Osoyoos Desert

The south Okanagan is the northern tip of the Great Basin shrub-steppe reaching up from the United States, and it is usually called Canada's pocket desert, although ecologists point out it is technically semi-arid shrub-steppe rather than true desert. Antelope brush and sagebrush dominate. The species list is what matters: burrowing owls, pallid bats, tiger salamanders, praying mantis, and the western rattlesnake, several of them found nowhere else in Canada and most of them at risk, since around ninety per cent of the habitat has gone to orchards, vineyards and housing. Two interpretive centres run boardwalks, one operated by the Osoyoos Indian Band.

What you actually see

• The antelope brush - the defining shrub of the remaining habitat.
• The boardwalks - raised paths keeping feet off fragile crust.
• The rare species - burrowing owls, mantis and rattlesnakes at their range limit.
• The Nk'Mip centre - Indigenous-run interpretation of the same ecosystem.

When to go

April to June, when it is green, flowering and the wildlife is active; July and August are extremely hot with little visible. Centres reduce hours or close from autumn.

Honest expectations

Rattlesnakes are present and staying on boardwalks matters. Summer heat here is the highest in Canada and makes midday visits unpleasant. The centres close for winter.

Nearby

Spotted Lake lies northwest; the Okanagan vineyards run north.