Sicamous, Heritage paddle steamer in Penticton, Canada.
The SS Sicamous is a large sternwheel steamboat with four decks, passenger cabins, a dining hall, and original steam machinery on display. The vessel has been restored as a museum where visitors can see how travelers lived and the engineering that powered the ship.
The Canadian Pacific Railway built this vessel in 1914 to carry passengers and cargo across Okanagan Lake between settlements. The boat operated for roughly two decades before being retired in 1937 when roads replaced water routes as the main way to travel.
The vessel shows how water transport shaped daily life in this region for generations. Travelers depended on these boats to connect scattered communities, making the boat central to how people moved and lived.
The boat is open for visitors from May through September, and you can explore the cabins, engine room, and dining areas on your own or with a guide. It is helpful to allow extra time to walk through the different levels and see all parts of the ship.
The vessel was left abandoned on a beach and nearly demolished before being saved in the 1960s and later restored. This rescue effort preserved one of the few intact sternwheelers from this era still standing in western Canada.
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