Exploring Mount Conkle and the KVR Trail toward Princeton

Photo: Contributed

The KVR Trail and former rail line wind through Summerland with 10 kilometres used by the Kettle Valley Steam Railway. The right-of-way toward Princeton is popular with hikers and cyclists while Mount Conkle Park is a favourite of mountain bikers.

The KVR Trail from Summerland toward Princeton follows the route of the historic Kettle Valley Railway while providing an opportunity to see and hear a 1912 restored steam locomotive at the Prairie Valley train station of the Kettle Valley Steam Railway.

With a little side trip, you can detour over to the Trout Creek Trestle Bridge—238 feet above the canyon floor—where the steam train stops for a photo op during its summer runs.

The Sheriff and Constant Companion Carmen like to combine their KVR Trail outing with the wide, flat trail at the base of Mount Conkle. The trailhead is on Fyffe Road, which requires a few turns from Highway 97. For those without Google Maps, turn off the highway at Rosedale Avenue. It turns into Prairie Valley Road at the first of two roundabouts, then take Victoria Road South at the next roundabout, then Simpson Road to Fyffe Road.

Don't let the first uphill scare you off because it flattens as you join the KVR Trail along the slope of Mount Conkle, named after William H. Conkle, who homesteaded in the area with Alexander McLennan in 1886. Mount Conkle Park, a 268-acre natural park dedicated on Oct. 1, 2006 as part of Summerland's Centennial celebrations, borders the Summerland Rodeo Grounds and is backed by Crown land behind the mountain.

The panoramic view down to the orchards and vineyards is best appreciated at the Mount Conkle Gazebo completed on Nov. 24, 1999 by a B.C. "E-Team" with the guidance and support of the local Trans Canada Trail committee and Summerland council.

It was the result of a partnership between the provincial and federal governments, Trails B.C. and local volunteers, providing a unique opportunity for young people to gain employment skills while contributing to the national legacy of the Trans Canada Trail. You emerge from this trail at the Prairie Valley train station of the Kettle Valley Steam Railway (kettlevalleyrail.org/). Stay on Bathville Road for a short distance and the KVR Trail continues on your left. There is a small parking lot for those who want to skip Mount Conkle Park.

Photo: Contributed

The KVR Trail from Summerland toward Princeton goes past picturesque canyon walls and tumultuous Trout Creek. You can stop at the Crump and Trout Creek recreation sites for a snack or lunch.

The gravel rail trail is now straight forward with great views of the deep canyon and cascading Trout Creek right beside the trail. You can hike or cycle past the Crump and Trout Creek recreation sites (great for a snack or lunch). The one challenging part is getting past a side channel of the creek which crosses the trail. Some ride through the shallow water (not so shallow during spring runoff) while others lift their bikes onto a wooden walkway nailed to the large trunk of a downed tree. It’s a great photo op.

If you like long-distance cycling, you can ride all the way to Osprey Lake, although the Sheriff and CCC have camped at the lake, cycled that area and found the Trans Canada Trail a little rough from ATV damage. The Princeton end, by comparison, is smooth and a great ride north from there. Past Princeton, a major trestle bridge over the Tulameen River was damaged by a November 2021 flood. The province planned to remove it and apparently has no plans to replace it, thereby cutting off access further west.

The Trans Canada Trail section around Summerland has considerable history.

One of the many KVR engineering achievements designed by chief engineer Andrew McCulloch was the Trout Creek Trestle Bridge in Summerland, which stretched 619 feet across and 238 feet above the canyon floor. It is known as the “infinitesimal” bridge – “incalculable, inestimable, great and fathomless.”

It was the highest structure of its kind on the original KVR line and the third largest of its kind in North America when it was built. The Trout Creek Bridge was upgraded in 1927 and 1928 by filling in the trestle approaches and replacing trestle work with steel girders.

The refurbished trestle was reopened in 2004 for use by rail trail visitors and the steam train using the only preserved section of the KVR.

Crump Station, an official KVR stop from Sept. 30, 1951 to April 25, 1965, honoured Thomas Huntley Crump, an early day railroader who was also the father of future CPR president, and later board chairman and CEO, Norris R. (Buck) Crump.

Thomas Crump worked with McCulloch, one of the engineers who designed the spiral tunnels near Field. McCulloch became the chief engineer for the KVR, where he was responsible for the incredible Myra Canyon engineering plus the unbelievable Othello tunnels. He became KVR superintendent when the line was completed and was replaced by the elder Crump when he retired. Buck Crump is famous for unceremoniously ending the era of steam and introducing diesel locomotives after the Second World War.

One of the original Summerland residents was George Nevil Barclay, who established the Trout Creek cattle ranch after he arrived in 1889. The ranch was the site of most of present day Summerland. Many of his buddies from Harrow School (the prestigious private school in Middlesex, England) joined him but not the "scrappy redhead,” Winston Churchill.

Many of these friends were nicknamed "Remittance Men." Beginning in the 1880s, they came to Canada looking for a new life and received a regular remittance, or allowance, from their families because many were second sons. In those days, the family estate went to the first son under British tradition.

Most Summerland remittance men stayed, married and were active in the community.

Photo: J.P. Squire

The Mount Conkle Gazebo is a popular stopover for a snack, lunch or photo of the orchards and vineyards of Summerland. It was completed on Nov. 24, 1999 by a B.C. "E-Team" with the guidance and support of the local Trans Canada Trail committee and Summerland council.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.