Coquihalla Canyon Park is a BC Parks site off Highway 5 north of Hope. BC Parks says it highlights the Kettle Valley Railway grade through Coquihalla Gorge and five tunnels built in 1914.
Those tunnels are known as the Othello Tunnels.
Coquihalla Canyon is one of the strongest history walks in the Hope area. The Coquihalla River cut a 300 foot deep channel through solid granite, and engineer Andrew McCulloch chose to build a straight line of railway tunnels through the gorge rather than bypass it.
The easy 3.5 kilometre round-trip trail through the Othello Tunnels is part of the Trans Canada Trail and has a flat gravel surface. Visitors get canyon views from the trail, bridges, and tunnels, plus connections to the historic Hope-Nicola Cattle Trail. The park also offers fishing, picnicking, leashed-pet walking on the hiking trail, roadway cycling, and e-biking on signed or designated trails.
The railway story is vivid: the Kettle Valley Railway opened in 1916, closed after washouts, and the line was officially abandoned in 1961.
Plan around the Othello Tunnels walk, Kettle Valley Railway history, canyon photography, bridge viewpoints, picnicking, fishing with current regulations, leashed-pet trail walks, and cycling with dismounting through tunnels.
There is no swimming in this park, and the rocky river area is unsafe for play or swimming. Flashlights are strongly recommended in the long, dark tunnels, cyclists should walk bikes through tunnels, and visitors should watch for ticks from March to June.
