4 August 2009
KVR Railway - A Great Ride from Hope
By foot or by bike, the tunnels at Coquihalla Canyon
Provincial Park are
a cool place to visit on a hot summer day.
Quintette Tunnels Othello British Columbia -
"This will make a lousy railway route... but years from now, it will be a first-class tourist attraction for walkers
and cyclists!"
Surely, those weren't the thoughts of Andrew McCullough, the man who designed the renowned Othello Quintette tunnels for the Kettle
Valley Railway.
In the end, the Coquihalla division of the railway was costly to build and maintain and the whole rail line had a tough job competing
with truck and bus transport, once Highway 3 was opened up.
The tracks were pulled in the early 1960s and the tunnels were left to return to nature. The southern trestle deck was disassembled on
the lower end to prevent easy access - and the northern trestle was totally removed.
It wasn't until Sylvester Stallone's "First Blood" was filmed in the Coquihalla Canyon in 1981 that the tunnels were
rediscovered, planting the seeds in the process of rebuilding the area for tourism.
Inge Wilson, of the Hope Visitor Info Center, said she started working at the center in 1984.
"At that time, local people knew about the tunnels, but they weren't telling the tourists.
"The province had put a park reserve on land when the CPR pulled out, but they didn't do anything with it. The Hope Chamber of
Commerce was working on the Sucker [Kawkawa] Creek project in 1984, then when we were done we wondered, well, what's next? and we
decided on the Coquihalla Tunnels and started working on them in 1985."
"Jim Ramsay was an architect and historian I had known in university and we invited him to come to Hope and take on the project.
He had grown up in the Okanagan and he was very interested in the Kettle Valley Railway, so he said yes."
When the CPR had abandoned the line, Wilson added, they were concerned over liability so they had the Canadian military come and
practice their demolition skills on some of the trestles on the Coquihalla route. One of them was the trestle at the water fall. The
southern trestle was simply disabled on the downstream end.
Some 25 years later, the military was called back up from CFB Chilliwack to repair the damage.
"The military helped put in a suspension bridge [at the waterfall end] and they put a walking surface and handrails on the other
trestle," said Wilson.
"In 1986, when the Coquihalla Highway was opened, several park areas were set up in the Coquihalla corridor, and the Coquihalla
Canyon was named a recreational area. Later, it was moved up to a class-A provincial park.
In November of 1989, there was a huge log jam and flood in the canyon - with water actually flowing through the tunnels - and the
suspension bridge was destroyed. The province then replaced the bridge with the solid span that is currently in place.
"It's certainly the attraction we get asked about the most, probably hundreds of times a week" said Wilson. "It has
such a rich history - but the signage can be confusing for tourists. Locals know them as the Othello Tunnels, but the parks signage
says Coquihalla Canyon Provincial Park."
If you'd like to cycle to the tunnels, only the hardiest riders should take the Othello Road route, which rises sharply at the east
end of Kawkawa Lake. For a much gentler trip, take the route of the former rail line, starting at the Thacker Marsh Regional Park on
Union Bar Road. At a 12-15 km/h pace, it takes about half an hour to get to the tunnels.
From downtown Hope, get to Sixth Avenue and take Kawkawa Lake Road across the Coquihalla River. Turn left as you come off the bridge
and continue to the parking lot.
Head onto the trail and as you reach the marsh, you will be traveling on the old KVR rail bed. At the east end of the marsh, there
will be a quick rise and a sudden drop in the trail. It's quite rideable, though you may wish to dismount. The rest of the trail will
be more predictable.
You'll soon be on Kettle Valley Road. Stay on this road as you cross Kawkawa Lake Road (the alternate way to get to this point). Pass
by the cemetery and continue on Kettle Valley Road, past the gravel pit and onto the trail. There will be two barrier gates on this
route that you'll have to maneuver around.
Soon, you'll be under the canopy of shade trees and enjoying a ride through a rain forest... a cool place to be on a hot summer day.
Trains don't like steep grades, so you'll appreciate the engineering that went into making the road bed you're on. It's a gradual
climb - but on the ride back, you'll reach speeds of 20 km/h without even pedaling. Be aware of occasional rough spots and deadfalls -
and stay away from the edge of the road, as the drops can be dangerous.
Once you get to the lower tunnel, dismount and walk your way through and enjoy the views. In the summer, check out the river below for
signs of summer run steelhead as they make their way through the waterfalls.
If it's a hot day, you might want to cycle a few more kilometers up Othello Road to Schoolhouse Rock and take a dip in the deep water
hole that is a local favourite.
Drip dry on your way back!
|
|
