The North Okanagan Rail Trail is continuing to open up, as another section has officially opened between Grindrod and Enderby.
The Columbia Shuswap Regional District (CSRD) made its announcement shortly after a recent ribbon-cutting ceremony of the Mara Lake and Grindrod section.
With this latest opening, 40 km of the rail trail are now fully open between km 0.5 in Sicamous and km 40.5 south of Enderby.
The CSRD said a two-kilometre section south of Enderby to a trailhead parking area at Stepney X Road will be finished this fall, creating an access point for residents and visitors within the Township of Spallumcheen.
Erosion mitigation work is also scheduled along the Mara Lake section of the Rail Trail in September.
“We will have to close that section for a few weeks,” Project Construction Manager, Jeromy Schuetze said. He acknowledged that the timing is not ideal. “We had to wait for provincial permits which dictate when the work can be done.”
He added that officials are able to keep the rail trail open through the busiest part of the summer. “The good news is once we have this finished the trail can remain open indefinitely,” he said.
The CSRD said this newest section of trail was made possible through an investment from Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada’s Active Transportation Fund (ATF).
