The International Hike and Bike Trail extends about 20 km from the north end of Osoyoos Lake to north of Oliver. But there is no connectivity with the Osoyoos trails in the south and with Okanagan Falls and beyond to the north. Until these gaps are bridged, the potential for cycle tourism is limited, say advocates. The biggest gap is the portion with Vaseux Lake, but environmental concerns have impeded efforts to open an old railway spur to cyclists and hikers. (Richard McGuire photo)

The potential for bicycle tourism in the South Okanagan is enormous, but one big obstacle has prevented this region from succeeding so far – lack of connectivity.

That’s the view of some proponents, such as Don Gemmell, president of a small advocacy group called the Trail of the Okanagans.

Regionally, the biggest gap is around Vaseux Lake, but smaller gaps also discourage the kind of cycle tourism that has become so popular elsewhere.

Bit by bit, Osoyoos has been expanding its network of cycling and hiking trails, most recently paving and adding lighting on the Canal Pathway, a trail extending along the West Bench from Osoyoos Secondary School to north of the airport.

Trails for cycling and walking now follow much of the town’s shoreline, but the fragments remain disjointed, forcing cyclists and pedestrians to travel in busy traffic.

A bigger challenge is the lack of connectivity to the International Hike and Bike Trail, which extends from the top of Osoyoos Lake, past vineyards and orchards, through Oliver and to the north of that town.

It’s still not possible to cycle between Osoyoos and Oliver without riding at least part of the way on busy Highway 97.

But Gemmell, who lives in Summerland, and is proud of the trail network that passes his community, highlights the biggest connectivity problem of all – the gap at Vaseux Lake.

In much of the Okanagan, abandoned railways have been converted into cycling and hiking trails, especially along the old remnants of the Kettle Valley Railway (KVR).

To the west of Vaseux Lake, an old KVR spur line that once connected Osoyoos and Oliver to Penticton affords spectacular views of Vaseux Lake.

Gemmell says a construction company has even offered to provide a bridge that would connect this spur with the east bank of the Okanagan River to the south of Vaseux Lake.

But concerns about numerous threatened animal and plant species in the Vaseux Lake area so far have thwarted any efforts to open this spur line to cyclists and hikers.

In March this year, EBB Environmental Consulting Inc. completed a feasibility study on a Kettle Valley Railway South Spur Trail for the B.C. Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations (FLNRO).

That study recommended against opening the spur line west of Vaseux Lake due to environmental concerns. Instead, it proposed an alternative route along the eastern bank of Vaseux Lake.

Member of Parliament Richard Cannings is an avid cyclist who travels his constituency from one end to the other each summer to meet constituents. He’s a huge fan of the rail-to-trail networks.

He’s also a strong environmentalist and a biologist.

When interviewed for this story in August, he had not yet read the EBB study, but he was aware of its conclusions.

He takes the environmental concerns seriously but doesn’t think they should present an insurmountable obstacle to opening the south spur to non-motorized users.

“I think there are ways we could mitigate those concerns with some fencing that wouldn’t exclude wildlife but would be a visual cue to people not to go to certain places,” Cannings said.

Some sensitive areas could be crossed with raised boardwalks, he suggests.

“I think what we should do is hire a couple of students May through September and they could cycle up and down the trail and talk to people about the wonders of nature,” he said. “They’d be a set of eyes on the ground to make sure people weren’t camping and that sort of thing.”

Gemmell shares Cannings view that a cycling trail west of Vaseux Lake can coexist with the sensitive environment.

“I believe that a green industry such as cycle tourism, with a very low impact trail through a long and established rail bed, can coexist with the nature reserve,” said Gemmell. “It’s done in many parts of the world.”

Neither man is enthusiastic about the recommended alternative, a cycle route along the narrow, twisty roadway that skirts Vaseux Lake to the east.

“People don’t want to have the trouble of negotiating heavy traffic areas,” said Gemmell. “They don’t want to ride along busy highways.”

The road east of Vaseux Lake, marked with numerous crosses by the road where people have died in accidents, is one of the most dangerous sections of highway, he said.

“Cyclists are afraid to negotiate that area,” said Gemmell. “Hence our desire to put this unused rail trail along the west side of Vaseux Lake into use, to complete a north-south mainline hike and bike pathway.”

Mark Woods, community services manager with the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen (RDOS), has played a leading role in the regional district’s trail network development.

He notes that the land to the west of Vaseux Lake is federally owned and is managed by the Canadian Wildlife Service, but the railway spur itself is provincially owned.

“We’re not asking to go onto federal lands,” said Woods. “We’re asking to go onto three metres of the old rail ballast. We’re really clear on that.”

The RDOS completed a Regional Trails Master Plan in 2012 that created an inventory of more than 800 different trails in the region, assessing their use and recommending improvements. It was the product of extensive consultations.

“The current priority for the Regional District Trails Program is to connect the South Okanagan from Penticton to Osoyoos via the KVR South Spur,” said a briefing note from Karla Kozakevich, RDOS chair, ahead of September’s Union of B.C. Municipalities (UBCM) convention.

Woods notes that when the province acquired the old KVR spur decades ago, it was for the express purpose of putting in a public trail to get people off the highway.

He said federal officials told the RDOS board point blank that the answer is to ride on the highway.

“We don’t see that as an option,” said Woods. “The primary intent of the regional trail network is to provide a safe and enjoyable pedestrian corridor… It’s not enjoyable for anybody to be competing with traffic. I think the (KVR spur) corridor is a natural fit for that.”

Woods said he travels to unique places in North America with his family that often have endangered species, but there are mechanisms to put people in nature while still protecting it.

Still, the environmental concerns identified in the EBB study are significant. The study points to 102 potential wildlife species at risk, 42 documented wildlife species at risk, with 31 species listed under the federal Species At Risk Act (SARA).

Potential environmental impacts of trail development include habitat loss and changes to habitat, introduction and spread of invasive plants, disturbance and harm to wildlife and threats to fish, the study said.

Tennessee Trent, trails manager with FLNRO, sought to put the EBB study in context.

“Just to be clear, no decisions were made or (are) under review with respect to development of a trail on the abandoned railway south of (Okanagan) Falls,” he said in an email. “We are aware there is interest, and this was our attempt to quantify what some of the environmental considerations would be in the event an application for a trail is made by local government or other similar agency.”

Trent added that any application would require detailed First Nation and stakeholder referral before the government could decide.

Gemmell agrees that First Nations support is essential and says he’s reached out to area First Nations to invite them to be part of the trail network. Indeed, the name of his group, the Trail of the Okanagans, specifically recognizes that we are all living on traditional First Nations’ land, he said.

“We could never do this unless we paid recognition to First Nations,” he added.

Gemmell returned from a cycling trip in Europe in September that opened his eyes to the tourism potential. There, the vast EuroVelo network when complete will provide 70,000 km of bike and hike routes seamlessly linking towns and villages and crossing international borders. The hugely popular network has fostered a thriving tourism industry catering to both long-distance and local cyclists.

In recent years, he notes, there’s been a major growth in cyclists using E-bikes, bicycles that people pedal like any other, but which have quiet electric motors to assist on steep inclines.

These, he said, have extended the active outdoor “shoulder season of life,” allowing seniors even in their 90s to continue as active cyclists.

“Cycle tourists spend a lot in the regions that they move through,” said Gemmel. “They move rather slowly. On an average day, they may travel 50 km.”

This means there would be demand for hospitality along the route as cyclists make their way from Osoyoos, to Oliver, to Okanagan Falls and on to Penticton.

“People travel internationally,” he said. “They’re looking for well-built cycling routes to travel on. People want to get out of their cars. There’s so much in the Okanagan to offer tourists and word travels fast when an area opens up.”

Although he’s an avid cyclist, Gemmell is also a professional accountant. And he looks at the economic potential to the entire South Okanagan region, as well as to areas farther north in the valley.

“I think that it’s very important to examine the economic benefits of any kind of investment,” said Gemmell. “This one has been shown it will pay back very quickly any investment in these trails.”

RICHARD McGUIRE

Osoyoos Times

The Canal Pathway on the Osoyoos west bench provides a family-friendly multipurpose trail with a nice view of the town. But without connectivity to other Okanagan trails, it’s not going to attract serious cycle tourism. Pictured are several families of Janet Marcotte’s grandchildren. (Richard McGuire photo)

A tourist couple sets out cycling from Road 22 north towards Oliver next to the Okanagan Channel. Poor signage, they said, confused them as to where the cycle trail was. They had a cycling map that indicated an alternate route along Black Sage Road, but they said they didn’t want to cycle on the roadway. In Europe, the EuroVelo network is well marked and provides routes that avoid travel in traffic. Quebec’s Route verte has been under development since 1995 and it is also well marked, though not all portions avoid traffic. (Richard McGuire photo)