Kelowna's Brandt's Creek Linear Park offers much more than you would expect (Making Tracks)

Photo: J.P. Squire The highlight of Brandt's Creek Linear Park is the large Valley Glen Wetland.

You can watch flocks of ducks from the benches on a triangular side trail that surrounds it. There is a small bridge, the "East and West Duck Islands" and the first three sculptures of a series called Growth. Brandt's Creek Linear Park in Kelowna's Glenmore Valley is another trail gem in the Okanagan.

Hidden in a North Glenmore residential area, its gravel trail beside a meandering stream connects seven city parks and offers an incredible variety of amenities from two tunnels and multiple wetlands to children's playgrounds, community gardens and a sculpture series. In other words, there's something for all ages. In the past, the Sheriff listed his top Okanagan trails and presented Brandt's Creek Linear Park his unofficial award for best small creek trail in an urban area.

The south end begins with an unremarkable wide asphalt walkway at the intersection of Summit Drive and Valley Road. From Valley Road, it simply looks like a plain tree-lined pathway. But walking or cycling it, you'll find ducklings learning how to swim in the small stream on the other side of a metal rail fence.

After climbing a gentle hill to Yates Road, you will discover its major highlight—the large Valley Glen wetland, filled with ducksyou can watch from a triangular side trail that surrounds it. There is a picturesque bridge, benches to appreciate the bustling wildlife swimming around two islands and the f.