Knox Mountain Park

Knox Mountain Park is a natural park and recreation area located in Kelowna, British Columbia, north of the city's core. It is made up of 235hectare of forest and grassland and contains a variety of wildlife, such as deer, birds, an occasional grizzly bear and Kokanee salmon that spawn along the lakeshore adjacent to the park.There are 10 trails in the park of varying length and difficulty, providing views of both Kelowna and Okanagan lake There are two lookout points, including the mountain's summit, which can be reached by car, making the mountain a picnicking location, as well as popular hiking and running destination. The mountains trails are also commonly utilized by mountain bikers. The park is open 9:30am to 9:00pm during most of the year. According to the City of Kelowna web site, Knox Mountain Park is considered among the most important and well-known natural area parks in Kelowna.HistoryKnox Mountain Park was named after the notorious Arthur Booth Knox, a resident of Kelowna from the late 19th century. Knox, a rancher, was convicted of setting fire to several haystacks belonging to his competition and sentenced to three years of hard labour. In his book Buckaroos And Mud Pups: The Early Days of Ranching in British Columbia, Ken Mather explains that a cowboy working for Knox provided the testimony that resulted in his conviction, despite evidence that he was bribed to give a false testimony. Following his 3-year sentence, Knox returned to Kelowna and continued to grow his ranching property. The portion of his property that encompassed Knox Mountain was sold to the Okanagan Fruit and Land Co. in 1906.