Built by the CPR as part of the Columbia & Western Railway, this section of the line was amalgamated with the Kettle Valley Railway and saw service until the last train ran in 1991. Over the course of the next few years the tracks were taken up and the railbed eventually became a rail trail, managed by the
Columbia and Western Trail Society (C&WTS).
Here, the distinction between the Kettle Valley Rail Trail and the Columbia & Western Rail Trail has become blurred, as the signs at this point refer to the trail as the Kettle Valley Rail Trail, though the line was originally part of the Columbia & Western Railway. That's of no real consequence, though, as they're all part of the Trans Canada Trail now. On the Trans Canada Trail, this section is officially known as the Columbia and Western Trail (Grand Forks to Christina Lake).
The Columbia and Western Rail Trail is 162 Km long from Castlegar, British Columbia to Midway, B.C. and travels the abandoned Canadian Pacific Boundary Subdivision with the last train going through in 1991. In 2000 the C.P.R. donated the line to the Province of British Columbia for a Recreational trail to form [part of] the British Columbia [section of the] Trans-Canada Trail network.
From the C&WTS
Access to this trailhead is via Santa Rosa Road, which leads east and south from Highway 3 about 250 metres north of the Christina Creek Bridge in the town of Christina Lake. At one time one could head either east or west on the trail from this point. That's no longer the case, as the road bridge over the rail bed has been removed and filled in, blocking the way south (which leads west to the Kettle Valley). The only option from this point is north and east, ultimately to Castlegar.
At this trailhead is a large parking area, an outhouse, a picnic table and an informational sign, telling the hiker/biker of the local edible berries to be found along the way.