Mount Knox

Elevation: 646 m
Elevation Gain: 290 m
Mount Knox was officially named for Arthur Booth Knox in 1955. Knox was a rancher in the Kelowna area who owned over 4,000 acres of land including the mountain that would eventually bear his name. Knox was notoriously convicted of setting fire to a competing rancher’s hay in 1890 and was sentenced to 3 years of hard labor. In 1912, Dr. Benjamin de Furlong Boyce purchased the land on which Mount Knox resides and, subsequently, gifted it to the City of Kelowna for $1 in 1939. Today Knox Mountain Park is the City’s largest natural area park.
My Ascents:
August 30 2019
Trailhead: Lower Apex Trailhead

Years ago, a very pregnant Brianne and I enjoyed our last pre-kids vacation in the Okanagan. Being summit-obsessed, I (of course) tried to get my 7-month-pregnant wife to hike up Kelowna landmark Mount Knox for a romantic sunset one evening. Having mistimed our start and misread my wife's desire to hike up anything, the attempt soon degenerated into a domestic dispute in the dark. Suffice to say, we did not make the summit that night!

Four years later, we found a downtown Airbnb and returned to Kelowna for a week-long family vacation. With 2 little ones and their grandparents in tow, our days were very full. After the kids were in bed every night, we routinely escaped to our spectacular balcony, exhausted, to enjoy a local craft beer and a view of the Okanagan. While everyone else sipped their suds and stared lake-wards, however, my eyes frequently wandered in the opposite direction towards nearby Knox Mountain. The mountain was calling (again)…

By the final full day of our trip, I successfully lobbied my family and we set forth with hopes to scale the "mighty" mountain once and for all!

Having learned from previous failures, we started the day earlier than Brianne and I’s last late evening attempt. Our start was not exactly “alpine” but we managed to make it to the lower trailhead before the gated road to the top opened for the day at 9:30 am. Starting up the still-closed road, we soon veered left onto the well-marked “Apex” Trail (which ironically, does not lead to Knox’s actual apex)!

The City of Kelowna makes for a fine backdrop as “toute le gang” starts up the trail. Photo courtesy Grandpa.

Do you ever wish that you could marvel at something as simple as a pinecone the same way that a 3-year-old does?

Mera decides that taking the stairs is cheating. Based on the substantial erosion to either side of them, it appears that she’s not the only one!

A short time after setting out, we reached the Apex Trail’s Lower Crown Lookout and were treated to fine city views and informative plaques. Had we started a few minutes later, gated Knox Mountain Drive would have been open and we could have parked here – but, unlike taking the stairs, that really would be cheating!

Mount Boucherie rises up across the Okanagan beyond Kelowna's lumber mill.

♫ On the road again… ♫ Photo courtesy Grandpa.

Dry but colorful grasses and brush were the predominant flora as we continued up amidst ever-improving views.

Mera helped her Mom up (to make sure that she didn’t try to quit for a second time on this mountain)!

Meanwhile, Penny did her usual thing…ZZZ…

Yellow grasses under beautiful blue skies. Photo courtesy Grandpa.

As we neared the top, the terrain seemed to steepen and stairs began to proliferate.

Enjoying the view from an outcrop just below the “Apex” (at least one of us is). Photo courtesy Grandpa.

The outcrop featured panoramic views of the 135-km-long Okanagan Lake. Click to see larger.

After a final set of stairs, we reached the Upper Apex Lookout under a blindingly bright Okanagan sun.

A beautiful day for a hike with Grandma!

Looking out over Kelowna. While the Upper Apex Lookout wasn’t actually on Knox's apex, it did, at least, make for a very fine lookout (in fact, the view from here was better than that from the true summit).

Lookout family photo.

Grandma, Grandpa and our little hikers. Not sure why Mera is making this face. 😂

Great views over downtown Kelowna and the William R. Bennett Bridge. Our Airbnb’s lovely balcony is somewhere amidst the sea of condo buildings in the center of everything.

After a good snooze, Penny was eager to take in the view.

Blue Grouse Mountain stands tall across the Okanagan to the west. Surprisingly, it's actually quite tall (standing at 1,274 m to Mount Knox's 646 m)!

A rather insignificant-looking bump exactly 1 km east of the lookout. This bump is, however, 27 m higher than the lookout. Guess where we’re off to next!

♫ On the road again…(literally) ♫ In order to get to Knox’s true summit, we needed to take a leisurely half-km-stroll down Knox Mountain Drive (losing about 30 m elevation in the process).

Someone is happy to be out of the hiking backpack (but is still managing to avoid doing any of the actual hiking…)!

After following Knox Mountain Drive downwards, we nipped into the Magic Estates subdivision. Overhead, Knox’s "mighty" summit rears skyward (in some stranger's backyard).

From the subdivision, we followed a paved path up towards the true summit. Around this time, I (for some reason) ended up stuck carrying both girls! Nothing like 65 lbs of training weight on a hot day! While I might not have been excited by this arrangement, the girls certainly were!

Eventually, the paved path dwindled to dirt which became a little scrambly just below the summit. Normally, this would be hands-in-pocket hiking but, while carrying 2 kids, I had to hike up extremely cautiously while attempting to ignore the excruciating buildup of lactic acid in my arms!

Penny and Mera hike the final few (much-easier) steps to the summit unassisted.

Sweet redemption! The summit panorama that Brianne and I missed 4 years earlier. I’d say it was worth the wait! Click to see larger.

Okanagan Mountain (left) rises up beyond its namesake lake which curves down-valley towards Penticton.

Always happy to share a summit with my beautiful girls! Photo courtesy Grandpa.

Looking west over the Magic Estates towards Mount Hayman (center right) and Blue Grouse Mountain (right). Click to see larger.

Subdivisions and orchards highlight the view east towards Black Knight Mountain (center). Click to see larger.

Mount Knox's east slopes are home to colorful Blair Pond and a host of homes.

Another summit for Grandpa and his girls!

Last but not least, my lovely wife who looks much happier than she did when we last attempted Knox Mountain!

Final floral views from the summit before starting back down.

Mom and Mera tackle the somewhat-scrambly bit just below the summit.

Views towards the Upper Apex Lookout…we’ll need to make our way all the way back there before starting our descent in earnest. Although the up and down between Knox’s 2 high points proved somewhat tedious, we made reasonably quick work of it.

What goes up, must go down (on Mom’s back it seems!).

Brianne and I ferry our girls down as the mountainside drops steeply away towards Kelowna. As the hot sun beat down on us, we eventually decided that I’d run back to the car while the rest of our crew waited at the Lower Lookout parking lot. That way, we’d save some time and the A/C in the car would be cranked ASAP to cool everyone down.

If the car’s A/C didn’t suffice to cool everyone down, this spectacular ice cream sure did the trick! Indeed, this post-hike treat tasted nearly as sweet as our earlier redemption atop Mount Knox had!

Perhaps we would have made the summit 4 years earlier if I’d been clever enough to promise my pregnant wife an after-summit dessert back then? 🤣
Live and learn!