Located on the southern end of Skaha Lake in the Okanagan Valley, and known locally as OK Falls, the little community of Okanagan Falls was originally known as Dogtown, from the Okanagan Indian word Skaha, meaning dog, after which the nearby Skaha Lake was named.

The actual Okanagan Falls were reduced to gentle rapids many years ago with the construction of the flood control dam in the 1950s to control the level of water flowing south in the Okanagan River.