page_title: Kettle Valley Railway
section_title: Myra Canyon Trestles
hierarchical_section_title: Kettle Valley Railway / Myra Canyon Trestles
caption_attribution_description: English: Photograph of Myra Canyon Rail Bridge near Kelowna taken just days before it was destroyed by fire. Uploaded by Jamie Edwards ~ Landmark Internet Kelowna. www.landmarkinternet.ca
context_page_description: The Kettle Valley Railway was a subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway that operated across southern British Columbia, west of Midway running to Rock Creek, then north to Myra Canyon, down to Penticton over to Princeton, Coalmont, Brookmere, Coquihalla and finally Hope where it connected to the main CPR line.
  It opened in 1915 and was abandoned in portions beginning in 1961, with the surviving portion west of Penticton seeing their last trains in 1989.
  Much of the railroad's original route has been converted to a multi-use recreational trail, known as the Kettle Valley Rail Trail, which carries the Trans-Canada Trail through this part of British Columbia.
context_section_description: One of the most popular sections of the hiking trail along the former Kettle Valley Railway line is the section through Myra Canyon. Myra Canyon is located South of Kelowna on Okanagan Mountain. The section of line originally transited between Midway and Penticton. When the railway was built, the section of railway between Myra station and June Springs station required 18 wooden trestles and two tunnels in order to traverse the deep canyon.
  For years after the abandonment of this section of rail line, the area was a noted attraction, with its relatively gentle grade, it became a hiker and cyclist haven.  Years of disrepair on the trestles began to take its toll on the line.  In some cases vandals had removed railway ties on the larger steel bridges, thus creating large gaps. In some cases hikers and cyclists wanting to cross the trestles would be required to walk on sections of steel no wider than a foot across in sections where the ties were removed.  This would not normally be an issue, but many of these trestles and bridges were hundreds of feet in height.  However, after a fatal accident involving a cyclist on one of the trestles, many people petitioned to have the bridges and trestles made safer. These upgrades included repairs after numerous years of disrepair, and the installation of handrails and planks so that people did not have to jump between each railway tie.
  This section of the railway was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 2002.
  From August to September 2003, lightning sparked the 2003 Okanagan Mountain Park Fire in Okanagan Mountain Provincial Park. This fire rapidly grew in strength and size and made its way Southeast across Okanagan Mountain. This fire engulfed many portions of the KVR between Penticton and McCulloch Lake. Despite concerted efforts by the firefighters, the fire claimed 12 of the 18 trestles within Myra Canyon. In addition, the bridge decks of two of the metal bridges were also destroyed in the fire.
  Soon after the Okanagan Mountain Park Fire in 2003, the B.C provincial government announced that it would rebuild the damaged and destroyed trestles and bridges. In addition, safety improvements including stabilizing rock faces along the line and clearing rock also has taken place. The trestles have since been rebuilt and the trail is fully open to the public.  There are indications that plans for further improvement are in place, such as a restroom located at approximately the middle of the trail.
caption: Myra Canyon Rail bridge near Kelowna on August 2, 2003, one month before it was destroyed by a forest fire
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