KVR Trail Penticton
Penticton,
British Columbia
Overview
The Kettle Valley Rail Trail, often referred to as the KVR trail, is a 410 mile multi-use trail in British Columbia, Canada that spans from Hope to Castlegar. It was a former railroad route that has been converted into a trail and is part of the Trans Canada Trail. This page deals with the Kettle Valley Rail Trail from Penticton to Chute Lake, which is one of the most scenic and historic stretches of the former rail line. Beginning above the shores of Okanagan Lake just outside of downtown Penticton, the trail proceeds north on a gentle rail-grade through orchards, vineyards, and ponderosa pine forest, offering sweeping views of the valley and lake below. The surface is mostly compact gravel, making it suitable for cycling, hiking, or walking, and the steady grade allows for a relatively moderate climb despite the distance. Within the first mile, you will have sweeping views of Okanagan Lake and Penticton, making it a perfect trail for a quick hike, and in less than 3 miles you will cross McCulloch Trestle, the first of many converted train trestles along the trail.
Directions
Parking
Trip Reports
While looking into this to do for our weekend getaway to Penticton, my wife and I discussed bringing our bikes up for a nice family ride on Saturday. While I bike quite a bit for exercise around Lake Chelan, we haven't done much family riding as there aren't a ton of flat places that are good for kids. So I was excited when I saw the Kettle Valley Rail Trail, it was pretty close to where we were staying and was reasonably flat.
We were mulling over the decision to either ride to the trailhead or dive our car. We ultimately decided to drive, as we wanted to go to a nearby winery after the ride, and while the trailhead was only 2 miles from our hotel, I wanted to save everyone's energy for the ride and my son hadn't ridden in traffic in quite some time. I'm glad we did drive, as there is a decent amount of uphill as you leave downtown and go to the trailhead. It would have been fine for me, but I know my wife and son wouldn't have appreciated it. We easily found street parking near the trailhead, and set off on our ride.
It is a nice wide gravel trail, and while there was a steady flow of people on the trail, both people riding and walking, it never felt too crowded. Pretty quickly you start to get nice views of Lake Okanagan and Penticton. There were a number of spots along the trail where you could walk a hundred yards or less off the trail up onto higher terrain for unobstructed views of the lake. I was tempted to jump off my bike, but didn't want to have the family stop so we kept riding.
We passed by the entrance to Evolve winery, which we planned on visiting after the bike ride. I had thought about billing to the winery, given it was right along the Kettle Valley Rail Trail, but we wanted to freshen up before our tasting. This section of the trail was mostly open grassland type of terrain, similar to what we have in Lake Chelan.
Farther down the trail we could see the Penticton sign on the hillside above and I stopped for a couple of photos as my wife and son continued along. There was a steady stream of people biking by, and almost all of them had e-bikes. Later in the ride, a gentleman coming the other way on a regular bike commented how we (non e-bike riders) were a dying breed! It looked quite a few of the people may have been on rentals, and having an e-bike would have allowed for a much longer bike for us, but we were content with our old bikes!
There were a couple of benches alongside the trail at various points. Even without a bike, this would be a great trail to walk, as you have great views of the lake and Penticton, and spots to rest on a bench with nice views. While there were definitely more bikers, especially as we got further along the trail, the first mile or so of the trail had a decent number of people walking.
Farther along the trail we started to pass through more vineyards. It was quite pretty with the vineyards lining the hillside and Lake Okagagan off in the distance. There were a couple of sections in the trail that dipped a little bit, and my son was not able to ride up the small hill. He tried a couple of times to make it up, but without any real speed it wasn't possible. He got pretty frustrated, but eventually got over it.
We eventually reached the McCulloch Trestle and decided to bike across the trestle and then turn around. My son was still in a sour mood from not being able to ride up the small hill, and it took some coaxing for him to agree to bike across the trestle. It was a little bumpy riding across, but fortunately, he made it across and back without having to walk his bike.
After the McCulloch Trestle, we had some water and then headed on back to the car. I biked ahead so I could get some photos of my son and wife riding by.
Towards the end of the ride, I pulled off on the side of the trail and walked up to the bluff overlooking the lake to snap some pictures of Penticton. There were some signs warning about getting too close to the edge - it was quite the drop down the hillside!
We only biked for a little under 6 miles, but it was fun to get out for a family bike ride. The KVR trail is a definite must do while in Penticton. Whether you walk or ride your bike, you will have great views of Penticton and Lake Okanagan and the parts that wind through the vineyards are very scenic.
