-scheduled in advance. The service operates Monday through Saturday.

To Register for the Vernon Regional HandyDART service call 545-7221 from 8:30am to 4:30pm Monday to Friday.

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