kettle valley railway trail

We biked the Kettle Valley Railway Trail during our camping trip in August 2014. We went on a day that wasn't the best (rainy), but we still had a great time! The trail is beautiful, clean and well maintained. Easy for beginners but long enough for advanced riders as well. Spectacular views! The historical value of these trails in something else to note as well. The time and man power it would have taken to complete the Railway is mind blowing. The trestle's are fun but may be a bit high up for some people/children who are scared of heights. We highly recommend this trail to anyone in the area looking for a fun and educational day! Oh, and the little friendly ground squirrels that greeted us when we parked were a lovely surprise!

I don't know why the location listed is Okanagan Falls, as the trail doesn't really go through there, although a portion of the old trail does run along the west side of Skaha Lake from Penticton to OK Falls but doesn't really connect with the rest. The entire KVR Trail runs from Midway,BC to Hope, BC for 500 kms. It is possible to begin at Castlegar for another 162 kms. I have only ridden the portions between Rock Creek and Hope.The most popular area is between Kelowna and Penticton. The Myra Canyon portion, above Kelowna, is 11 km and is popular with bikes and walkers featuring 18 trestles and 2 tunnels. There are bike rentals available at the trailhead in the summer. The Little Tunnel is a popular destination with hard pack from Penticton and breathtaking views of the South Okanagan. There are parking lots closer to the tunnel in Naramata where the road crosses the trail if you don't want to travel all the way from Penticton (15km). A very nice through daytrip is from Kelowna (Myra Canyon) to Penticton via Bellevue Trestle & Chute Lake which is a wonderful place for a rest with food available. Many people also ride to Chute Lake & back from either Kelowna or Penticton to avoid arranging transport. There are fully catered, guided tours available particularly between Rock Creek and Penticton. There are quite a few places to camp with tents along this stretch. Other portions, from Summerland to Hope are less traveled with fewer options for camping, particularly in the Coquihalla with bears plentiful in the Summer.Some sections of the KVR have been opened to motorized vehicles recently and I have noticed it harder to ride on these portions as they make the trail very loose, like riding in sand. There is a strong lobby for this to continue & expand. It is difficult to travel east from Hope as there are steep sections on oil pipeline & forestry roads because the old railbed was destroyed by the Coquihalla Highway. There is fantastic scenery between the Coquihalla summit & Hope with about 8 kms actually ridden on the Highway.I look forward to my time on the KVR & would like to continue my time on the TransCanada Trail system east & west.

This former railway merits a horseback journey or by bike with an overnight stop at the Chute lake lodge. The course is mostly levelled with minimum grades in some sections. Its historical value is ever present with trestles and tunnels that connect several rocky ridges. Best to travel westward from the higher elevation to the lake in the valley below. Avoid the summer months, it can be hot and dry, take water along.The scenery is lovely if you like large vistas and remote quarters. There is no wildlife, but some stray cow from the ranches in the area.Some trestles were rebuilt after a large forest fire destroyed the original timberwork in the mid 2000`s.

This mountain hike is high up, but follows the old rail bed which is a flat grade. It crosses several old trestles and has beautiful views of Kelowna and up and down the mountainside. The full trestle trail is 12 km, or 24 km if you don't leave a car at the other end, but you can do as much as you want and turn back. This is a great trail for serious hikers, casual walkers, bikers and families. Highly recommended.

Make the trek to the Little Tunnel (8km roundtrip). It's largely flat and fine pea gravel with outstanding, uninterrupted views of the valley below. The tunnel is enormous and makes for great photo-ops. How anyone had the notion and persistence to blast through the mountain is amazing. Hike longer and grab a bottle from Therapy Vineyards and book a room and a soak at the Naramata Heritage Inn and Spa just minutes from the trail head. Don't bike from the Inn though, unless you are fresh off the Tour de France circuit--the hill is a winding heart-stopper. Drive to the trailhead and then strut your stuff.

We just completed biking the Kettle Valley Railway from Midway to Penticton and were blown away by our experience. Despite some signage issues and vehicle use on parts of the trail from Midway to Myra Canyon, all of these are resolvable and hopefully addressed in the near future. Apart from that, biking a railway grade trail through forests of pine and fir was an unbelievable way to cover 225km. Myra Canyon was exceptional and the railway trestles a sight to behold. Rock Ovens Regional Park added a special attraction we never knew existed (rock ovens were built by Italian and other European stone masons working on the railway and used to bake bread for railway construction crews more than 100 years ago!). The trail from Chute Lake to Penticton is essentially downhill all the way so the last part of the ride is exceptional, but we would strongly suggest that people consider biking the entire route from Midway. Definitely a Bucket List item.

Not to be missed if you enjoy an incredibly scenic and easy casual ride! Wish we had planned to go further....Amazing!

Kettle Valley Rail Trail (KVR)The KVR is a Walking and Cycling route over a disused Railway bed, it follows a 174km route through the Okanagan Valley.Myra Canyon is the most spectacular section (see separate review under Myra Canyon Bike Rentals) but there are multiple access points from the roads in the valley.This is a great way to Hike or Bike in scenic back country locations, look it up in more detail if you are interested, the Penticton / Naramarta section is also a great walk / ride it runs along the elevated Naramata Bench giving great views of the Lake and the Vineyards on the valley side below. The best section is 4.8km from Above Naramata up to Little Tunnel.

We decided to do the steam train ride at Kettle Valley Railway. We did the one in the morning and the train the train rolled into the station with steam and whoo-whoo of the bell. The ride was a really good experience and felt like you were going back in time. There were lots of little children and their families enjoying the ride. The view along the way was stunning and the volunteers on the train were very friendly. There was also a guy playing a banjo and singing songs and talking to everyone on the way there and back. He knew a few Australian songs because someone gave him a 'Slim Dusty' album. A really good experience.

Rent mountainbikes, cycle up (up up up!!) and do the Naramata-Penticton trail. Goes down almost all the way and goes from stunning mountaintop views to between the vineyard views. Great workout and beautiful

We had a great time on the Kettle Valley Railway. A 90 minutes return journey with plenty of time to get off half way for photographs or to buy some delicious fresh cherries being sold along the track. We sat in an outside carriage which was perfect as it was a very hot day. A bit of breeze was very welcome.

It was a great 90 min ride with lots of fun and awesome staff who work hard to make this a fun experience. Drive to the railway is awesome as well. Totally worth doing and a great family experience.

You can walk or hire bikes along the trail and over the tressles; we walked the 6km out to the longest tressle - fab views and amazing technology for the day!

We took our bikes up to the railway (or you can hire them there) and it was honestly the most stunning ride I've ever done. The trestles are each a wonder of their own and doing the entire track there and back is well worth it. Dedicate a day to this, take your time, soak it in, bring a picnic. Wonderful wildlife, views near and far. Good for any age!

We did the Naramata time Little Tunnel about 2.9mi 4.7km. The trip to the Little Tunnel is mostly uphill with about a 2% grade. The return trip is about 10 minutes. The views are spectacular with vineyards and lakes below. A great trip for the family although it was an unseasonably cool July day with a high of 24c which made it much better.