Across the Lake Swim Kelowna: Local Favourite Expands to Eleven Locations this Summer

By the Fresh Air Kelowna Team | July 2026

For most of its 77 years, the Across the Lake Swim meant one morning, one lake, and a 2.1 km crossing of Okanagan Lake in Kelowna. This year it means eleven swims, stretching from Osoyoos to Vancouver Island, plus a brand-new night swim lit entirely by glow sticks.

"It just kind of took off," said Kari Baranieski, the event's Event Relations Director. "It was like, let's do more, and let's go out of the city, out of the area too. It's kind of crazy."

Baranieski has been part of the event for 11 years. She first heard about it from a friend at the pool over 20 years ago, then volunteered at the finish line food table in 2014 through her old job at Save-On-Foods. "This is a really cool event, I want to do this," she remembers thinking. A customer at the store who used to coach swimmers taught her technique. The next year, she swam it with her dad. She and Peter Rudd, the event's Event Director, have run it together for the last few years, taking over full organization from the previous nonprofit committee around three years ago.

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The Kelowna Swim: Still the Big One

The flagship Across the Lake Swim in Kelowna is Saturday, July 18th, at City Park, and it's still the 78th edition of what's billed as Canada's largest and longest-running open water swim. Swimmers check their bags at City Park, then get bussed across the lake to the Old Ferry Docks in West Kelowna for the original 2.1 km crossing, or a shorter start nearby for the 1.5 km distance.

"We're over 1,000 anyway! More like 1,100 at the moment," Baranieski said, with 1,200 as the hope for this year. Before COVID hit, the event had climbed close to 1,300; it dropped to around 700 the first year back before starting to rebuild.

The start isn't a mass start for most swimmers. It's self-seeded: swimmers cross a timing mat whenever they're ready, within a roughly half-hour window, and their time is tracked from there. "You could cross like 15 minutes before me," Baranieski said, "but if I'm a faster swimmer, I could still beat you. Just by your time."

Registration usually closes about a week out, likely somewhere around July 10th or 11th this year, though Baranieski noted they'll sometimes leave it open a little longer depending on how things are tracking.

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How the Event has Grown to Eleven Swims

The expansion started with Rattlesnake Island, then Gellatly Bay, a few years back. Cultus Lake came next, the first swim to go outside the immediate Okanagan. Copper Island in the Shuswap and Osoyoos both joined last year, as a pair. This year adds two Vancouver Island dates and the Starlight night swim.

The 2026 swim lineup:

• Osoyoos (Legion Beach, Osoyoos): July 5th

• Kelowna (City Park): July 18th, the flagship

• Westwood Lake (Nanaimo): July 25th

• Thetis Lake (Victoria): July 26th, back-to-back with Westwood Lake as a connected Island weekend

• Starlight (Tugboat Bay, Kelowna): July 29th

• Rattlesnake Island (Peachland): August 1st

• Skaha Lake (Penticton): August 9th

• Kalamalka Lake (Coldstream): August 15th

• Gellatly Bay (West Kelowna): August 22nd

• Copper Island (Shuswap Lake, Scotch Creek): September 12th

• Cultus Lake (Chilliwack): September 13th

Word is spreading past the Okanagan, too. Baranieski recalled one swimmer, based on the Island, telling her how well-run the event was and that he was planning to try the new Island swims himself now that they're close to home.

Starlight: The Glow Stick Swim

The one nobody's swum yet is Starlight, a brand-new night swim at Tugboat Bay on Wednesday, July 29th, timed to a full moon. It's a short one by the series' standards, just 500m and 1km loops, but it's built entirely around the experience of swimming after dark.

Every swimmer wears a mandatory Swim Buddy flotation device with a small, bright, waterproof light clipped on. Glow sticks go under the goggle strap at the back of the head and around each wrist. The course buoys are lit from inside.

Baranieski fumbled for a comparison before landing on one: lantern festivals, the kind where hundreds of glowing lanterns drift across water. "It's these lanterns," she said. "But obviously, it's Across the Lake Swim, on these white triangular buoys. They're lit up, and it looks really, really cool." DJ Stylez plays at the start and finish, which are the same spot on the short loop course, and the swim picks up right where the Parks Alive concert series wraps up on the same beach at 9pm.

The event went from a planned cap of 100 spots to 300 once interest took off. Package pickup runs 8:30 to 9:30pm at Tugboat Bay, with the 1km group in the water at 9:35 and the 500m group close behind at 9:45. Support paddlers aren't allowed for this one, and the organizers describe it as a swim better suited to people who already feel comfortable in open water than a first open-water event.

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Fresh Air's Part: Clinics, Wetsuits, and a Store Full of Swim Gear

Fresh Air has been the event's official swim clinic sponsor for years, running free Saturday morning sessions at Gyro Beach in the weeks leading up to the Kelowna swim. It helps that Baranieski and Fresh Air's Ryan are neighbours. The event's storage trailer parks across the street from his house most of the year, and he still gives her grief every time he catches her out there loading it. Staff, including Jonny White and Ryan, show up to the clinics with wetsuits.

"Probably I would say 95% of our participants wear a wetsuit," Baranieski said. The early clinics are cold (17°C in mid-June, even on a hot day), and most swimmers who train in one end up racing in one too. Baranieski tried a training swim without hers once. "I didn't like it at all," she said. "It keeps you a little more buoyant, a little simpler through the water."

Race package pickup also happens at Fresh Air's Dilworth store, Thursday, July 16th and Friday, July 17th, 3 to 7pm. Swimmers pick up their timing chip, swim cap, and this year's towel (a Canadiana design with a moose, and a family of beavers, raccoons, and birds worked into its antlers). The event used to run a pickup outside in a parking lot. "That was just too hot in the middle of summer," Baranieski said, so Ryan cleared space inside the store instead.

Anyone gearing up for their first open-water swim, race day or otherwise, can find wetsuits and shop for swim accessories like goggles, swim caps, earplugs at either Fresh Air location (along with rentals and demos for people who aren't ready to buy yet).

Kids Shore Splash and the Pancake Breakfast

Kids aged 5 to 12 get their own free event on July 18th, right near the Kelowna finish line: a 25m or 50m shore swim, shallow enough to touch bottom the whole way. More than 80 kids were already signed up for the Kids Shore Splash when we spoke with Kari. Every finisher gets a colouring book, a towel, a swim cap, and a medal at the line, and the Rotary Sunrise pancake breakfast runs right through the morning for anyone sticking around to watch the main swim come in.

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Doing it for the Kids

Peter Rudd helped start the YMCA Okanagan Swims Program in 2012, and the event has been funded every year since, first as a nonprofit, and now as a direct donor. The program funds free swim lessons for Grade 3 students across School District 23, from Peachland to Lake Country. Since it began, the swim has donated more than $166,000 and sent over 18,000 kids through the program.

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Who Shows Up at Across the Lake Swim?

The demographic runs across the board from age 5 (kids shore splash) to 94! Connie Stamhuis, who's swum the event many times, is back at 94 in 2026; her son coaches at the swim clinics. Volunteers return year after year, too, which is most of how an event this size runs at all.

"It's really great when you hear positive stuff," Baranieski said. "I think we got it down, with our group."

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Gear Up for Race Day

Fresh Air carries wetsuits, goggles, swim caps, and earplugs for open water, plus rentals and demos for anyone who wants to try before they buy. Staff are at the Gyro Beach clinics most Saturday mornings through the summer if you want hands-on advice, or stop by either Fresh Air Kelowna location any day of the week.

Frequently Asked Questions About the Across the Lake Swim

Q: When does registration close for the Kelowna swim?

A: Usually about a week before race day. This year, that lands on July 10th, though the organizers sometimes extend it slightly depending on numbers.

Q: Do I need a wetsuit?

A: It's not mandatory, but about 95% of participants wear one. Fresh Air's free swim clinics at Gyro Beach are a low-pressure way to try one out before race day, and rentals are $10.

Q: Is the Glow Stick (Starlight) swim a good first open-water swim? 

A: Not really by design. It's built for swimmers who already feel comfortable in open water; a daytime swim like Kelowna, Osoyoos, or Gellatly Bay is a better starting point.

Q: Where do I pick up my Kelowna race package?

A: Fresh Air's Dilworth location, Thursday, July 16th and Friday, July 17th, 3 to 7pm. You'll need your timing chip and cap on the morning of the swim.

Q: What is the Kids Shore Splash?

A: A free, shallow shore swim for kids 5 to 12 near the Kelowna finish line on July 18th, with a medal for every finisher.

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Fresh Air Kelowna has supported the Across the Lake Swim's clinics and race-week logistics for years. With two Kelowna locations and over 40 years of local expertise, they’re the go-to shop for outdoor fun. Browse Fresh Air's wetsuits and open-water swim gear before you hit the lake.

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