Dilworth Mountain.

How Dilworth Mountain took shape

Dilworth Mountain, named for a Victoria alderman who owned land nearby, sat on the edge between Kelowna and the separate communities of Glenmore, Ellison and Rutland until 1973. Subdivisions climbed its slopes from the late 1980s, while 128 hectares of city parkland protect the peaks.

Mount Dilworth takes its name from the late Alderman Dilworth of Victoria, who lived in the Kelowna area for many years and held property near the mountain. The province adopted the name in 1922 from a 1915 map. For most of the 20th century the mountain was rock, pine and grassland on a boundary, not a destination. It sat where the City of Kelowna met the separate communities of Glenmore, Ellison and Rutland, so no single town grew toward it. Two changes put it at the centre. Orchard Park shopping centre opened at its foot in 1971, and in 1973 Glenmore and Rutland were amalgamated into Kelowna.

Housing followed from the late 1980s, starting on the lower slopes and terraces and working up the mountain in phases. Instead of building on every summit, the rocky high points and gullies between phases were kept as parkland, which now forms Dilworth Mountain Park at about 128 hectares. Trails climb roughly 300 metres above the valley and pass arrowleaf balsamroot, Kelowna's official flower, in spring. Change is not finished. In January 2024 council unanimously approved rezoning on the south side of the mountain, beside the Okanagan Rail Trail, for about 650 homes, mostly apartments at the base. The deal transfers 25 per cent of the site as parkland and dedicates land for a future Clement Avenue extension, part of the planned Highway 33 link.

1. 1922Mount Dilworth is officially adopted, as labelled on a 1915 map. Source

The homes & their setting

Detached hillside homes built in phases from the late 1980s to about 2015, many with walkout lower levels, plus townhomes and condos near the base. A new wave of mostly apartment housing (about 650 units) was approved for the south base in 2024.

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

• Dilworth Mountain Park — About 128 hectares of city parkland stitched between subdivision phases, with viewpoints about 1,000 feet above the valley. History source