Situated on Lake Okanagan, Westbank and area offers a paradise of activities for you and your family. Fruit, wine, beaches, sailing, hiking, biking, skiing, golfing, shopping, great food, wildlife, forests, artisans,music, and more!

Westbank, British Columbia, located between Kelowna and Peachland, is something of an enigma.

It’s been around for roughly two centuries in non-aboriginal terms, and much, much longer in terms of the Okanagan (Syilx) and Westbank First Nation native people. However, since it isn’t incorporated and there’s a little uncertainty about its future identity, some aren’t actually certain Westbank is a real place!

Though its original Main Street commerce area - now one side of the Highway 97 couplet - has been much as it is now for a century, it remains just two blocks long. Fur traders came through the Okanagan Valley back in the 1800’s to buy a variety of beautiful pelts from the aboriginal people here. Appropriately, a cairn that marks that long-ago business route is located just a stone’s throw away from what is now the local Map, Magazine and Hunting License store.

The community has gone by several names in the past, and may be about to receive yet another one. As Westbank comes closer to melding with a number of settlement areas and subdivisions that are located between the Okanagan Lake bridge and Peachland, people have begun to refer to the collection of communities as “The Westside”. Others are wondering if that collection should be blended into the city of Kelowna. Maybe YOU will be one of the people instrumental in the ultimate identity decision!

The not-quite-official town of Westbank continues to grow like crazy. Parallel to Westbank and the adjacent communities of Lakeview, Green Bay, Rose Valley, West Kelowna Estates and Casa Loma, the aboriginal community of Westbank First Nation is also expanding, developing much of its land both residentially and commercially. Several of the largest retail businesses, such as Zellers, Extra Foods and the local movie theatre, are built on Westbank First Nations lands, with other popular “big box” retailers soon to come. Highway 97 whisks a great deal of traffic through the community, but if you take the time to stop in one of its shopping areas, journey down to the lake, investigate one of its many parks or drive up into the folds of the mountains, Westbank has much to offer.

Resources and Businesses serving Westbank, BC and the Westside

Westbank and its district is more than first meets the eye, especially as far as amenities are concerned.

• Chamber of Commerce and Visitor's Information Centre,
• no less than four grocery stores, and two pharmacies
• two building supply centres, and several ‘paint and paper’ stores
• interior design and custom draperies (Tres Chic Interiors)
• several personal health businesses, saunas and hottubs, and environmentally friendly products (Soleil Saunas Inc.)
• a small, quaint museum - and our own movie theatre
• two picture-framing shops and a host of fine local artists
• walk-in medical clinics,
• physiotherapy clinics and chiropractic doctors,
• dentists, opticians and a denture clinic
• health and fitness centres (BodyFit Fitness Centers)
• a library and a book store
• a satellite Regional District office
• an aquatic centre with fitness facilities
• two multi-purpose ice arenas, (one under construction) and two community centres
• our own new hockey team!
• multiple restaurants, from drive-thru to fine dining
• several excellent auto mechanic centres, auto body shops, parts suppliers and tire stores
• boat repair shops and RV sales and service businesses
• an RV park close to everything
• landscaping, janitorial, home support, and home maintenance services (Senior to Senior Home Services Ltd.)
• accountants, lawyers, and investment counsellors
• several real estate, insurance offices, banks, and financial institutions (Centum LendingMax Corp - Chris Murphy)
• a cycle shop and snowboard shop; several motorbike retailers
• a fantastic, nine-artist pottery shop
• several printing and office supply businesses, low-cost ink refills (InkMaster Plus)
• games, billiards, outdoor activites and trampolines, trophies and engraving (Twice the Fun Billiards & Games)
• a locksmith; leather works and shoe repair,
• a business that installs real stone or masonry fireplaces
• several pet supply stores, one with livestock supplies (Hickok's Country Supply Ltd.)
• several pet grooming facilities and one drive-to doggie wash
• two popular dog trainers and one boarding kennel
• places to board or train your horse, or simply to go riding
• ferriers for your horse, and numerous veterinarians
• numerous industries and manufacturers
• two excellent plant nurseries
• handy laundromat and dry cleaning services (Clothes Pin Laundromat & Dry Cleaners)
• a wonderful bakery, and a high quality shoe store
• vegetable stands, farms, orchards, vineyards, and famous wineries
• a fantastic cross-country ski club
• a small downhill ski resort that also has snowshoe trails
• several gorgeous golf courses with breathtaking views
• wonderful parks and trails, and several great beaches
• fine places to go camping, cycling or paddling- accessible within an hour
• An improving public transit system that allows your bike, your friends, and even a pet in a crate, on board its air-conditioned buses.