Biking the Kettle Valley Railway - Penticton to Naramata

I usually visit the Okanagan a few times each summer and bike the Myra Canyon trestles and tunnels of the Kettle Valley Railway (KVR) but I’ve never strayed from the Kelowna portion until a recent visit to Summerland. A portion of the KVR connects the city of Penticton to Naramata along the valley benches overlooking Okanagan Lake.

We set out early on a Sunday morning, out the door by 7am to start the ride before the heat of the Okanagan sun took effect, not to mention I love early summer mornings in the Okanagan. It was a little confusing trying to find the best place to start the trail, as it goes through Penticton and our guide book wasn’t clear about exactly where the entrances/parking were, but alas it could have been simply that we were still waking up and not fully coherent. We eventually found a road sign and parked on a residential road.

The scenery was spectacular! A calm, deep blue lake, the blue enhanced by the brown of the clay cliffs and vibrant greens of the vineyards and orchards, then there is the native flora, the sage, rabbit brush and gold grasses. Rather than try to describe the view I have attached pictures. The trail was quite quiet at that time of day, but we did see a number of super fit people out running, likely training for the upcoming Ironman in Penticton.

The grade from Penticton to Naramata is 1.9% so it was a gentle, steady workout but most of the trail is smooth and wide in true KVR style, with the exception of a couple of areas with sand patches and bumpy rocks. Some sections are open to motorized vehicles (not sure why they allow this as it creates loads of dust) but we only encountered one on the trail so it wasn’t bothersome.

I especially enjoyed the varied surroundings, from wineries and peach trees to the South Okanagan native vegetation like ponderosa pines; we even spotted some prickly pear cactus. One way to Naramata is approximately 12km. Returning was easy as it was all downhill so hardly any peddling was required. When we arrived at Smethurst Rd, which one can follow into the village of Naramata, we had to turn around to make it back to Summerland in time to join a boating group. I can't wait to check out the next part of the trail and maybe camp some of it.

Seymour Valley Trailway

Finally, a nice sunny weekend; sun has been a rarity this spring so it was time to seize the opportunity to get outside and recreate. Well, there have been a few nice weekends this spring but the garden consumed them all, but that is another story...

With a knee issue (thanks to not getting enough practice runs during my run clinic earlier in the year), I've had to resort to activities other than running and hiking to take the burden off my dysfunctional joint hence cycling. The Seymour Valley Trailway in North Vancouver was highlighted in a newspaper article last year about cycling routes in the Lower Mainland. Just to clarify things, I am not one of those Tour de France, spandex clad road racers, but rather a recreational cyclist who rides a hybrid bike on non-technical trails for fun and exercise. I really wish I'd checked out this trail earlier, because it's a beautiful cycle through forested mountains with lovely views and not very crowded despite the fine weather. The trail is a 10km (one way) paved path (wide) with two lanes for opposing traffic and modes of transport includes not only bikes but also rollerbladers, joggers, walkers and skateboarders. The surroundings are beautiful, west coast forest and creeks with a view of the surrounding mountains. The best part was the fresh air, pure and scented with the spiciness of the warming woods.

At the end of the trailway one has the option to continue to a gravel trail, more intimately embedded in the woods that follows the Seymour River and terminates at a salmon hatchery. We followed this trail and explored the hatchery, particularly enjoying the display tank with multi-levels and fry that were trying to jump to the next level. Very cute and it's amazing how fast those little guys can move. The hatchery was not accessible by a public road so it was quiet and secluded with only cyclists and hatchery employees around.

The trailway is rated easy and it was in the sense that it is paved and the elevation gain is only 80m from what I read, but there is quite a bit of "up and down" allowing me to test my cardio and then recover on a downhill. At the end of our cycling adventure our quads were tired and we realized that we're not in the best of shape. The hills are do-able, I didn't see anyone who had to hop off their bike and walk it up, but there are a few that get the heart pumping. Oh well, we have the rest of the summer to improve. It's days like today that remind us why they call BC the best place to live, because sometimes it's hard when it's pouring rain and the average house price is nearly a million dollars.