Enchanted Forest, Revelstoke BC

Walking through the forest paths, the sun almost completely obscured by the tall cedars and firs aside from a few streams of sparkling light coming through, hearing the children's excited footsteps as they explore and take in every little detail of this magical place... The Enchanted Forest was such a nice break from reality, a little escape from the normal as we stepped into what seemed like another world.

The Enchanted Forest is located in the Monashee forest, 32km west of Revelstoke, BC. We made this little day trip from Kelowna in the summer of 2019, packing lunches and snacks, and it was the perfect day spent making the best memories. Now that it's open again, we can't wait to go back and explore it once more.

When you enter the gates, you're first greeted by an impressive castle adorned with Dragons, and make your way through the entrance. This is not an amusement park with rides or games, it's a simple but incredibly detailed walking path full of surprises along the way, such as the tallest Cedar treehouse you'll ever see, a lagooned pirate ship, little fairy doors, houses carved into immense tree stumps, all of which are interactive and completely explorable by children and adults. The atmosphere was really quite magical, surprisingly quiet despite the full parking lot.

A whole year later, my kids still talk about it. If you're looking for a great place to create lasting memories, this enchanted forest will surely stand out from the rest of the attractions here. At the end of the vast walking paths is the Skytrek Adventure park, a rope course and adventure park. We skipped this last time due to having improper footwear, but we plan to try it this summer. Be sure to bring good running shoes and socks if you plan to do this portion.

You can visit their website here before you plan your trip:

https://www.enchantedforestbc.com/

If you plan to continue on to Revelstoke, there are many things to see and do in this beautiful town as well. You can visit the website below for resources:

https://happiestoutdoors.ca/things-to-do-in-revelstoke/

Have you been to the Enchanted Forest, or plan to explore this magical little place? Let me know by dropping a comment below!

xo Ani xo

Camping for Father's Day Weekend

Last year, I organized a camping trip for us for Father's Day weekend, and my kids still talk about it! Camping is one of our favourite things to do as a family. Before Brennen and I got married, we purchased a holiday trailer as we knew we wanted a big family, and it would make travelling and sightseeing so much easier! British Columbia and Alberta have some of the best campgrounds in the world. The Rocky Mountains, lakes, rivers and abundance of nature make it easy to plan a trip, whether it's in a National Park or just out in the wilderness. We've camped at several campsites all over BC, Alberta and Saskatchewan since purchasing our trailer (from my rough count, around 30 different sites at least!).

For our first Father's Day in the Okanagan, I wanted to go somewhere with good fishing, where we could rent a boat and set up our holiday trailer for the weekend. We chose Dee Lake as our destination. We loved everything about this place, but next time we think we would camp at Beaver Lake as it seems to have a bit more amenities and it's a less treacherous site for large trailers like ours. Dee Lake would be best for a smaller unit, but they also have cabins for those who just want to get out of town and don't have their own camper. I'll be writing a blog post about camping in more detail, with our lists of what we bring and how I stock our trailer. Camping trips are the highlight of our summer every year!

Dee Lake is only about 30km outside of Kelowna, but the drive consists of a bit of a bumpy, mostly dirt road. We didn't find it too challenging to drive while pulling our holiday trailer, however there is a steep hill when first going up to the road, so make sure your vehicle can handle that if you're pulling weight. It also took us well over 1 hour to get there, even though it's close, due to having to drive carefully.

My oldest son, Victor, wrote this section of the blog post as part of a homeschooling assignment. This is a place he especially loved as he adores fishing. We hope you enjoy it, and that you find inspiration to create your own adventure!

Victor writes:

"One of my favourite things to do in Kelowna is to go camping and fishing at Dee Lake. Not only can you go fishing but you can go camping too. It gets better, you can go fishing on a boat! They have boat rentals for about $25 per day. They have really nice employees. But don't forget your bug spray, because there are a ton of mosquitoes. They have a really nice playground for kids with a really fun tire swing. There are 5 lakes interconnected. Dee Lake, Island Lake, Deer Lake, Crooked Lake and Beaver Lake. You can boat through little channels that take you from lake to lake. At night you can make some delicious s'mores over the campfire. I had so much fun there!"

You can visit their website here:

https://www.deelakeresort.ca/

Here are some photos of our trip last summer.

Splashdown Water Park

If you live in the area, you may remember Splashdown Water Park as Atlantis Water Slides. It has recently changed its name but offers the same amenities, and with some major upgrades and renovations planned, this park will only get better. It's located about 5km outside of Vernon, BC, and is about an hour drive from Kelowna.

We first visited this water park last summer and all 3 of my kids immediately fell in love with this place. If you do go, you can plan to spend a good portion of your day here. They have a large area with picnic tables, which is amazing for families who want to save a bit of money by bringing their own picnic lunch. That's how we roll, for the most part!

The park features 10 large water slides, pools, a large hot tub, picnic area, and cabanas. It's been around for 35 years, so it's by no means fancy or shiny and new, however with the renovations they have planned, it soon will be. That didn't stop us from loving it here, though. The facilities were clean and comfortable, parking was decent with ample space but a bit of a walk uphill (parking is free, too), and we appreciated the full day pass and unlimited use of the waterslides while we were there.

There are areas suitable for everyone, from toddler to adult. This is especially nice for our family as we have large age gaps between our children. I always love finding a place where all 3 of them can have a good time.

My oldest son, Victor, loved the River Riot. You ride a tube down this lengthy waterslide, that is full of twists and turns, lazy rivers turning into white water rapids. I went on the ride myself and found it quite exhilarating.

I have heard there are coupons for day passes here, once I locate them I'll add the link below.

Here's a quick list of things we bring when we go:

- Swimsuits

- Goggles

- Sunscreen (it's all open-air)

- A cooler full of food, ice packs, and lots of water

- Towels

- A large blanket, in case all picnic tables are in use

- Cash for concession

- Arm floaties/life jacket for kids who can't swim yet

- Sunglasses

- A change of clothes for all the kids

- A large beach bag to put all our things in

Here is their website:

https://splashdown.ca/

Let me know below if you've visited this fun place, or if you plan to!

xo Ani xo