The S.S. Sicamous, the largest remaining steel-hulled sternwheeler in Canada, is located on the southern shores of Lake Okanagan in Penticton, British Columbia.
The S.S. Sicamous Restoration Society (formed in 1988) is administered, operated and restored by a volunteer Board of Directors who have donated thousands of hours to the S.S. Sicamous restoration project and serve as stewards of this ship. The Society itself has undertaken the purchase of the 1914 S.S. Naramata Tugboat and the 1907 stern salon of the S.S. Okanagan sternwheeler. Both vessels reside beside the S.S. Sicamous and are currently undergoing restoration. The Society has recently undertaken the stewardship of the Canadian National Tug #6 and towed it to the Okanagan Inland Marine Heritage Park on June 16th, 2007. Goals for the tug are public access, full restoration and a vision to have it run on the lake once again.
These 4 vessels are historical artifacts and form the Okanagan Inland Marine Heritage Park. All serve as living museums. Once hundreds of sternwheeler's served the inland waters of Western Canada. Now in British Columbia, there are only two complete historic sternwheeler's remaining; the Moyie in Kaslo operated by Parks Canada and the grandest and largest of all being the S.S. Sicamous. And so, it becomes the responsibility of the Society, the City Council and the citizens of Penticton to showcase and preserve the S.S. Sicamous and all other inland marine vessels within the Park for future generations.
