Armstrong

Armstrong is a city of about 4800 people (2016) in the Okanagan region of British Columbia. It is perhaps most famous as the home of the Armstrong Cheese factory, which closed in 2004.

For the American city, see Armstrong (Iowa)

Understand

Armstrong is a rural community and commercial center in the North Okanagan, with agriculture, grain farming of alfalfa and wheat, logging, and ranching being traditional economic activities. It is set amidst the dairy and farmlands of the Spallumcheen Valley (a name derived from a Shuswap language word with multiple meanings: "beautiful valley","flat meadow,""meeting of the waters" and "prairie-banked river").

History

Armstrong was named after E.C. Heaton Armstrong, a London banker who helped finance the Shuswap and Okanagan Railway in 1892 and local development at the turn of the century, relocating the townsite originally at Landsdowne to the confluence of the Valley's rail lines, and the city's current site.

The influence of Dutch immigrants settling in the valley after the Second World War is represented by their cheese-making knowledge, allowing Armstrong to become well known for the cheese it produced.

The city is also known for hosting the Interior Provincial Exhibition and Stampede, which has been in annual operation since 1899. The IPE has a midway and popular retail show, but is very much still a country fair, with contests being held to judge animals, cooking, sewing, hobbies and other items. The exhibition offers a variety of entertainment options ranging from concerts, competitions, and the famous mini-chuckwagon races.

Get in

The only highway through town is provincial highway 97A which travels from Vernon to the south and Sicamous to the north of Armstrong.

The closest major airport is in Kelowna to the south.

By bus

Get around

By public transit
  • BC Transit (Vernon Regional Transit System), ☏ +1-250-545-7221. Operates bus route 60 from Monday to Saturday that travels between Vernon and Enderby with stops in Armstrong. Travel time to Armstrong is 35 min from Vernon and 28 min from Enderby. On Wednesdays, BC Transit (Shuswap Regional Transit System) operates bus route 41 between Enderby and Salmon Arm. Fare is $2.50 on bus route 60. (updated Mar 2022)

See
  • 🌍 Armstrong-Spallumcheen Museum & Art Gallery, 3415 Pleasant Valley Road, ☏ +1 250 546-8318, . M-Sa 10AM-4PM. Contains a museum, art gallery and archives for Armstrong and area. The site of the old Armstrong Machine Shop has over 30 historical displays, replicas of the railways, a schoolhouse, a grocery store, a blacksmith shop, and a comprehensive archive of photographs, newspapers and maps. The Old School House is one of the original educational institutions in British Columbia. By donation. (updated Jun 2018)
  • 🌍 The Village Cheese Company, 3475 Smith Drive, ☏ +1 250 546-8651, fax: +1 250 546-8659, . An artisan cheese production facility that models itself after an estate winery. Features tours and tastings. (updated Sep 2022)
  • 🌍 Caravan Farm Theatre, 4886 Salmon River Rd, toll-free: +1-866-546-8533. Where professional actors who have long provided entertainment throughout the Okanagan produce a number of annual events and festivals. (updated Apr 2023)

Do

Buy
  • 🌍 Armstrong Farmers Market, 3010 Wood Ave, . An outdoor market that operates weekly from April to October. It is a key attraction at the Interior Provincial Exhibition Fairgrounds on Saturday mornings. A Winter Farmers Market also occurs at the Odd Fellows Hall located across the street from Interior Provincial Exhibition Fairgrounds, operating Saturdays from 10 AM to 2 PM. (updated Apr 2023)

Eat and drink

Sleep

Go next
Routes through Armstrong
Sicamous / Salmon Arm via ← Enderby ←  N  S  → Vernon → Kelowna via


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