Winter Travel

The steamboats ran all year round on Okanagan Lake except in those rare years when the lake froze over. Then, lake travel was very difficult and dangerous. Sometimes the full trip could not be completed although a tugboat would attempt to keep one path free of ice. In the extremely cold winter of 1915-1916, the Sicamous could not make the trip all the way to Penticton. Eventually, she had to stop her run at Summerland because the south end of Okanagan Lake was completely frozen. For over eight weeks that winter, the Sicamous was unable to make all of her regularly scheduled stops due to ice on the lake. Even when the lake was not frozen over entirely, the winter weather could still cause trouble. For example, the paddlewheels could end up covered in a thin sheet of ice from water spray. This ice interfered with the ship’s ability to operate properly. Severe winter weather always was a concern for the CPR steamboats.