Carr's Landing.

How Carr's Landing took shape

Carr's Landing is Lake Country's most rural ward, a strip of orchards, forest and lakeside homes on Okanagan Lake's east shore north of Okanagan Centre. It is named after Andrew Carr, a Civil War veteran who bought land here in 1894 and whose wharf served the lake boats. Detached homes on large lots define it today.

Carr's Landing runs north along Okanagan Lake from Okanagan Centre, with the Spion Kop hills behind. This shore is part of syilx / Okanagan territory, and an early gazetteer record keeps a syilx place name for it, written by settlers as Cus-in-so-nook. Offshore, Grant Island is a bird sanctuary that the Lake Country museum records by a syilx name, Nahun Wenox. Settlers arrived in the 1890s. Andrew Carr, a Civil War veteran from Illinois, bought 250 acres in 1894 and built a home with his wife Agnes. A wharf below the house became a stop for lake boats, and its old pilings can still be seen at Marshall Park. The area was also known as Sunnywold, which had a post office from 1909 to 1939.

Nearby, Rainbow Ranche was bought at auction in 1893 and, from 1909 under manager James Goldie, grew to about 125 acres of apples with its own packinghouse and Japanese Canadian packing crews. The Gibson house, built around 1912 to 1913 for George Gibson and his bride Grace, still stands in Kopje Regional Park. The Province adopted the name Carrs (Landing) in 1951, long after the CPR boats had stopped calling. Subdivision began in the early 1960s, starting with Coral Beach, but the ward stayed rural. In 2021 it had 804 residents and 310 homes, 97% of them detached. About a quarter of the sector plan area is in the Agricultural Land Reserve, and much of the land is steeper than 30 percent. Today Carr's Landing is big lots, orchards, small beaches and some of Lake Country's widest lake views, and water supply is its biggest open question.

1. 1893The Barr brothers buy the future Rainbow Ranche at the Vernon land auction. Source
2. 1894Andrew Carr buys 250 acres on the lake and plants fruit trees. Source
3. 1909Sunnywold Post Office opens (closes 1939); James Goldie begins managing Rainbow Ranche and planting orchards. Source
4. 1912A two storey home is built for George Gibson, now the Gibson Heritage House in Kopje Regional Park. Source
5. 1951The name Carrs (Landing) is officially adopted. Source

The homes & their setting

In the 2021 census the ward had 310 private dwellings: 97% single detached and 3% duplex, with 88% owner occupied. About 19% were built 1961 to 1980, 49% from 1981 to 2000 and 32% since 2001. Housing is mostly acreages, orchard properties and custom lake view homes, with subdivisions dating from the early 1960s.

Building age, tenure, amenities and permitted uses vary by address. Explore the actual property documents with Elaine and the appropriate specialists.

Places with a story

• Gibson Heritage House, Kopje Regional Park — The restored home of George and Grace Gibson, open as a small museum on summer weekends. History source
• Carr's Landing heritage marker and wharf pilings, Marshall Park — Marks Andrew Carr's homestead; pilings from his wharf are still visible. History source
• Grant Island — A bird sanctuary visible from Kopje Park, recorded by the museum with the syilx name Nahun Wenox. History source
• Former Rainbow Ranche packinghouse site, Goldie Road — Now Intrigue Wines, which displays photographs and artifacts from the ranch. History source