S.S. Okanagan

There were so many people travelling and so much freight being transported on the Aberdeen, that in 1907 the CPR put another sternwheeler into service. This new boat was called the Okanagan, and she also travelled between Okanagan Landing and Penticton. She was 193 feet long (59 metres) and carried 250 passengers. She could travel at 15 miles per hour (24 kilometres per hour). When she was launched in 1907, Vernon’s mayor declared a half-day holiday. A grand ball was also held at the Strand Hotel in Okanagan Landing to celebrate the launch.

S.S. Okanagan at Okanagan Landing
Photo courtesy Greater Vernon
Museum & Archives

The Okanagan was much faster and more luxurious than the Aberdeen. She could go from Okanagan Landing to Penticton in 3 hours and 15 minutes. The newspaper Okanagan Semi-Weekly called her a “greyhound.”

She was known as the express boat because she stopped only at Kelowna, Peachland and Summerland on her trip south. The Okanagan made better time than the Aberdeen because she had fewer stops to make. By 1907, freight business was so brisk on Okanagan Lake that the Okanagan made a return trip daily, except Sundays. This was in contrast to the Aberdeen that ran only three times per week. The S.S. Okanagan operated until 1932.