Field Trip: Gellatly Nut Farm

        Summer Holidays is just around the corner- yes shocking but true- and the recent Spring Break gave me a look down the rabbit hole that is the entire two months of Summer Holidays-  a great deal of free time. Now don't get me wrong- I am entirely an advocate of the "children need to get bored" school of thought- especially these days when so many kids are over scheduled I like to totally under schedule our Littles!

       That said I think a few fun and educational field trips need to be lined up and sprinkled liberally in amongst all that Summer lazing about! I know lots of families from Coastal British Columbia travel into the Interior in warmer weather- we are one of those families obviously we have people to see and Nut Farms to explore!

        Enter in Gellatly Nut Farm in West Kelowna- if you are on the Westside this summer and are looking for a cool (literally) place to escape to- this is it! A working nut farm once owned by the Gellatly Family and now part of the regional district- four hectares of working heritage farm complete with almost 500 feet of water front- perfect for a refreshing dip after taking a self guided tour of the farm!

      Obviously when we visited last weekend there was not a whole lot of swimming happening! However we found so much to explore the swimming was hardly missed- and the Littles enjoyed the play structure by the water for some monkey bars and sliding! Not to mentin the games played with Momo, the collecting and all the foot races!

     A heritage house and barn sits on the site and evidence of the previous owners hand can be seen in many corners of the nut farm- metal tags still bare the labeling system from the last Gellatly family caretaker- noting genius and date planted.

       The site is open year round with special events happening at key dates- the nut sale in the fall which helps fund the farm as well as sapling sales in the spring. This is an ideal place to wander under the cool leafy canopy in the heat of the summer or go for a picnic with cousins on a quiet spring day- perfect for a birthday party and can be booked for weddings. The nut farm is a little hidden so be sure to look up directions before you go- the beach is rocky so if you intend on going swimming wear flip flops!

       For me the perfect field trip is equal parts fun for all, exercise and education- visitors to the Gellatly Nut Farm can enjoy all three of these aspects and it is free! We will be headed back when the weather is a little warmer and you can be sure this time instead of winter hats we will have our swim suits packed in our picnic basket!

P.S. there are also very clean and nice washroom facilities and plenty of parking!