Ranked list · 2026
Best places in BC for a summer home
A summer home has to clear tests a year-round house never faces: a vacancy tax on empty homes, rules on renting it out, how hot July actually gets, how far it is from the city you live in, and whether a fire has emptied the place lately. We ran seventeen BC lake and ocean spots through six of those tests, one point each. Shuswap Lake took first and second. Here’s the whole card, so you can argue with it.
By Justin Gaspari, REALTOR®, CIR Realty · Published October 2026
The best places in BC for a summer home in 2026, on our scorecard, are Blind Bay and the South Shuswap and Sicamous, both on Shuswap Lake and both six for six, followed by Christina Lake in the Boundary country, Nelson on Kootenay Lake and Invermere on Windermere Lake, all four of six. The Okanagan’s big names score two or three: they’re hot and gorgeous, but a house runs over a million dollars, the speculation tax applies, and most of them were under an evacuation order in 2023 or 2026.
Why does the Shuswap win? The lake isn’t even the warmest one here (Osoyoos is). It wins because it’s the only place that clears all six tests at once: outside the speculation tax, outside the rental restriction, hot in July, under $800,000 for a typical house, a day’s drive from both cities, and never evacuated. Each of those is a public fact with a source at the bottom of the page.
The scorecard
Seventeen places, six tests
| Place | No spec tax | Can rent short-term | July 27°+ | 6.5 h of both cities | House under $800K | No evac order | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Blind Bay and the South ShuswapShuswap Lake | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 6/6 |
| 2. SicamousShuswap and Mara lakes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 6/6 |
| 3. Christina LakeChristina Lake | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | 4/6 |
| 4. NelsonKootenay Lake | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | 4/6 |
| 5. InvermereWindermere Lake | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | 4/6 |
| Salmon ArmShuswap Lake | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 4/6 |
| OsoyoosOsoyoos Lake | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | 3/6 |
| Harrison Hot SpringsHarrison Lake | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | 3/6 |
| Cultus LakeCultus Lake | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | 3/6 |
| TofinoPacific Ocean | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | 3/6 |
| VernonOkanagan and Kalamalka lakes | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | 2/6 |
| KelownaOkanagan Lake | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | 2/6 |
| PeachlandOkanagan Lake | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | 2/6 |
| PentictonOkanagan and Skaha lakes | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | 2/6 |
| SummerlandOkanagan Lake | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | 2/6 |
| Lake CountryOkanagan, Wood and Kalamalka lakes | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | 1/6 |
| ParksvilleStrait of Georgia | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | 1/6 |
One point per test. No spec tax: outside the speculation and vacancy tax area on the gov.bc.ca list (December 2025). Can rent short-term: not subject to the provincial principal-residence rule (gov.bc.ca, September 2026); local bylaws still apply. July 27°+: Environment Canada July mean daily high of 27°C or more. 6.5 h of both cities: within about six and a half hours by road of both Calgary and Vancouver, tourism-board figures where published, trip-planner estimates otherwise. House under $800K: the regional MLS single-family benchmark, summer 2026. No evac order: no wildfire evacuation order covering the place from 2023 to 2026; alerts do not count. Ties broken by the lower benchmark price, then the hotter July, then the shorter drive from either city. Sun Peaks was left out: no lake.
No. 1 · 6 of 6
Blind Bay and the South Shuswap
The south shore of Shuswap Lake, 25 minutes west of Salmon Arm, is unincorporated. That one fact does most of the work. Blind Bay, Sorrento and Eagle Bay sit in a regional district electoral area, so they are outside the speculation and vacancy tax that now covers Salmon Arm, Kelowna and the whole Okanagan, and outside the provincial principal-residence rule on short-term rentals. Say the second home is worth the regional benchmark, $747,500, and sits empty most of the year: that tax alone would be about $7,475 a year at the 2026 rate.
A July afternoon averages 28.5°C at the Salmon Arm station, the marina is five minutes away, and the golf course is ten. Calgary is about six hours twenty by trip planner, Vancouver about four hours forty, no ferry either way. The Shuswap and Revelstoke single-family benchmark was $747,500 in July 2026, and new serviced lake-view lots at The Highlands start at $197,000 if you would rather build the summer place than buy someone else’s.
Shuswap Lake is cooler than Osoyoos or Windermere, around 19°C in the readings we found, which is swimmable from July and better for wakeboarding than for floating. Blind Bay was on an evacuation alert in August 2023 for a fire across the water; it has never been under an order in this window. And the regional district is still settling exactly how it permits short-term rentals (a temporary-use-permit system today, a zoning change under discussion), so if renting is part of the plan, call the CSRD planning desk before you sign.
No. 2 · 6 of 6
Sicamous
The same lake, the other end. Sicamous sits on the channel between Shuswap and Mara lakes, calls itself the Houseboat Capital of Canada, and backs it with three rental fleets and the biggest marina on the Shuswap. It is a municipality, but a small one, so it is outside the speculation tax and named exempt from the provincial rental rule. It is also the closest point on the lake to Calgary: about five hours forty by trip planner, with Vancouver a little over five.
Same benchmark as Blind Bay, $747,500, and the same 28.5°C July afternoons. The difference is the town itself: Sicamous runs on summer traffic and gets quiet in October, while Blind Bay has a year-round community, a golf course and Salmon Arm’s hospital 25 minutes away. The District does regulate short-term rentals, with a business licence and zone limits since 2024, so a rental plan needs a look at the zoning map first. No evacuation order since 2021.
No. 3 · 4 of 6
Christina Lake
A long, narrow lake in the Boundary country east of Grand Forks, with a reputation as the warmest tree-lined lake in BC: the community site says 22°C, other sources quote up to 26 in August. July afternoons average 29.2°C at the nearest station. It sits in a regional district electoral area, so it is outside the speculation tax and, like the South Shuswap, outside the provincial rental rule, and the Kootenay-Boundary benchmark of $638,300 makes it the cheapest water on the card alongside Nelson. Two public launches and a marina.
Christina Lake is also about eight hours from Calgary and nearly seven from Vancouver by trip planner, further from both cities than any other lake here. And the Spaulding Creek fire put the area under an evacuation order in September 2024. If you already live in the Kootenays, this is an easy yes. If you’re driving in from Calgary or the coast, the drive does the deciding for you.
No. 4 · 4 of 6
Nelson and Kootenay Lake
Tied for the cheapest water on the list. The Kootenay regional single-family benchmark was $638,300 in September 2026, Nelson is outside the speculation tax, July afternoons average 28°C at the nearest station, and no order has touched the townsite since 2023. Kootenay Lake has seven public launches and a West Arm that stays glassy most mornings.
Nelson is named in the provincial principal-residence rule, so a summer home there cannot be a short-term rental when you are away, and it is a long way from the coast. Nelson Kootenay Lake Tourism puts Calgary at six and a half hours and Vancouver at eight and a half, and that second number is the one that keeps most coast buyers away.
No. 5 · 4 of 6
Invermere and Windermere Lake
Calgary’s lake. Travel Columbia Valley puts it at 260 kilometres and three hours from the city, which is why half the licence plates in July are Alberta’s. Windermere Lake is shallow and warm, about 25°C in the community monitoring reports, among the warmest swims in the province. Invermere is outside the speculation tax and named exempt from the rental rule, and no evacuation order has reached the Columbia Valley since 2023.
A July afternoon averages only about 25°C in the valley, Vancouver is nine hours away, and the Association of Interior REALTORS does not publish an Invermere-only benchmark. The blended Kootenay figure of $638,300 is what we scored on; a local brokerage quotes a much higher Columbia Valley number, which we could not verify, so treat Invermere as pricier than the card suggests.
The test most buyers miss
The speculation tax in BC, and where a summer home escapes it
The speculation and vacancy tax started in 2018 as a half-percent levy on empty homes in Metro Vancouver, Victoria, Kelowna and a few other cities. It has grown twice since. The list now takes in Vernon, Lake Country, Peachland, Penticton, Summerland, Salmon Arm, Kamloops, Courtenay, Comox, Parksville and Qualicum Beach, and the rate for Canadian owners doubled to 1 percent for the 2026 year. A second home that sits empty more than six months a year, inside the area, pays it on its full assessed value, every year.
That is why the card above scores it as its own test, and why the unincorporated shoreline matters. The tax applies to listed municipalities. Blind Bay, Sorrento and Eagle Bay are in a regional district electoral area, Sicamous is a village the list never reached, and Osoyoos, Nelson, Invermere and Christina Lake are all off it too. Same lakes as the taxed towns, in some cases the same shoreline, without the annual bill. The Province updates the list in December; check it before you write an offer, not after.
The rest of the card
Why the famous names score low
Kelowna, Peachland and Lake Country share a Central Okanagan benchmark of $1,072,400, sit inside the speculation tax area, and were all under evacuation orders in 2023 (McDougall Creek) or 2026 (Bald Range). Kelowna and Peachland at least keep the right to rent short-term; Lake Country does not. Penticton and Summerland are cheaper and hotter, and both are inside the tax and the rental rule; the whole District of Summerland was ordered out in August 2026.
Salmon Arm is the Shuswap town that scores four, not six: it is inside both the speculation tax and the rental rule because it is a city of 20,000. Which is the point of this page. The same lake, 25 minutes west, is outside both. Vernon misses on heat and rules. Osoyoos deserves its own line: if the test were heat alone it would win walking away, with July afternoons averaging 31.6°C and a lake the Town calls Canada’s warmest at about 24°C. It is outside the speculation tax and the South Okanagan benchmark was $718,400 in September 2026. It scores three because it is named in the provincial rental rule, it is 727 kilometres from Calgary by the Crowsnest, and the Eagle Bluff fire put the town under an evacuation order in July 2023.
On the coast, Harrison, Cultus Lake, Tofino and Parksville are all close to Vancouver and all far from Calgary, with cool lakes or the open Pacific, and house prices from $860,000 up. These are good towns. They just don’t clear our six tests.
What to do with this
Build the summer place instead of buying one
Most summer homes on the Shuswap are somebody’s old cabin at a resale price. The Highlands at Blind Bay is 60 serviced lake-view lots from Blind Bay Developments Ltd., from $197,000, on the south rim above the lake. Take the lot and build when you are ready, or pair it with a move-in-ready plan. Either way the land is outside the speculation tax and outside the rental rule, and the marina, beaches and golf course are minutes down the hill.
Start with the lots for sale, each with its own price, view and survey plan. Our lakefront vs. lake-view guide explains why we built up the hill rather than on the shore, and the cost-to-build guide puts numbers on the house. See houseboating on Shuswap Lake for what summer here looks like, or register and we’ll send new releases and pricing as they come.
Keep reading
Related guides and places
The two companion rankings use the same BC Stats and board data, and the lake pages cover what summer here actually looks like.
- Top 5 most in-demand lake towns in BCLake Country, Salmon Arm, Peachland, Osoyoos and Nelson, ranked by BC Stats growth.
- Best places to retire in BCSeventeen towns scored on retirees already there, 24-hour ER access, winters, price, golf and growth.
- Lakefront vs. lake-view in the ShuswapWhy an elevated lot often gives you the bigger view for far less.
- Life on Shuswap LakeBoating, houseboating, fishing, golf and beaches, season by season.
- Living in SorrentoThe next community west along the south shore.
- Living in SicamousThe houseboat end of the lake.
- Living in ChaseThe village at the west end of the lake, closest to Kamloops.
- Fishing Shuswap LakeWhat you catch, where and when.
- Homes and build plansMove-in-ready plans for the lots.
- Shuswap buyer FAQServicing, drive times, taxes and the questions every lot buyer asks.
Summer home in BC FAQ
Common questions
Where is the best place in BC to buy a summer home?
Blind Bay and the South Shuswap, on Shuswap Lake, come out on top on our six-point scorecard. Sicamous, the other end of the same lake, is second. Both sit outside the speculation and vacancy tax area, outside the provincial short-term-rental principal-residence rule, average 28.5 degrees on a July afternoon, are within about six and a half hours of both Calgary and Vancouver, have a regional single-family benchmark under $800,000, and have had no evacuation order since 2023. No other place on the list passes all six. Christina Lake, Nelson and Invermere, each four of six, round out the five; Salmon Arm also scores four but sits inside the tax area and the rental rule, and Osoyoos scores three.
Does the BC speculation and vacancy tax apply to a summer home?
It can, and in 2026 the rate for Canadian owners is 1 percent of assessed value a year, not the 0.5 percent most people remember. The tax applies to homes inside the designated areas that are not a principal residence and are not rented out for at least six months of the year, with exemptions. The designated areas now include Kelowna, West Kelowna, Lake Country, Peachland, Penticton, Summerland, Vernon, Salmon Arm and Parksville. Blind Bay, Sicamous, Osoyoos, Nelson, Invermere, Christina Lake, Harrison, Cultus Lake and Tofino are outside it. Check the gov.bc.ca list before you buy; it has grown twice since 2018.
Can I rent out a BC summer home when I am not using it?
It depends on where it is. Since 2024, BC’s Short-Term Rental Accommodations Act limits short-term rentals to a host’s principal residence in most communities over 10,000 people and some neighbouring ones, including Salmon Arm, Lake Country, Osoyoos, Penticton, Vernon, Nelson and Parksville. Regional district electoral areas like the South Shuswap, resort communities like Sun Peaks and Tofino, and named exemptions like Sicamous, Peachland, Kelowna, Invermere and Harrison Hot Springs are outside that rule. Local zoning and licensing still apply everywhere: the Columbia Shuswap Regional District, for example, has been working through a temporary-use-permit system for South Shuswap rentals, and Sicamous requires a business licence and limits rentals to certain zones.
Which BC lake is the warmest for swimming?
Osoyoos Lake, which the Town of Osoyoos and its tourism office put at about 24 degrees in July and August and call Canada’s warmest freshwater lake. Windermere Lake at Invermere reaches about 25 degrees by community monitoring, and Christina Lake is often called the warmest tree-lined lake in BC, with readings quoted between 22 and 26. Shuswap Lake runs cooler, around 19 degrees in the readings we could find, and Harrison Lake is glacier-fed and rarely passes 20. These are approximate; no official BC monitoring program publishes a summer average for any of them.
How far is the Shuswap from Calgary and Vancouver?
Salmon Arm Tourism puts it at roughly five hours from Calgary and four and a half from Vancouver on the Trans-Canada Highway. Trip planners put Blind Bay at about 537 kilometres and six hours twenty from Calgary, and 436 kilometres and four hours forty from Vancouver. It is the only lake region on this list within reach of both cities for a long weekend without a ferry.
How much is the speculation tax on a BC vacation home?
For 2026 the speculation and vacancy tax is 1 percent of assessed value a year for Canadian citizens and permanent residents, and 3 percent for foreign owners and untaxed worldwide earners, rising to 4 percent in 2027. It applies to homes inside the designated areas that are neither a principal residence nor rented for at least six months of the year. On a vacation home assessed at the Shuswap benchmark of $747,500, that is about $7,475 a year in Salmon Arm and $0 in Blind Bay, 25 minutes west, because the South Shuswap is outside the taxable area. Exemptions exist, so confirm your own situation with the Province.
Is it cheaper to buy a cabin in BC or build a summer home on a lot?
Most people start by searching for cabins for sale in BC. On the Shuswap, most of what comes up is an older building on a resale lot at a resale price. A serviced lake-view lot at The Highlands at Blind Bay starts at $197,000, and our cost-to-build guide puts real BC Interior construction ranges against that so you can compare the two honestly. Building also lets a new home qualify for BC’s Newly Built Home Exemption from property transfer tax within the value limits, which a resale cabin cannot.
Is Shuswap Lake warm enough to swim in?
Yes, from about July. The aggregator readings we found put the summer surface around 19°C, cooler than Osoyoos Lake at 24 or Windermere at 25 and warmer than glacier-fed Harrison Lake, which rarely passes 20. It is a big, deep lake, so it warms later and holds its temperature into September. No official BC monitoring program publishes a summer average, so treat all of these as approximate.
Has Blind Bay been evacuated for wildfire?
No evacuation order has covered Blind Bay between 2023 and 2026. Blind Bay was placed on an evacuation alert in August 2023, along with Balmoral, Notch Hill and Carlin, because of the Lower East Adams Lake fire across the water; an alert means be ready, not leave. The large 2023 Bush Creek East order applied to North Shuswap communities on the opposite shore. In the same window, evacuation orders did cover Kelowna, Lake Country, Peachland, Summerland, Osoyoos and Christina Lake. Fire risk exists on every lake in the Interior; we would rather you see the record than a brochure.
Sources
Where the numbers come from
- Province of BC, speculation and vacancy tax taxable areas (updated December 2025) and tax rates (updated July 2026).
- Province of BC, short-term rental principal residence requirement (updated September 2026); Columbia Shuswap Regional District board reports on short-term rentals (March 2024 and May 2025); District of Sicamous short-term rental page.
- Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Climate Normals (1981 to 2010 and 1991 to 2020) for the Salmon Arm, Kelowna, Penticton, Osoyoos, Vernon Coldstream Ranch, South Slocan and Parksville stations, directly or as cited by secondary sources named in our research notes.
- Association of Interior REALTORS, Greater Vancouver REALTORS, Vancouver Island Real Estate Board and Chilliwack and District Real Estate Board, MLS Home Price Index releases, July to September 2026.
- Drive times: Salmon Arm Tourism, Nelson Kootenay Lake Tourism, Travel Columbia Valley, Tourism Kelowna, Tourism Harrison, Village of Cultus Lake, Parksville Qualicum Beach Tourism; trip-planner estimates (Rome2Rio, Wanderlog) where no tourism body publishes one.
- Province of BC, Newly Built Home Exemption from the property transfer tax.
- Wildfire: EmergencyInfoBC event pages, regional district notices and news reports, 2023 to 2026. Town of Osoyoos, Destination Osoyoos, Lake Windermere Ambassadors and christinalake.ca for lake temperatures.
Tax areas, rental rules and benchmark prices all change. Figures on this page are as published on the dates named. Confirm the tax and rental status of any specific property with the Province and the local government before you buy; this page is general information, not tax or legal advice.