Ogopogo Quest often receives reports from people who have seen some kind of anomaly in Lake Okanagan, adding to the belief that something special does indeed exist in our lake. Click here to view reports and pictures of the most recent reports we have received.
TWO SIGHTINGS - 5 YEARS APART!
I have lived in the Okanagan since 1982 and have been waterskiing out of Gellatly Bay for over 30 years. I have had only a passing interest in "Ogopogo" sightings - thinking maybe there is something to the reports - maybe not. About 5 years ago I was out skiing - pulling my friend across the lake from Peachland towards Rattlesnake on a perfectly calm day - no other boats around. I noticed a small black shape heading NE towards Kelowna moving at a good pace leaving a V wake behind in the middle of the lake. ( just like the the picture on your website taken from the shore above). I motioned to the skier that I was turning the boat to have a closer look. I drove up from behind - following the strange "object" in the water. When we came to within 150' or so the dark object disappeared under the flat water and the wake was gone. My friend's 23 yr old daughter was in the boat and saw it as well. There wasn't much to see above the water and no pictures so I didn't report anything. We knew we had definitely seen something odd and it wasn't a rogue wave or a muskrat or beaver etc.
Now the really interesting sighting: Tuesday morning June 1/21 - clear \ sunny. 10:30am. Gellatly Bay was perfectly flat w/o a boat in sight which is just what a water skier wants! Then we saw something moving on the water while driving to the boat launch - before the Ferry Dock. I just about stopped in the middle of the road - with cars behind me to point it out (now I wish I had). People were walking along the path but no one was looking out. It reminded us of a small whale sighting (not a breach but a smaller one moving along - we had just returned from 6 Months in Cabo and saw whales almost on a daily basis) I first noticed a splash of water and then a dark hump coming to the surface and then it looked like a 20’ or so log moving along on the surface leaving a wake and then it submerged - wake gone - only to resurface again after 5 sec. or so with more splashes and several dark humps moving along towards the NE leaving a wake before going under again and then flat water. We couldn’t believe our eyes - I almost drove off the road...[see more]
"Is Ogopogo real, and is "he" roaming the waters of Lake Okanagan?
Have you had what you believe to be a possible sighting? You are not alone! Thousands of people have reported Ogopogo / N'ha-a-itk over the past several centuries. We encourage you to report your sightings to us and help us compile a history of such sightings, out of pure interest in the subject.
Click on the button below to report your sighting to us!
Bill Steciuk, Ogopogo Quest
E.D. was walking along a service road in Summerland,about 300 feet above the lake, around 8:15am on May 10, 2021. She first noticed a disturbance in the water with fish jumping and a large black object thrashing in the middle. There were also many sea gulls flying over the one specikfic area. This lasted for about a minute
The black object then submerged and reappeared, moving on the surface towards the middle of the lake at a fast rate.This whole event lasted about 3 minutes and it then submerged out of sight.
Andrew Stark is an avid photographer who lives in a lakeside condo complex south of the Eldorado Marina off Lakeshore Road. He took the following photos around 4:15pm on April 6, 2021, from his patio overlooking the lake. His estimate of distance was about 300meters towards the southwest. The object stayed visible for about 2 minutes, which indicated that this could not be a wave. Was it "Ogopogo"? Maybe......
We recently received a side scan photo taken of an object in October, 2010 by Gene Ralston, who is without a doubt one of the greatest authorities on using sonar to scan the lakes of North America. It shows an object that Gene himself maintains "is a dense sonar return possibly of a rocky hump on the bottom of the lake.The return was in approx. 38 meters of water and the object itself was 10.3 meters long". The sonar image was taken off Bertram Park in the south Mission area of Kelowna. It is certainly a very interesting picture!
Bill Steciuk is rapidly becoming known as "the Ogopogo Man" due to his longtime documenting of sightings of the elusive creature which he truly believes exists in Lake Okanagan. Although he has been interviewed over the years by several interested parties, international interest seems to be really peaking, having recently received requests for interviews from documentary producers and TV shows from Russia, Japan, the United Kingdom, as well as Shaw Cable locally.
Lake "monsters" have been reported by thousands of people over the years in all parts of the world. Do they really exist? Is there a plausible explanation? Have some few prehistoric creatures somehow managed to survive the ages where most became extinct, but such that a handful still thrive in modern times?
How does a legend like Ogopogo start? It starts with sightings of something unexplainable. Over the past several centuries, countless people have claimed to have seen what they believed to be Ogopogo or N'ha-a-itk (the original name by which it was known by local native inhabitants of what is now the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia, Canada). In modern times, there have been several photos taken of this anomaly. All these reports certainly lend credence to this so-called "legend". Click here to read about many of the reported sightings.
Scientists have put forth the theory that unlike the world-renown "Loch Ness Monster", nicknamed "Nessie", the Lake Okanagan "resident" is probably a form of primitive whale, Basilosaurus Cetoides, which tallies almost exactly with the loglike descriptions by people who claim to have seen it.
The legend is such a large part of British Columbian folklore that the Canadian Government even issued an "Ogopogo" postal stamp in the 1990's, reflecting one artist's idea of what Ogopogo may look like, as described during many reported sightings up until that time.
Because of the sheer number of reported sightings in various parts of Lake Okanagan, a great many people believe that something does indeed exist, with the general consensus being that it is possibly a species that has survived due to the depth of Lake Okanagan and its cooler temperatures. Seasonally cooler temperatures and decreased boat activity in the Fall could also explain the fact that the majority of reported sightings seems to be between late August and early October.
Kelowna resident Bill Steciuk has been hoping to prove the existence of Ogopogo every since he is certain that he first saw the elusive Lake Okanagan legend in October of 1978. He and a group of believers dubbed themselves"Legend Hunters", and they set out to prove scientifically that Ogopogo does exist. Read about their fascinating expeditions held in the early 2000's.
Click here to view Global News interview on September 26, 2018
The story of the recent sightings have captured the attention of media around the world, and there have now been stories about our recent local "Ogopogo Sightings" by publications in Australia, in the United Kingdom, as well as Fox News in New York.
Amazing Photos
In 2015, Bill was once again treated to an incredible sight while he was sitting on the balcony of his 4th floor Kelowna condo overlooking Lake Okanagan on a warm sunny May evening in 2015. As he was gazing at the lake, something that appeared to be a head popped up about 150 meters away, right in front of him! Grabbing the camera he had nearby, he shot 4 consecutive pictures of the apparition - it stayed in the same location for over a minute and a half before disappearing under the water.
This series of 4 photos are simply incredible but IT IS NOT A HOAX!!! Bill Steciuk has the original photos from his camera, and can show them to anyone who doesn't believe that these pictures are real!
These images were taken on the evening of May 24, 2015, while Bill was sitting on the balcony of his 4th floor Kelowna condo, facing Lake Okanagan. He guessed that the "subject" was approximately 150 meters away.
The following 4 photos were taken consecutively, and there is no other explanation for what he saw - this must be Ogopogo checking out its surroundings! Although the final larger image of the "head" is quite blurry, the sequence of images clearly indicates a head moving above the water.
We have created special "Ogopogo" t-shirts showing the exact time and photo specs when pictures were taken in 2015 of what certainly appears to be the elusive Okanagan Lake resident. They are available in both adult and children sizes - we offer these size choices in both English and in Mandarin.
Help Bill Steciuk defray a portion of the costs of maintaining this website and impress your friends at the same time! Buy a T-Shirt for yourself or as a great gift for someone!
Bill has decided to share this fabulous photo with you! Be among the first to sport a "genuine Ogopogo shirt" featuring a slightly blurry picture that certainly leaves it up to your imagination as to what or "who" is the subject of the photo! Click here to buy one of our exclusive designs!
Do you have a story to share about a sighting of the creature inhabiting Lake Okanagan? Click here to fill out a form to report it to us.
