Vision of complete north-south trail mapped out
In the spring of 2016 a number of outdoor recreation groups in the Okanagan began planning for a 250-kilometre, world-class trail from the Canada-U.S. border to Sicamous. This was timely since Kelowna Pacific Railway had abandoned its lease on the CP line from Kelowna to Coldstream. And Canadian Pacific, had decommissioned its Okanagan subdivision in 2009. The timing was ripe for the emergence of a modern trail network from south to north.
Let’s start with the historic Okanagan Rail Trail success.
In a first for the valley, the three local governments in Kelowna, Lake Country and North Okanagan teamed up with the Okanagan Indian Band for a proposed 49kilometre rail trail from Kelowna to Coldstream. The three local governments each bought a section in their jurisdiction for a total cost of $22 million. But $7.8 million was still needed to build it; more than 5,000 donors stepped forward to attain that goal.
In the meantime, the band applied for an Addition to Reserve for the Lake Country section. That approval is pending and construction tenders for the last 6.4 kilometres between Kelowna airport and Lake Country are due April 5 with an anticipated Aug. 31 completion date.
In the case of its Armstrong-to-Sicamous stretch, CP Rail offered portions of it first to
the federal and provincial governments, then to the municipalities it passes through.
The Shuswap Trail Alliance lobbied local governments to buy the rail line but the District of Sicamous and the Town of Enderby could not conclude a deal. So CP turned the land over to its real estate division.
In December 2014, the Splatsin First Nation purchased 11.7 hectares of the discontinued railway corridor, including a one-kilometre section south of Sicamous along the shores of Mara Lake and a three-kilometre section south of Enderby.
In January 2015, Splatsin representatives invited municipal and regional leaders to join them in developing a memorandum of understanding to establish an inter-jurisdictional negotiating team, acquire the remaining sections and develop a plan for its future as a regional trail.
Spurred by a $2.17-million provincial grant, the Regional District of North Okanagan and the Columbia Shuswap
Regional District announced the $6.5-million purchase in December 2017. The partners established a governance advisory committee to guide policy and decision-making, and a technical operational committee of staff to oversee planning, design, construction and maintenance with additional support from the Shuswap Trail Alliance.
In April 2019, a $500,000 provincial grant, along with $300,000 from Sicamous and CSRD Area E, kickstarted project management and technical design. In 2021, the rail trail development plan was completed.
To date, just over $15 million has been raised, enough to construct the complete rail trail from kilometre 0.0 (Sicamous) to kilometre 42.6 (Stepney X Road), plus kilometre 49.0 (Lansdowne Road) to kilometre 50.4 (Armstrong). Only 6.4 kilometres need funding, plus a highway pedestrian overpass between kilometres 42.6 and 49.0.
Then, in early March, Shuswap North Okanagan Rail Trail organizers announced they had received a $500,000 provincial grant to construct a new 1.2kilometre walking/biking rail trail next to the existing and active CP Rail tracks (currently operated by CN Rail) from Lansdowne Road in the Township of Spallumcheen (near Swan Lake) to Smith Drive in the City of Armstrong.
The partnership effort involves the Columbia Shuswap Regional District, Splatsin First Nation and the Regional District of North Okanagan. The total grant application was for $820,000, with provincial Active Transportation Infrastructure Grant Program funding at $500,000, and the CSRD and RDNO each contributing $160,000.
Planning for the construction of this section of trail is already underway with the hope that construction will begin in 2023. However, that project team is not currently working on a connection to Vernon/Coldstream and the Okanagan Rail Trail.
“There are ongoing joint update meetings happening annually between the Trail to the Okanagans, Friends of the Okanagan Rail Trail, Vernon Ribbonsof-Green and the Shuswap North Okanagan Rail Trail community committee,” said Phil McIntyre-Paul, senior consultant with the Shuswap Trail Alliance, to keep everyone in the loop about the potential for a valley-wide trail from Sicamous to the Canada-U.S. border.
The dream of the Trail of the Okanagans (trailoftheokanagans.com) has evolved into a 370-kilometre hiking and cycling trail from Sicamous in the north to Brewster, Wash.
Its current focus is the missing sections between the Bennett Bridge in Kelowna and Osoyoos. Although currently fragmented, a linear hiking and biking pathway in large part already exists. Approximately 75 per cent of the route can be cycled now, and one-third of that is suitable for all ages and all abilities.
The website identifies five gaps with a detailed trail description, directions and the society’s actions on each. The first gap, for example, is Kalamoir Regional Park. The society has lobbied for completion of a cycle path as a priority. The Drought Hill section would link Goats Peak Regional Park to the Peachland lakeside trail with the hope of construction in 2023.
In part two, representatives of the Shuswap North Okanagan Rail Trail, Trail of the Okanagans and local governments will provide an update on their current efforts and how their efforts evolved since 2016.