Summerland-Peachland trail eyed
A new linear park based on an old trading route could connect Peachland and Summerland, offering cyclists a spectacular and quieter alternative to Highway 97.
The 3.5-kilometre corridor, including a multi-use pathway, would extend through the hills immediately west of the highway.
Peachland town council is expected tomorrow to formally endorse the Central Okanagan Regional District’s application for tenure over Crown land to advance the linear park project.
The path is a key part of a long-range objective of creating an offroad biking and hiking trail to encircle Okanagan Lake.
“Creating a circular route - being able to bike from Kelowna around Okanagan Lake and back to Kelowna — could be a signiÀcant ecotourist attraction,” Peachland’s community services director Cheryl Wiebe writes in a report to council.
“A connection from Summerland to Peachland will be a valuable attraction for visitors and residents alike,” Wiebe writes.
It is already possible to cycle, via the old Kettle Valley Railway from Kelowna to Penticton, and up to Summerland. When the new Okanagan Rail Trail opens this year, it will also be possible to cycle from Kelowna to Vernon away from the highway.
The proposed Peachland-to-Summerland linear park follows the contours of the Fur Brigade Trail. It was opened up by fur traders, following ancient paths used by Indigenous people, in the early 1800s.
The trail was used to transport furs and trade goods between early settlements on the PaciÀc Coast and the interior of what would become British Columbia.
Offering spectacular views of Okanagan Lake that stretch from Kelowna to Naramata, the original trail width varies, averaging about three metres. It is strewn with boulders in many places, and washouts have eroded its sides in several locations. But experienced outdoor enthusiasts do still use the trail, which runs between Hardy Falls regional park in Peachland and Garnet Valley Road in Summerland.