Ride the KVR Before it is Too Late

The Kettle Valley Railway is an old railbed where the tracks have been removed and is an excellent cycling route as it winds its way through the Thompson/Okanagan region of B.C.  When combined with the three other regional abandoned railbeds, the trail extends over 900 kilometers in length.

The trail runs through sparsely populated mountain valleys and because of its remoteness, is left open to abuse.  For example, while it is strictly speaking a cycling or hiking trail, along one short section near Chute Lake, my friend Roy and I counted 28 vehicles ripping down the trail.  When I stopped one of the cars and said to the woman driving "This is not some backwoods expressway!", she replied "Yes it is!" and drove off in a cloud of dust.

There are so many motorized vehicles on the trail now that I encourage you to ride the KVR before the trail is completely ruined for cycling.  All the traffic chews up the trail and turns it into a sandy track which makes for heavy pedalling.  We decided this year not to go back to Penticton from Princeton via the trail because of its poor condition and the uphill profile of the trail.  Instead we rode highways to get back to our starting point.

We had a conversation with an ATV'er about the trail and I laughed when I heard him complain about the trail being ruined in the winter by snowmobilers!  Poor baby!  Those mean snowmobile people!