Othello Tunnels | park, railway, rail-trail, Kettle Valley Railway (KVR), interesting place, railway bridge, historic landmark

Canada / British Columbia / Hope /
 park, railway, tunnel, rail-trail, Kettle Valley Railway (KVR), interesting place, railway bridge, historic landmark
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A series of tunnels on the (now discontinued) Kettle Valley railway; navigating a very twisted and rocky stretch of the Coquihalla River. VERY scenic. These tunnels were designed by Andrew McCulloch to save going around the Coquihalla Canyon. The railbed also crosses the Coquihalla River twice and the views are well worth the trip. The trestles have all been converted to walkways now, and it is a provincial park.

Though the tunnels are commonly known as the "Quintette Tunnels," there are actually only 4. The third tunnel has an opening partway along the side, giving it the appearance of two separate tunnels. As you walk south from the parking lot, you pass in quick succession through the first two tunnels (656 feet/200 metres and 98 ft/30 m long), cross a 75 foot/23 m bridge over the Coquihalla River, pass through the third tunnel (404 ft/123 m), across a second bridge (174 ft/53 m) and finally through the last 331 ft/101 m tunnel.

(Because of photo distortion, you can't see the tunnel locations or the bridge sites very well. Hopefully this will be fixed in future!)

Several scenes from the film First Blood (Rambo) were shot here.

www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/parkpgs/coquihalla_cy...
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Othello_Tunnels
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   49°22'17"N   121°22'0"W

Comments

  • Absolutely beautiful! A lovely walk or bike ride. The water in the stream is so clean and clear and the air is fresh and crisp.
This article was last modified 16 years ago