Accessible Penticton

Penticton offers an incredible range of outdoor adventure, culinary experiences and leisure activities and we want to provide inclusive access for everyone to be able to enjoy them.

Accessibility is something that impacts a host of individuals. Wheelchair users, parents with strollers, seniors with walkers, people who are temporarily incapacitated, the hard of hearing, the partially sighted – the list goes on. Each one of us, at any point in our life may face an accessibility barrier. In Penticton, our aim is to remove these barriers so that anyone, can go anywhere, at any time.

Many of Penticton’s hotels, motels and resorts, restaurants, breweries and pubs, wineries, and attractions are wheelchair accessible. Check the directory at the back of the Penticton Visitor Guide and look for the wheelchair symbol for those businesses that are wheelchair accessible. For more detailed information, we recommend contacting the business directly.

Accessible Trails

Explore the city’s outdoor areas. The Rick Hansen Foundation reviewed the following two trail networks and deemed them RHF Accessibility Certified (RHFAC).

Kettle Valley Rail Trail: From Vancouver Place this 4.8km section of trail is accessible for people of all abilities. It is open all year round and follows the route of the former Kettle Valley Railway. It’s a popular route for locals and tourists for biking, walking, running and sightseeing. The scope of the RHFAC includes trail and pathway vehicle access, exterior pathways, exterior stairs and ramps, three public washrooms and signage/wayfinding.

Penticton Creek Pathway: From Lakeshore Drive East this trail and pathway is 1.8 km and open year-round. The scope of the RHFAC includes the trail, vehicular access to the trail/pathway, a viewing point, seating areas and information kiosks.

View a Google map marking both paths, with key points along the way.

Accessible Beaches

Ramps have been installed at Skaha Lake Park and Okanagan Lake to help those using mobility aids to reach the beach from each walkway.

Accessible Parks

Accessible picnic tables have been installed in many parks throughout our community – including Skaha Lake Park and Okanagan Lake Park that enable easy access for all.

Outdoor fitness equipment at the Skaha Lake Fitness Park also helps those looking for an affordable and accessible workout.

Accessible Transportation

The City of Penticton’s goal is to support public transit as a comfortable, affordable, safe and convenient means of local and regional transportation. Local bus service is provided by BC Transit. You can view route information and current schedules on the BC Transit website or download Schedules and Maps for handy reference.

Penticton Transit has a modern fleet of “low floor” transit buses that are fully accessible. Buses operate six days a week excluding statutory holidays. During summer, a lake-to-lake route is offered every Sunday and holiday from the last Sunday in June to Labour Day in September.

Penticton’s handyDART is an accessible, door-to-door shared transit service for people with permanent or temporary disabilities that prevent them from using fixed-route transit without assistance from another person. handyDART picks you up at your accessible door and drops you off at the accessible door of your destination. You must first register for Penticton’s handyDART at no charge.

Penticton has car rentals from Budget Car & Truck Rental, whose services include, at no extra cost, hand controls as well as four assistive and adaptive devices – spinner knobs, transfer boards, swivel seats and panoramic mirrors. Customers with disabilities – or their drivers – are encouraged to reserve assistive devices within 48 hours of car pickup.

Enterprise Rent-A-Car also offers Adaptive Driving Devices include hand controls, left foot accelerators, spinner knobs, and pedal extenders. Such devices are available at no additional charge, and they may require up to two to three business days notice for vehicles equipped with Adaptive Driving Devices

Accessibility & Mobility Rentals

Motion offers a selection of wheelchairs, scooters, walkers, bathroom safety items and more to rent. Learn more about their rental equipment here.

Valley Medical Supply also has an assortment of rental items available, including wheelchairs, walkers and scooters.

Im Kelowna, CRIS Adaptive offers adaptive hiking, cycling, paddling and ski equipment, with adaptive bike rentals available through Kelowna Bike Rentals.

Accessible Recreation

The City of Penticton strives to ensure everyone has access to recreation activities. The Penticton Community Centre is accessible to people of differing abilities. Features include accessible change rooms, zero-entry ramps into the pools and aquatic wheelchairs. The fitness room provides accessible fitness options, which include a collection of resistance machines, cable and functional trainer apparatus’, and cardio options

CLICK HERE for more information on accessible recreation.

Accessible Visitor Information

The Penticton Visitor Information Centre is a single level building with accessible parking, automatic doors and an accessible washroom. It is a quiet and well lit building with staff on hand to assist with any visitor inquiries. We can provide travel tips, information on accommodations, give you recommendations on places to eat and drink, or tell you about all the festivals and events taking place while you’re here.

The Visit Penticton website is also accessible with our PageAssist™ toolbar. This tool allows you to make changes as you browse our website in real-time, in order to make it more usable and visually accessible. Visitors can set colors, fonts, font size, cursor size, text spacing, default contrast, formatting, and more, making it easier for you review our website content by altering its appearance to suit your individual needs. Visitors are also able to better isolate and see menu items for easier navigation.

For the PageAssist toolbar, look for this icon on your screen: