Kelowna’s Knox Mountain to reopen to vehicles after pandemic hiatus

For the first time since the COVID pandemic lockdown in 2020, Knox Mountain Park will open to vehicular traffic on Monday, March 28.

When COVID hit two years ago, the popular park in the north end of downtown Kelowna became a magnet for walkers and cyclists who were able to get some exercise without the risk of contracting the virus.

Normally the hill is closed to traffic in the winter and only opens near the end of March so has stayed closed to vehicles for the past two summers.

READ MORE: How a caretaker and a couple of gates transformed this Kelowna park

Given the popularity of the park, the City of Kelowna consulted users last year and came up with a compromise plan on a trial basis for two years.

It will allow vehicles up to the first lookout only from noon to 8 p.m. each day. That starts Monday.

"The new access strategy allows for a shared approach between vehicles and non-vehicular modes to allow many ways to access the mountain,” Melanie Steppuhn, the city’s parks and landscape planner, said in a news release.

Since the start of the pandemic, use of the park has doubled at peak times, the city said.

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