Penticton is pinched between two lakes, Okanagan to the north and Skaha to the south, joined by a short river channel that becomes a slow parade of inflatable tubes on hot summer days. The city of nearly forty thousand people has beaches at both ends, a downtown with good cafes and a long lakeside promenade, and it serves as the main town of the South Okanagan, a dry valley of orchards, vineyards and sagebrush hills that feels more like California than the rest of Canada.
On the beach at the north end sits the SS Sicamous, a large sternwheeler built in 1914 that once carried passengers and freight up and down Okanagan Lake before roads and railways made it obsolete. It is now a museum. The valley's history is one of fruit: irrigation turned dry benchland into orchards of apples, peaches and cherries in the early twentieth century, and in recent decades vineyards have taken over much of the land. The Naramata Bench, on the east side of the lake north of the city, is lined with wineries, and the road along it is a lovely ride, winding along the hillside above the water.
The Okanagan Lakes Loop uses Highway 97, the main road through the valley, which is busy and not particularly exciting, but there are good side roads. The road up to the Kettle Valley Rail Trail and the hills above the city offers wide views. The road south along Skaha Lake toward Okanagan Falls is pleasant, and the routes west into the hills toward Princeton and east toward the Kettle River are excellent, with long climbs, sweeping bends and little traffic.
Penticton has every service: fuel, motorcycle shops, restaurants and accommodation. Summers are hot and dry, regularly above thirty degrees, and wildfire smoke can be a problem in late summer. Spring and autumn are pleasant, and the fruit stands along the highway sell cherries in early summer and apples and peaches later. Watch for cyclists, since the area is popular with them, and for tourists driving slowly while looking at the lake.