5 km (3 mi.) before it reaches Keremeos the 24 km (15 mi.) approach road turns off along the Ashnola River to the Cathedral Provincial Park. This untamed mountain wilderness on the border with Washington USA, with its deep-blue lakes, steep peaks more than 2000 m (6600 ft) high, imposing rock formations and Alpine-like meadows is particularly attractive to those keen on "the great outdoors".
Cathedral Provincial Park in the Okanagan Mountain Range, covering some 330 sq.
km (205 sq. mi.), is the area between the thick, damp forests of the Cascade Mountains and the arid Okanagan Valley. When walking through it the visitor can observe deer, mountain-goats or Californian thick-horned sheep, as well as marmot. The center of the park is the area surrounding the charming Cathedral Lakes; note, however, that it is not accessible by private car - only all-wheel drive vehicles can cope with the rough road, and walkers and guests of the Cathedral Lakes Resort by Quiniscoe Lake, which is not run by the parks authority, will be collected and driven there.
There is a walk lasting several hours from Quiniscoe Lake and by way of Glacier Lake to Stone City, a group of huge granite blocks, and to Giant Cleft. This great cleft was left after the removal of the geomorphologically softer volcanic materials that had been forced into the granite. Other interesting geological formations along the way are Devil's Woodpile, a group of basalt columns so named because they are thought to resemble a pile of wood gathered by the Devil for his fires in Hell, as well as "Smokey the Bear", a prominent rock overhang which looks very much like the figure of a bear which is used by the Forestry Commission in their campaign to prevent forest fires.
On clear days there is a magnificent view from the crest of the Cathedral Range as far as Mount Rainier 290 km (180 mi.) to the south-west which, being 4392 m (14,415 ft) high, is the fifth highest peak in the USA, or of the snow-capped peak of Mount Baker (3285 m (10,781ft)) to the west.
Crowsnest Highway 3 now continues southward from Cathedral Provincial Park for 30 km (19 mi.) along the winding Simikameen Valley and then by way of the Richter Pass (682 m (2238 ft)) into the lower Okanagan Valley.
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