The Myra Canyon Trestles trail in Kelowna, BC is a popular place for outdoor recreation. Once part of the Kettle Valley Railway this reclaimed rail-bed is now part of an expansive network of trails that forms the Kettle Valley Railway (KVR) Trial system throughout southern British Columbia. What makes this portion of the trail so attractive are the eighteen trestles bridges and two tunnels that run along the steep canyon walls and the breathtaking views along the way. The Myra Canyon Trestles can be accessed at either end of its 12 km stretch, either at the Myra Station parking lot or at the Ruth Station parking lot (directions here). There are advantages and disadvantages to either parking lot. The Myra Station parking lot is big and quite busy but it is closer to the tunnels and trestles. I would recommend parking here for exploring the trail on foot or if you only plan to bike a part of the trail. The Ruth Station parking lot is much smaller but often empty. I prefer it if the plan is to bike the entire trail, out-and-back (24 km).
Last year I biked the Myra Canyon Trestles with my sister and children. It was a great experience and my older children still talk about it. However, I recently had the opportunity to bike this trail in the evening with my mother. Unlike the daytime, when the Myra Canyon Trestles are bustling with people, the evening is very quiet. We saw more rabbits and birds than people on the trail. Biking along the trestles as the sun sets is breathtaking. I would barely cycling several hundred meters before stopping again to admire the view. Inherently there are some risks to biking in low lighting and I don’t think I would do it with my young children just yet. I did bring a headlamp, which we used towards the end of our ride, and I wish I would have brought sweater as the canyon is chilly in the evening.
The Kettle Valley Railway (KVR) Trial network is such an awesome place for family adventures. The trails are wide and the grade (slope) is never too steep. Only recently we completed a 43 km bike ride from Chute Lake to Penticton, BC and it was great! There are many other stretches of this trail that we want to explore and eventually we would like to complete a multi-day bike trek. For more information on biking the the KVR trail I recommend reading: Cycling the Kettle Valley Railway.