Photo: Andrew StrainKamloops, BC

Eastern Kettle Valley Railway

Challenging Demanding on several fronts at once, or a lot of riding on busy roads.

Difficulty Our overall read of how demanding a route is. We score surface roughness, climbing, singletrack, and how far it runs from services. The route publisher's own rating, a lot of busy road riding, or sheer scale can push the tier up, never down.

Derived from OpenStreetMap. Good data, not perfect. Spot something wrong? Tell us.

How we describe routes →

A 538 km point-to-point route from Kelowna to Kimberley along the historic Kettle Valley Railway and Columbia and Western rail grades, mapped by Guy Stuart. Mostly rail trail and highway grade with some hike-a-bike on Gray Creek Pass, and about 5,740 m of climbing.

Get the route on Bikepack Canada →

Where this ride goes#

Approximate lineGet the real route ↗

Map key & layers

Show stops Mute other bike trails

Food & DrinkAttractionsSuppliesCampingAccommodationBike ServicesTransport

Riding near fast trafficFastest stretches

Dashed line = our rough sketch of where the ride goes. The rideable route lives at get the route from Bikepack Canada.

Fast-road stretches#

We believe these are the fast, unprotected roads on this route. We can tell you which roads and roughly how far, but not the order you will ride them. If you see an error, tell us and we'll fix it.

about 59 km of Highway 3A · near Troup
about 12 km of Highway 3A/6 · near Blewett
about 6 km of Highway 3A & 6 · near Granite
about 5 km of Crowsnest Highway · near Christina Lake
about 3 km of Kimberley Highway · near Chapman Camp
about 3 km of Christina Lake-Laurier Highway · near Cascade
about 2 km of Robson Access Road · near Brilliant

☕Stops worth stopping for173 along this route

Kettle Valley Rail Trail: Myra Canyon's 18 trestles and two tunnels on the Kettle Valley Rail Trail, a National Historic Site. · Myra

Kootenay Lake Ferry: cyclists walk or roll bikes aboard as foot passengers at no charge… Unboxed bikes OK. · Nelson

Castlegar Museum: Railway and pioneer museum in one of BC's finest surviving Canadian Pacific stations. · Castlegar

Kettle River Museum: Mile 0 of the Kettle Valley Railway: the original 1901 station house at Midway. · Midway

Nelson Brewing Company: one of BC's original craft breweries, founded in 1991... first craft brewery east of the Okanagan... historic building that has housed brewing since the 1800s. · Nelson

Nelson (60)

Kootenay Lake FerryWelcoming· Ferry

Nelson Brewing CompanyInfo· Brewery / Pub · $$ · Casual

Gerick Cycle & SkiAccredited· Repair Shop

Backroads BreweryWelcoming· Brewery / Pub · $$ · Casual

Kootenay co-opWelcoming· Grocery Store

LibraryWelcoming· Restaurant · $$$ · Upscale

Mike's Place PubWelcoming· Brewery / Pub · $$ · Casual

Nelson Museum Archives & GalleryWelcoming· Museum / Gallery · $$

Oso Negro CaféWelcoming· Café / Coffee · $ · Cheap eats

Outer Clove RestaurantWelcoming· Restaurant · $$ · Casual

Plus the fast-food chains — A&W, A&W, Edo Japan +4 more

+43 more in Nelson →

Kimberley (33)

Centre 64Info· Museum / Gallery · Free

Kimberley Aquatic CentreInfo· Community Centre · $

Kimberley Heritage MuseumInfo· Museum / Gallery · Free

The SullivanInfo· Brewery / Pub · $$ · Casual

Biscuit: A Place To SupInfo· Restaurant · $$ · Casual

BlackdogInfo· Repair Shop

Bohemian SpiritsInfo· Brewery / Pub · $$ · Casual

Burrito GrillInfo· Restaurant · $ · Cheap eats

Fantails Expresso BarInfo· Café / Coffee · $ · Cheap eats

Full-Fill Zero Waste MarketInfo· Grocery Store

Plus the fast-food chains — A&W, Subway

+21 more in Kimberley →

Grand Forks (27)

gallery2Info· Museum / Gallery · Free

Grand Forks Aquatic CentreInfo· Community Centre · $

True North DistilleriesInfo· Activity / Experience · $$$

Clyde'sInfo· Brewery / Pub · $$ · Casual

Grand Forks & District Public LibraryInfo· Library · Free

Grand Forks Municipal CampgroundInfo· Public Campground

Grand Forks Station PubInfo· Brewery / Pub · $$ · Casual

Johnny's MotelInfo· Hotel / Motel · $$ · Budget

Omega IIInfo· Restaurant · $$ · Casual

Riverside Court RV & CabinsInfo· Hotel / Motel · $$ · Budget

Plus the fast-food chains — A&W, Panago, Subway +1 more

+13 more in Grand Forks →

Christina Lake (10)

Christina Lake Welcome CentreWelcoming· Café / Coffee · $ · Cheap eats

Christina Lake Motel and RV ParkInfo· Private Campground

Christina Lake Motel and RV ParkInfo· Hotel / Motel · $$ · Budget

Lakeview MotelInfo· Hotel / Motel · $$ · Budget

Canco GasInfo· Convenience Store

One Stop ConvenienceInfo· Convenience Store

Portly Penguin PizzaInfo· Restaurant · $$ · Casual

TempoInfo· Convenience Store

Plus the fast-food chains — Pita Pit, Second Cup

Greenwood (8)

Greenwood MuseumInfo· Museum / Gallery · $$

Copper Eagle Cappuccino & BakeryInfo· Bakery / Donuts · $ · Cheap eats

Deadwood JunctionInfo· Restaurant · $ · Cheap eats

Evening Star MotelInfo· Hotel / Motel · $$ · Budget

Green View Motel and RV ParkInfo· Hotel / Motel · $$ · Budget

Greenwood Public LibraryInfo· Library · Free

CancoInfo· Convenience Store

My Udder StoreInfo· Convenience Store

Crescent Bay (5)

Friends Campground And Day UseInfo· Public Campground

Group CampgroundInfo· Public Campground

Kokanee Creek Provincial Park Visitor CentreInfo· Visitor Centre · Free

Redfish CampgroundInfo· Public Campground

Sandspit CampgroundInfo· Public Campground

Midway (4)

Kettle River MuseumInfo· Museum / Gallery · $$

Mile Zero MotelAccredited· Hotel / Motel · $$ · Budget

The Keg and Kettle GrillInfo· Restaurant · $$ · Casual

The Spot In MidwayInfo· Convenience Store

Balfour (2)

Kokanee Park MarinaInfo· Convenience Store

Balfour SuperetteInfo· Convenience Store

Castlegar (2)

Castlegar MuseumInfo· Museum / Gallery · Free

Chameleon HotelInfo· Hotel / Motel · $$ · Budget

Crawford Bay (2)

Black Salt CafeInfo· Café / Coffee · $ · Cheap eats

Kokanee Chalets RV Park and CampgroundInfo· Private Campground

Myra (2)

Kettle Valley Rail TrailInfo· Park / Nature · Free

Myra Canyon Bicycle Rental and Tours Inc.Info· Activity / Experience · $$$$

Willow Point (2)

Kokanee Glacier ResortInfo· Hotel / Motel · $$ · Budget

Duhamel StoreInfo· Grocery Store

Slice and dice these stops in the directory →

These stops come from our directory of welcoming places across BC. Spot something wrong, missing, or closed? Tell us and we'll fix it.

⛴Getting here, bike and allNelson

Getting to this ride, bike and all#

Nelson is the handiest transit doorway for this ride. Buses, the SkyTrain, and ferries will carry you and your bike there:

Castlegarbest: bus
Vancouverbest: bus
Victoriabest: bus + SkyTrain
Nanaimobest: ferry + SkyTrain + bus

Also on the bike-transit map: Kimberley · Castlegar

Or pick any two places on To & Fro →

🪶Traditional territories

This route travels through the traditional territories of the Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla, Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, Ĩyãħé Nakón mąkóce (Stoney), Ktunaxa ɁamakɁis, Secwepemcúl’ecw (Secwépemc), snʕickstx tmxʷúlaʔxʷ (Sinixt), sx̌ʷyʔiɬp (Colville), and Syilx (Okanagan).

Territory data from Native Land Digital, for educational purposes only.

Ready to ride it?

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