Kettle Valley Rails-to-Trails

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Date: (7 days, 6 nights; Sun-Sat) July 4-10 Assembly Point: Kelowna, BC (airline service to Kelowna; Timberline van transfers to and from airport prior to and following tour) Tour Cost: $1,295 (includes all lodging, all meals, support van, leaders, transfers, tour maps and narratives) In 1885, the Canadian Pacific Railway completed the first Trans-Canada rail line that at last linked the Atlantic Maritime Provinces with British Columbia and the Pacific. The line crossed BC far to the north at Kicking Horse Pass, Revelstoke and Kamloops, leaving BC's southern interior virtually isolated. The discovery of silver near Nelson in 1887 prompted a furious race between the CPR and Great Northern Railroad to tap the vast mineral wealth of the Kootenays region. With the advance of the CPR main line to Midway, the Kettle Valley Railway became the means by which the CPR succeeded in traversing the rugged interior and thereby connecting with its western main line at Merritt. A Canadian route linking the Kootenays and Okanagan with the port of Vancouver had become a reality by May, 1915. For the next generation, the Kettle Valley Railway was the lifeline for the southern interior, for this was a time when all freight, be it forest products, silver, coal or lead, and passengers moved by rail. A number of events conspired after World War II that led to the decline in usage of the railroad, culminating in 1990 when Canada's Transportation Agency authorized abandonment of the KVR and removal of all remaining tracks. As cyclists have learned, however, abandoned rail corridors offer incredible opportunities as recreational trails and the Kettle Valley Railway has become perhaps Canada's most eloquent articulation of that opportunity. The KVR and its connecting lines offer over almost 400 miles of predominantly off-road trails through the heart of one of North America's most scenically spectacular and diverse regions. The rugged mountainous terrain, wild rivers carving deep gorges, broad glacial valleys and vast glacially-created lakes—all of the features that posed enormous engineering obstacles to be overcome in the construction of the KVR—now collaborate in the creation of an extraordinary recreational opportunity. The rails are gone but the trestles that span the deep gorges remain. The tunnels blasted through the seemingly impenetrable mountain barriers also remain— all to be enjoyed at a cyclist's pace along a railbed that rarely exceeds the mandated, gentle 2.2% grade that could be safely negotiated by the steam engines of the past. And so, in the season ahead, we at Timberline are headed for British Columbia's beautiful Okanagan Valley for our first of what will become an annual series of off-road adventures that ultimately will explore the entire length of the historic KVR. We'll focus in the season ahead on the Carmi and Osoyoos subdivisions that include the breathtaking Myra Canyon and lake country, and wine-producing vineyards of the Okanagan. We'll assemble at Kelowna and van shuttle to Beaverdell early morning of Day 1, and enter the KVR right-of-way at the Beaverdell Station. We'll ride through the tiny village of Carmi to the McCulloch Lake Resort, where we'll spend our first evening. Early the following morning, we're off to Myra and the trestles and tunnels of magnificent Myra Canyon along what likely is the most spectacular section of the KVR. We're headed for Chute Lake and an overnight at the Chute Lake Resort. We'll follow the descent of Chute Creek on Day 3 into the Okanagan Valley. We'll overnight at Penticton on the south shore of Okanagan Lake and then climb from the valley the following morning. We'll cross the spectacular bridge that spans Trout Creek Gorge on our short ride to Summerland, and arrive early enough to ride the historic steam-powered train between West Summerland Station and Prairie Valley. The views that we'll experience in the course of this train ride are quintessential Okanagan fantasies. On Day 5, we'll return to the Okanagan and ride south of Penticton toward Okanagan Falls. We'll ride the shoreline of Skaha Lake and spend the evening along the lake at the Ponderosa Point Resort. We're off to the wine country on Day 6 and we'll visit a number of the local wineries as we ride to Oliver for our final overnight. From Oliver, we'll ride to Osoyoos, the southern terminus of the KVR, and then return by van to Kelowna late afternoon where our program concludes. Total Mileage – 165 T I M B E R L I N E   A D V E N T U R E S 7975 E. Harvard Suite #J  Denver, Co. 80231 Telephone: (800)417-2453; or (303)759-3804 Fax: (303)368-1651 E-Mail: timber@boulder.earthnet.net