(This is another column in an ongoing series about the best trails to explore, city by city, regional district by regional district, in the Southern Interior.)

The District of Peachland may be small (pop. 6,382) but its hillsides have some of the region’s most spectacular views of Okanagan Lake.

Those seemingly endless panoramas from Kelowna to Naramata are the primary reason that many hikers come here from up and down the Okanagan.

Like many trails in the Southern Interior, there is lots of history in “them, thar hills.”

Many trails follow the footsteps of First Nation peoples, fur traders, prospectors and early settlers. The Fur Brigade Trail, for example, follows one of those ancient First Nation paths, later used by Hudson’s Bay Company fur traders.

Pincushion Mountain was named by early settlers who compared the peak with its newly burned trees to a pincushion. One of Peachland’s newer trails was named after the century-old Gladstone Gold Mine nearby. But the Gladstone Trail has a fascinating modern-day history.

Chris King of Peachland worked in the forest industry for 38 years, so he knew the fundamentals for building backcountry roads and could use those skills to build a proper trail with long-time buddy Dave Oakley.

"We were what........

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