Shuswap North Okanagan Rail Trail clears hurdle to finish construction

The Shuswap North Okanagan Rail Trail is moving ahead since the last leg of the path was recently approved.  

The project needed to get approval from the Agricultural Land Commission to build the last part of the trail and after a long wait construction crews can begin work, according to a joint press release from the Columbia Shuswap Regional District, the Regional District of North Okanagan and the Splatsin First Nation issued today, Nov. 3. 

The issue stemmed from the fact that the trail’s construction interfered with farmland and the regional districts needed to buy private land for the trail. 

The trail owners will work with farmers to finalize access permits and easements for people who want them, the release said. Any existing agricultural crossings are going to be incorporated into the construction of the trail regardless of whether or not there is an official easement or permit in place. 

Farmers previously said that construction of the trail shouldn’t have begun until this decision from the commission made sure that the trail wouldn’t impede access to farmland. 

The portion of the trail from Sicamous to Armstrong is being built by the Yucwmenlúcwu (Caretakers of the Land) LLP, a subsidiary of Splatsin Development Corporation. Construction is set to begin immediately and continue through the winter, if possible. 

Sections of the trail have already been under construction, but the last of the trail can be built now that the commission has given permission.

The Shuswap North Okanagan Rail Trail is part of a vision to have a continuous bike path from Sicamous to Osoyoos. 

The process of buying up private land for the section of the trail further south in the North Okanagan has also had a few snags. The Regional District of North Okanagan was ordered by the Supreme Court to pay a landowner $350,000 after a judge said it underpaid a landowner when it expropriated some waterfront property.