Kalamalka Lake

Kalamalka is called the lake of a thousand colours, and the mechanism is specific: the water is rich in dissolved calcium carbonate, and as it warms through late spring the mineral comes out of solution as tiny crystals suspended near the surface, which scatter light and shift the colour from green through turquoise to deep blue in bands that follow water depth and temperature. The effect strengthens through summer and fades in autumn as the water cools. Kalamalka Lake Provincial Park protects grassland and ponderosa pine on the eastern shore with trails down to small coves, and a rail trail runs along the western side.

What's there

• The colour banding - green to deep blue patches shifting with depth and heat.
• The grassland park - bunchgrass and ponderosa pine on the eastern shore.
• The coves - small beaches reached by short trails down the slope.
• The rail trail - the Okanagan rail trail along the western shore.

When to go

June to September, when the crystals have formed and the colour is strongest; in early spring the lake is a plain green. Late summer gives the most intense banding.

Things to know

The colour effect depends on warm weather and is muted in a cool summer or on an overcast day. Park parking is limited and fills. Trails down to the coves are steep and hot with little shade.

Nearby

Vernon lies north; Myra Canyon is south past Kelowna.

Key facts