Kelowna

Kelowna ( kə-LOH-nə) is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan Valley in the southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. It serves as the head office of the Regional District of Central Okanagan. The name Kelowna derives from the Okanagan word kiʔláwnaʔ, referring to a grizzly bear. Kelowna is the province's third-largest metropolitan area (after Vancouver and Victoria). It is the seventh-largest municipality in BC and the largest in the Interior. It is the 20th-largest metropolitan area in Canada. The city proper encompasses 214 km2 (83 sq mi), and the census metropolitan area encompasses 2,902.45 km2 (1,120.64 sq mi). Kelowna's population in 2025 is 165,907 in the city proper and 254,605 in the metro area. Nearby communities include the City of West Kelowna (also referred to as Westbank and Westside) to the west, across Okanagan Lake; Lake Country and Vernon to the north; Peachland to the southwest; and Summerland and Penticton to the south.