Rattlesnake Island is a small island on Okanagan Lake located directly east of Peachland, British Columbia, Canada. The land and shore surrounding the island form part of Okanagan Mountain Park. Legend has it that the lake monster, Ogopogo, lives in a cave on Rattlesnake Island earning the small land mass the nickname "Monster Island".[1]
Rattlesnake Island locator map for GEOG 272 assignment made with QGIS.For other places with the same name, see Rattlesnake Island (disambiguation).
In the early 1970s, Eddy Haymour developed the island as a tourist attraction[2][3] which included a mini-golf course with a replica of the Great Pyramid at Giza and a giant camel. The provincial government blocked the project shortly after it opened. In 1986 the BC Supreme Court ordered the Province of British Columbia to pay Eddy Haymour $250,000 in damages for their "highly improper" actions.[4] A documentary about this affair, Eddy's Kingdom, was released in 2020.[5][6]
On August 16, 2003, a lightning strike near the island started the 2003 Okanagan Mountain Park Fire that burned a large portion of the surrounding park.[7]
Rattlesnake Island from the Northwest
Western Side of Rattlesnake Island, note navigation marker
Small Beach on Southern Side of Rattlesnake Island
Eastern Entrance to Ogopogo Gap, Rattlesnake Island is on the left
Rattlesnake Island as seen from Ogopogo Gap
Remaining Base of Eddy Haymour's pyramid replica, made from cinder blocks at the highest point on the island.
One of many concrete mini golf holes from the island's development in the 1970s.
