Band closes KVR Trail in South Okanagan due to safety concerns, lack of funding

The Penticton Indian Band has told people not to go onto the Kettle Valley Rail Trail for years, but now it has decided to completely close it off due to safety concerns. 

The band owns the rail trail and surrounding land and it has closed the entire section between Summerland south to Banbury Green in Kaleden, according to a press release from the band issued, Nov. 20. 

“Several portions of the trail are now severely compromised, impassable, and unsafe for any form of public use. These conditions present a clear and unacceptable risk to  community safety, and the Band is taking all necessary steps to prevent injury or loss of life,” the band said in the release.

James Pepper, the director of the band’s natural resources department, said the goal is to eventually work with other governments and organizations to improve the trail so it can be used by the public safely. At the moment, the Penticton Indian Band doesn’t have the resources to fix up the trail and maintain it on its own.

“The longer we’re waiting, and the longer it’s taking to put this together, the more the issues are compounding, the more there’s erosion,” Pepper said. “My hope is that over the winter here, since it would be such a shame to lose this amazing trail, that we will find the partnerships that we need, get the process moving, and then bring the package to the membership.”

There are big sinkholes on the northern section of the trail, he said, and two days ago a boulder fell on the southern portion plus there’s been significant erosion over the years.

“An enormous car-sized boulder, this was two days ago, fell off the cliff. Now nobody was hurt, thankfully, but it’s completely blocking the trail,” he said. 

The trail was built on the old Kettle Valley Railway, hence the name, and sinkholes are appearing which destabilized the path. 

The trail has been closed to the public since the land was returned to the band in 2022, but it was open to Penticton Indian Band members. Now, Pepper said, it’s too dangerous for anyone. 

There have been no trespassing signs on the trail for years, but they were often ignored.

“There’s off-road vehicle use, which is illegal. We don’t have the time or resources to manage this illegal use. In fact, the entire trail is a fee simple parcel. So it’s akin to private property, there are ‘no trespassing’ signs up and down, for reasons of safety, but they’re completely ignored,” he said.

Pepper said the band wants to get the trail fixed up and properly maintained, but it’s going to take a lot of work. He said the band has been trying to find partnerships with local governments like the Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen and organizations like Trail of the Okanagans, but it’s taking some time to make progress.

“We have been reaching out and working with the regional district, TransCanada Trail, the Trail of the Okanagans Society and some others to try and find the path forward here,” he said.  

The Trail of the Okanagans Society has been advocating for years for a trail all the way through the region from Armstrong to Osoyoos. Other regions have invested heavily and made progress on other sections of that trail.

“It is (the band’s) jurisdiction and their decision about what they’re going to do,” society director Janice Liebe told iNFOnews.ca.

The society assessed whether there are any viable alternatives to build a different bike trail through the South Okanagan, she said, but there aren’t any good options.

“We have looked at trying to put a stretch along the highway on the lakeside. There was a study done quite a while ago that said it would cost $30 million to do it, which means it’s a non-starter,” she said. 

It would be great to be able to connect this stretch of the Kettle Valley Rail Trail to the rest of the bike path system in the Okanagan, she said, but it’s ultimately up to the band.

“These are things that need to be discussed by the band and agreed to by the band. And we respect whatever their decision is going to be. It’s not up to us,” she said.

No one at the City of Penticton nor the Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen were immediately available for comment.