By Katy Morrison – Tourism Kamloops
There’s a particular kind of light that shows up in the Thompson Valley every fall. Golden, low, a little dramatic, the kind that turns the sagebrush and grasslands the colour of toast and makes the hills look like they’re glowing from the inside. Mornings are crisp enough for a flannel you didn’t quite need but will wear anyway. Afternoons are made for a patio and a glass of something local, and evenings have a way of turning into “just one more coffee shop” before you head back to wherever you’re staying.
It’s the kind of season that asks you to slow down, put your to-do list on pause, and let the valley do the entertaining. Luckily for you, Kamloops, situated on the traditional and unceded territory of the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc, within Secwepemc’ulucw, is very good at obliging.
Consider this your itinerary for a long weekend spent doing exactly that: no countdown apps, no ten-stops-before-noon energy, just a loose, cozy plan you can shuffle around depending on how good the light looks that afternoon.
Caffeinate Accordingly
Let’s start where all good fall trips start: with a drink in hand. Kamloops embraces fall in a pumpkins-as-far-as-the-eye-can-see, cinnamon-scented, all-in kind of way, and the local coffee scene has fully understood the assignment. Maple oat lattes, spiced chai with whole spices steeped right in, pumpkin spice that tastes just like the pie. Grab one, find a bench, and watch the leaves do their thing. It’s not exactly a scene out of Gilmore Girls, but with the fresh scent of autumn in the air and the unmistakable sweater weather energy, it’s close enough that you half expect Luke to come out with a refill.
Once the sun dips lower, upgrade to something with a bit more warmth: a mulled cider, a hot toddy, or a local amber ale from one of our craft breweries. Consider this your permission slip to spend an afternoon brewery hopping. Research is important, after all.
Wine Country, Kamloops-Style
Kamloops is wine country, and a beautiful one at that. The Thompson Valley’s dry hills and big open sky give the vineyards here their own distinct look: golden grasslands rolling into rows of vines, with mountains doing their moody thing in the background. It’s less “manicured estate” and more “wide open valley that happens to grow excellent grapes,” which might be the more romantic version anyway.
Spend an afternoon at Monte Creek, Privato, or Sagewood, where the patios are relaxed and the pours are generous. Order a glass of something crisp, put your phone down for twenty minutes (we know, we know), and take in the view. Jeans and a good jacket are all you need. Nobody’s checking anyone’s outfit here, they’re too busy watching the sun move across the hills.
Leave Room in the Trunk
No fall weekend is complete without a pumpkin patch, and Kamloops delivers the whole aesthetic: hay bales, string lights, a corn maze that will test your relationship, and pumpkins in every shade from classic orange to trendy blue-grey. Local farms just outside the city lean into the full harvest experience: apple picking, farm animals, cider warm enough to fog up your sunglasses, and a market stand selling jars of jam you’ll want to bring home by the armful.
Bring the kids and bring the dog. This is the stop built for the whole crew, and the light around 4pm makes for magical photos. Fair warning: you’ll end up buying at least one decorative gourd you have no plan for. Let it happen. That’s the fall tax.
Where the Rivers Run Red and Gold
Fall in this valley isn’t just about what’s on your plate, it’s happening in the rivers and hills too. Every October, the sockeye salmon run turns nearby waterways a brilliant, almost unbelievable red as the fish return to spawn, a natural spectacle that remains deeply significant to the Secwépemc people, who have fished these waters for thousands of years. A short drive out of the city to Adams River makes it a genuinely awe-inspiring thing to witness.
Closer to town, the sagebrush hills and grasslands ringing Kamloops put on their own quieter show: dusty greens and golds, big open sky, a landscape that looks like nowhere else in the province. A short walk through Lac du Bois or Kenna Cartwright Park in the late afternoon light is a reminder that this land has its own particular kind of beauty, one that’s been sustaining people here long before any of us showed up with a coffee in hand.
A Little Culture With Your Cider
Kamloops also has a downtown well worth wandering. The Kamloops Art Gallery rotates through contemporary exhibitions that are genuinely worth the visit, and the Secwépemc Museum & Heritage Park offers a moving, thoughtfully told look into the history and living culture of the Secwépemc people, whose knowledge and stewardship of this land go back millennia. It’s the kind of stop that adds real depth to your weekend without ever feeling like homework.
The city’s cultural scene runs deeper than most visitors expect. There’s a full calendar of live theatre and symphony performances, the Kamloops Museum and Archives is a quiet, worthwhile stop for anyone curious how this city came to be, and downtown’s back alleys are lined with murals worth wandering at your own pace, a self-guided gallery hiding in plain sight.
Downtown itself is full of the small, well-curated boutiques and shops that make for the best kind of impulse shopping: local ceramics, a candle that will smell like your whole trip in one jar, a print from a local artist that’s already found a home on your wall in your head. Give yourself an unhurried hour here. You’ll leave with a bag, a shop owner you’re now texting like an old friend, and an entirely unnecessary new houseplant, because that’s just how these things go.
Eat Like You Mean It
By dinner, you’ve earned a table with a view and a menu that takes the season seriously. Kamloops’ restaurant scene has come into its own, with chef-driven spots leaning into whatever just came off a local farm, cozy bakeries turning out warm, fresh sourdough, and a farm-to-table ethos that actually shows up on the plate, not just the menu description. Order the thing with squash in it. Order the thing with mushrooms in it. Split dessert, or don’t, this is a no-judgment weekend. Either way, save room for one more glass of that Thompson Valley wine before you call it a night.
Come for the Weekend, Stay for the Slow
That golden light will still be there when you leave, just as low, just as generous. Kamloops isn’t in a rush, and by the end of your visit, neither are you. Bring the good jacket. Leave room for one more glass of wine. The valley’s ready when you are. Discover more at tourismkamloops.com.
