Kettle Valley Rail-Trail?

[Cowlitz]

Did anybody do this?

Now that winter is almost upon us, I have been thinking about the trail. I have a different ebike that gets longer distances, but am not sure how it would do in loose gravel with a load of camping gear. It is a good enough bike that I find myself able to not use the assist on slight uphill grades but again, how would it do loaded?

What I am looking into, is parking at Midway and pedaling to a lake northwest of there, that my mind has blanked out on the name. there may be a lodge/restaurant/campground where one could plug in. This would be a try out of the bike. It might also be a refresher on why I quit tent camping.

One could also ride to Lake Christina from Midway, it looks like. Plug ins might be available in Grand Forks and other spots. It looks like that route follows the highway though.

Plan B would be to purchase comfy, many geared acoustical bike to do rail grades on.

 

[Mr. Coffee]

Did anybody do this?

I rode a section of the Columbia & Western from Christina Lake to Grand Forks and it was fine.

Last spring I did a bunch of research. The executive summary was that the section from Hope to Penticton was problematic and probably not very fun, while the section east from Penticton all the way to Castlegar looked pretty decent.

If you rode from Penticton east you'd probably want to stay around Idabel Lake, there was some camping and cabin rentals in the area. Midway and Grand Forks both have campgrounds in town and some motels as well.

 

[Cowlitz]

I have acquaintances in Tulameen. Apparently the trail is almost in their yard.

 

[Cowlitz]

The trail has had a slide come down. The facebook post said it was east of Princeton near Chain Lake(s). I don't know that country at all and don't know if it is lake or lakes.

 

[Feliz]

The trail has had a slide come down. The facebook post said it was east of Princeton near Chain Lake(s). I don't know that country at all and don't know if it is lake or lakes.

It was reported as Osprey lake on tonight's news.

 

[Cowlitz]

It was reported as Osprey lake on tonight's news.

Thanks. did they get a heavy rain? Or was it just snowmelt?

 

[Feliz]

Snowmelt apparently. Can you find Osprey Lake on the map?

 

[Cowlitz]

Snowmelt apparently. Can you find Osprey Lake on the map?

Found it on Googlemaps. It's about halfway between Princeton and Summerland.

 

[Mr. Coffee]

From what I've read and people I've spoken to those sections of the trail are in poor shape for cycling. There are also a few collapsed tunnels and missing bridges to route around as well.

 

[Feliz]

Found it on Googlemaps. It's about halfway between Princeton and Summerland.

Right, I see now it's a good paved road, I worked at Osprey Lake one summer about 60 years while working my way through university working as a diamond driller, it was not much more than a dirt trail in those days. Beautiful country though. I get to Summerland quite often it's about an hour from where I live but I've never ventured on that road again. I saw the slide on tv the other day that's how I know the road is paved now.

 

[GaryRFM]

Landslide in B.C. Interior causes closure of KVR Trail

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/weather/t...sure-of-kvr-trail/ar-BB13erxl?ocid=spartanntp

 

[Oscar56]

It appears that the slide originated at the KVR itself, not above. I believe the paved road is just below that spot and the slide ran out across the road. The Summerland-Princeton road is not paved all the way through. It appears the slide occured near the summit of the road at the point where it changes from pavement to gravel when you are travelling west to east. It is then gravel for ~20km until you get to the suburbs of Faulder where pavement starts again.

The KVR is not isolated along this stretch. Because the road is within 50m there will be opportunities to detour around the slide using the road.

 

[Cowlitz]

It appears that the slide originated at the KVR itself, not above. I believe the paved road is just below that spot and the slide ran out across the road. The Summerland-Princeton road is not paved all the way through. It appears the slide occured near the summit of the road at the point where it changes from pavement to gravel when you are travelling west to east. It is then gravel for ~20km until you get to the suburbs of Faulder where pavement starts again.

The KVR is not isolated along this stretch. Because the road is within 50m there will be opportunities to detour around the slide using the road.

Yes, there was a facebook blurb from the Similkameen News verifying that the slide started there. It also said it was a problem spot for slope stability on the trail.

 

[Feliz]

Great information, maybe I'll run over and take a look.

 

[yycwrangler]

Hi Folks

It appears that its been a minute since anyone posted on the KVR. Nevertheless I would like to do a good portion of the KVR in 2023. I have an ebike with the range of about 60kms. Due to previous injuries my average is cycling ability is around 40km per day. Can anyone suggest a route for 4-5 days where I could stay in a hotel to be able to charge my ebike battery. Some would call it credit card touring.

Thanks Al from Calgary

 

[Deacon Blues]

I suggest you google KVR rail trail bike tours. There's a number of tour companies that offer cycling tours.

 

[Mr. Coffee]

It appears that its been a minute since anyone posted on the KVR. Nevertheless I would like to do a good portion of the KVR in 2023. I have an ebike with the range of about 60kms. Due to previous injuries my average is cycling ability is around 40km per day. Can anyone suggest a route for 4-5 days where I could stay in a hotel to be able to charge my ebike battery. Some would call it credit card touring.

I'd probably look at sections east of Westbridge, BC to Fife, BC. You could add an extra few dozen km on either end of that to put together a plausible tour. Both east and west of that section there are fairly long sections with problematic access and resupply.

The long climb out of Penticton to where the big trestles are above Kelowna is well worth it and you can probably piece it together as a day trip with some help.

Having a partner in a vehicle who could pick you up at either end and perhaps rescue you in the middle would make such a trip pretty doable.