South east of Kelowna. and other Kelowna, Canada Off The Beaten Path Tips

The Kettle Valley Steam Railway was constructed in three stages in the early 20 th century.

The section from Midway in the Kettle Valley (south east of Kelowna by maybe 100kms) to Penticton was completed in 1914.

The section between Penticton and Princeton was completed in 1915. The final link from Princeton to Hope was finished in 1916.

The complete line was not a direct route by any means, it was single track and meandered along the sides of the hills and mountains, crossing rivers and creeks on wooden trestle bridges.

The line served as a freight line for minerals and enabled the movement of heavy materials in the days before the highway 3 was a viable alternate along the southern part of the Province of British Columbia.

In 1940 the Canadian Pacific Railway took over the operation of the line. A branch line was added from Penticton to Osoyoos in 1944.

The Penticton to Midway link ceased operation in 1972.The rail lines were removed in the late 1970's. Since then the right of way has become a pathway for hikers/cyclists.

Parts of it are included in the Trans Canada Trail.

Access to the trail near Kelowna is from the south east part of the city using KLO road and Mc Cullogh Rd, however the last stretch of road to the Myra Canyon area is by 8.5 kms of gravel road and to the Ruth section is also by gravel road but only 4.5 kms long.

The above information on the Kettle Valley Steam Railway and the map are thanks to the Kettle Valley Model Railway Club, who have an excellent model rail layout in the hold of the S.S. Sicamous, a ship berthed on the beach at Penticton. See my Penticton page, under construction soon.

The big forest fire of 2003 did much damage to the trees and the trestle bridges, thus at least temporarily, stopping some of the hikes. I am sure every effort is being made to reconstruct the path to its former glory.

My wife and I plan to visit Kelowna this May and the following is an update on the state of the pathway system. .

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The old rail line was single track system and since it is or was in the mountains or hills, there were many streams and creeks to cross, the trestle bridge was used very often to bridge the gap.

There are 18 trestles in the section of the old K V Railway near Kelowna, in the vicinity of Myra Canyon about 10 kms east and above Kelowna.

The forest fire that raged over the mountain top in the summer of 2003, destroyed several homes and burnt 13 trestles . Thus the pathway was impossible to use.

Our visit in May 2005 was to the Myra Canyon section of the trail. The first trestle has been rpelaced, so it is possible to walk about another 1 km, crossing two more trestles, before the path is closed.

The photo shows one of the trestles at the Ruth section of the trail as we walked across it 4 years ago. I cannot recall if this was the first one we crossed or the second. One of hese trestes in this are was burnt, but I am not aware if it has been replaced

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The trail is mostly level or at a slight incline, the trees both coniferous and deciduous are close by the path, there are some open areas, some rocky places and every where an abundance of natural plants.

The access to the path way system is over some rough roads and I believe there is a Provincial park in the area. It is worth the effort to drive to a parking area and then to explore the beauty of the paths.

Every so often there is a trestle bridge with the opportunity to see around a little.

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As mentioned earlier the Old Kettle valley rail line meandered around quite a bit and this location is 40 kms south of Kelowna, as the crow flies, much further by road.

The trail is visible in the photo and even one of the tunnels is just visible in the centre of the photo above the tree line.

At this point the trail is above the lake and there are many excellent view points . Naramata is the end of the road and has a great sandy beach, a motel and guest houses in the area as well as several wineries on the 20 kms of road between Penticton and Naramata.

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The road to the K VRailway pathway is a climb up a dusty gravel road, it is good to get out of the car and walk in the fresh air.

It is very evident that a huge fire roared thru the forest just 2 years ago.

The next series of photos shows the evidence very clearly.

This trestle has been repaleced and for the first year a detour was built around the gap, by leveling out the earth along the hillside.

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This is a view from the south east with Kelowna in the valley by the lake.

It is from the first replaced trestle on the Myra Canyon section of the pathway.

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What else would explain how some trees were destroyed and others seemed to escape the conflagration.

I know there were water bombers in use and that may explain how some trees were missed by the fast moving flames.

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This would be the fourth trestle on the section from Myra Canyon. The path is closed until further notice.

The information states that many attempts were made using water bombers to keep the flames away from the trestles, but the wood was old, and coated in creosote, very easily ignited and would burn quickly.

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This is the first replced trestle bridge and allows the hikers to take a round trip of about 4 kms.

In spite of the damage by the fire, there are many signs that nature is fighting back with new growth. It will take a few years for the trees to grow but life is starting to come again.

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There are several places where nature is showing signs or adding colour to the brown and black of the forest.

In fact it is a great place to hike, not only to see the new growth but also to see down into the valley, the view was limited by the growth of the forest in he past.

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