Highway 97C (Okanagan Connector) Road Conditions in British Columbia

2 current reports along the route. The 1 most serious are listed below. Always check with DriveBC before setting off.

• Lanes blocked

  Road work on Highway 97C

  Geotechnical investigation from Highway 97C, At Brenda Mine Road. Starting Tue Nov 3 until Fri Nov 6. From 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM MST, Tuesday to Friday. Shoulder closed. Right lane closed. Last update: October 15th, 2026 at 12:07pm PDT. Groundwater monitoring.

  Okanagan-Shuswap District • Both directions • BC • Until Nov 7, 12:00 AM Details

Winter tire and chain requirements on Highway 97C

Highway 97C is a designated winter tire and chain route. Winter tires are required on it every year from October 1 to April 30, whatever the forecast on the day: a legal winter tire in BC carries either the letters M and S (mud and snow, the legal minimum, which includes many all-season tires) or the three-peaked mountain and snowflake symbol, and has at least 3.5 mm of tread. The province notes that mountain-snowflake tires grip better on snow and ice. Passenger vehicles may add chains or other traction devices to their winter tires; chains alone are not a substitute for them.

Commercial vehicles between 5,000 and 11,794 kg licensed GVW must carry chains or traction devices, or run winter-rated tires; vehicles of 11,794 kg and over must carry steel chains on most major highways from October 1 to April 30 and install them where the chain-up signs say so. Not carrying chains where required is a $196 fine; driving past an active chain-up area is $598.

The full rule, the fines and the exceptions are on the British Columbia page. Source: gov.bc.ca, Tire and Chain Requirements, checked September 8, 2026. What is in force today — a chain-up, a closure — is on DriveBC ↗.

Segments and what to expect

Highway 97C is not one road in winter but four, and the names below are the ones drivers and DriveBC use for them. The elevations are the province's own, from its cameras at the places named.

1. Peachland to Pennask Summit to 1,728 m

   33 km from the Highway 97 junction above Okanagan Lake to the 1,728 m summit: long, steep grades all the way, and the side the Okanagan's rain turns to snow on within a few kilometres.

2. Pennask Summit to Aspen Grove 1,728 m → 1,071 m

   Forty-nine kilometres of open plateau past Elkhart (1,621 m) — the road stays above 1,500 m for most of it, which is why wind and drifting close lanes here when the valleys are dry — down to Aspen Grove (1,071 m) on Highway 5A.

3. Aspen Grove to Merritt from 1,071 m

   Shared with Highway 5A into Merritt and the Coquihalla junction: the easy end, in the dry Nicola country.

4. Merritt to Ashcroft

   The northern half of 97C, two lanes over the Highland Valley past the Logan Lake mine to Highway 1 at Ashcroft: high, empty and lightly travelled, so a problem here waits longer for help.

Passes and summits on Highway 97C

The places on this road that are a different drive from the valleys either side: each has its own page with the summit readings, the six-day forecast and the rule in force there.

• Pennask Summit weather — 1,728 m

Closures that have shaped Highway 97C

Not a log of every hour DriveBC has shut a lane — the events that say what kind of road this is, each with the source it comes from.

• 29 October 2025

  Closed in both directions early on 29 October 2025 between Sunset Main Road and Elkhart Road, 21 km west of Pennask Summit, for a vehicle incident as the first wintry conditions of the season arrived; cleared by 7 a.m. with major delays behind it. Source: Castanet Kamloops, 29 October 2025.

Alternate routes when Highway 97C is closed

• If Pennask Summit, Merritt to Peachland is closed: Highway 5 to Kamloops, then Highway 1 and 97 through Vernon — about 1 h 55 min longer than the direct road when both are open, 254 km against 143 km. Round the north end by Kamloops and Vernon. All of it is lower than the Connector, which is the point; it is also two to three times the distance.

Distances and times are measured over openrouteservice on a clear road; a closure day is not one, because the detour carries the closed road's traffic too. What is closed right now is on DriveBC ↗.

Related roads

Highway 97C Winter Driving FAQ

How long is the Okanagan Connector from Merritt to Kelowna?

About 143 km and 1 h 40 min on a clear road, measured over openrouteservice from Merritt to West Kelowna, over Pennask Summit at 1,728 m and down to the Highway 97 junction above Peachland. The road is at or above 1,500 m for most of the middle section.

Do I need winter tires on Highway 97C?

Yes. The Connector is a designated winter tire route from October 1 to April 30; a car needs M+S or mountain-snowflake tires with at least 3.5 mm of tread, and the RCMP have checked at the Merritt end. Commercial vehicles over 11,794 kg carry chains. The first snow of the season here comes in October, before the rule is a habit.

What is the alternative when the Connector is closed?

Highway 5 to Kamloops, then Highway 1 and 97 through Vernon to Kelowna: about 1 h 55 min longer when both are open, 254 km against 143. All of it is lower than Pennask Summit, which is the point of it.

Why does the Connector close when the valleys are dry?

Wind. The road crosses an open plateau above 1,500 m between Aspen Grove and the summit with nothing to break it, so blowing snow closes lanes and visibility drops to nothing while Kelowna and Merritt below are clear. The Peachland side's long, steep grades add the crashes.