For that matter, this is also Kilometre 0 for the KVRT from Penticton to Hope, BC, the western end of the KVRT. When constructed, the KVR was begun at several different points, Merritt in the west, Midway in the east, and here in Penticton. Groundbreaking for the KVR took place in Penticton on July 1, 1911, possibly on this very spot.
Built in the early twentieth century, the Kettle Valley Railway (KVR), was a subsidiary of the CPR, the intention of which was to ensure a Canadian railroad presence in the Boundary Country and the South Okanagan. This section of railway was part of the second section of rail begun by the KVR, known as the Carmi Subdivision, with construction beginning in 1910. The first section, from Merritt south, was begun on July 10, 1910, while this section was begun at Merritt on October 4, 1910.
Declining use caused the elimination of passenger service on the KVR in 1964. Eight years later this, the Carmi Subdivision, was shut down, with the tracks being torn up sometime later. By 1989 the entire Kettle Valley Railway was abandoned and the tracks removed. In the 1990s work was begun on the construction of the Kettle Valley Rail Trail (KVRT), which encompasses essentially the entire KVR railbed, from Midway, BC to Hope.
Major sections of the KVRT have since been incorporated into the Trans Canada Trail, including this section. A limited amount of parking is available on Vancouver Place, a cul-de-sac immediately west of the trailhead.
The KVRT is about 455 kilometres in length with numerous access points. The official start, or “Mile 0” of the KVRT is in Midway, BC, while the "end" is at Hope, BC, where it connects with the Silverhope Creek Trail. This trail connects to further trails which continue west to the Pacific. At Midway the trail connects to the Columbia and Western Rail Trail which is also part of the Trans Canada Trail. The Columbia and Western Rail Trail ends at Midway where the KVRT begins. Though the KVRT runs through mountain country both east and west from Penticton, this being a Rail Trail, there are no grades steeper than 2 to 3 percent.
The entire length of the main section of the KVRT is also the Trans Canada Trail (TCT), currently just over 18,000 kilometres long. It is hoped that, by 2017, the 25th anniversary of the TCT, the trail will be complete, stretching 24,000 kilometres in total.
