Ladner Creek Trestle – Hikes near Hope
The Ladner Creek Trestle is a teeny section of the historic Kettle Valley Railway. I normally love visiting cool rusty architecture in beautiful mountainous scenery, so visiting this old railway bridge sounded fabulous. The trail to reach the trestle is right next to the Coquihalla Highway, so it can work well as a stop off on the way (or way back) from other hikes near Hope.
We dropped by to take a peek when we were driving back from our fantastic Camping adventure at Little Douglas Lake.
Ladner Creek Trestle – trail map
Ladner Creek Trestle – the basics
Distance: 1.8 km
Elevation gain: 140 m
Time: 45 mins – 1 hour
What to bring:
The 10 Essentials
Facilities:
Nothing here. However it’s very close to Hope if you need the loo or a coffee.
Dogs:
I wouldn’t recommend it. There are some very steep drop offs, so if you do bring your dog, keep it on a leash.
How hard is it?
Intermediate – The trail is easy to follow, but very steep at the start, then quite dangerous once you get to the tunnel and bridge.
Extra notes: We found a sign that says no trespassing, so I don’t think you’re meant to venture out on this trail. There is a large fence blocking off access to the trestle, so if you are hoping to walk out on it, you’ll be disappointed.
Ladner Creek Trestle – getting started
There are two ways to reach the trailhead. If you are driving South towards Hope, there is a small gravel road on the right just before you reach the Ladner Creek Bridge. Watch out for the green sign that says Ladner Creek, and be ready to turn! Or, if you’re coming from Hope, you exit the highway at Carolin Mine Road. From there you can drive alongside the highway and go under the Ladner Creek bridge (that road is super bumpy.) The trail starts at a steep rock pile, in view of the Coquihalla Highway and Ladner Bridge.
The rock pile is STEEP! It isn’t too hard to hike up but, it can be very sketchy on the way back down when you return. You climb about 50m in elevation over around 100m of slide-y, dusty terrain. Just be careful and go slowly. After that, the trail gets much easier.
Ladner Creek Trail
Even once the trail levels out, it is still very steep above you. The photo (below left) is looking up from the trail to the steep slope above. There were plenty of areas with rock slides, so you should avoid this trail when it is wet, or in winter when there is snow on the ground.
Ladner Creek Tunnel
It does not take long (15-20 mins) for you to reach the collapsed tunnel. This used to go through the mountain to the start of the Ladner Creek Trestle. Now it has been decommissioned, you need to hike up and over the hill to the left of the tunnel.
This is the path next to the tunnel. It is (again) very steep. Keep to the left as there is a cable for you to grab while you climb. Once again, this is much easier to climb up than to come back down again.
View of the Ladner Creek Trestle
It is pretty cool to see the old railway bridge spanning the deep canyon.
How close can you get to the Ladner Creek Trestle
I have seen plenty of photos of people standing on the trestle. However it has rotten wood as well and rusty metal, so I strongly advise against this! In 2020 the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure built a safety fence to prevent folks from walking out onto the trestle. Since then, there seems to have been a bit of a landslide, so the sketchy path down to the trestle has worn away making it far more slippery and dangerous.
Marc and I didn’t go further than my photo below as it was too risky. Some hikers had to be rescued after they got stuck on the scree slope below here last year. I personally don’t think a photo of an old railway bridge is worth the risk.
Is the Ladner Creek Trestle Open?
Officially, the Ladner Creek Trestle is on private land and you are not meant to visit it. There is a no trespassing sign near the start of the trail. The path is so steep that we missed it on the way up (I was looking down to keep my footing.) It doesn’t seem like the Ministry does much to enforce this (as the countless instagram photos will attest to.) But I wish the other blogs/posts I’d read before we visited mentioned that there isn’t any kind of authorized trail.
Is the Ladner Creek Trestle worth the effort?
I know I normally get excited and recommend every possible hike; But to be honest, I don’t recommend this one. Now I know how hard it is to reach, how dangerous and sketchy the area around the trestle is aaaand that it is on private property that we are not meant to access; I don’t think I’d bother to visit it again. If you love seeing historical landmarks, and you don’t mind not getting up close, then you might still enjoy it.
Othello Tunnels – a better option
As an alternative, Othello Tunnels (which is just down the road from here) is way more fun and has the added bonus of epic Canyon views. This feat of engineering follows the same Kettle Valley Railway, but through a serious of linked up bridges and tunnels. It’s really cool!
I know it is a bit unlike me to me negative about historical sights or any kind of hike. I did enjoy the walk to the Ladner Creek Trestle – I just wouldn’t recommend it highly compared to the other cool historical hikes in the area. If you fancy a history-filled hike near Hope; have a look at Othello Tunnels, The HBC trail (to Covile Camp or Mason’s Ridge) or the Tikwalus Heritage trail.
What do you think? Would you give it a go?
28 thoughts on “Ladner Creek Trestle – Hikes near Hope”
That looks so beautiful! Thanks for the tips, and I agree, I wouldn’t stand on that either!
Love your honestly about this hike and that you give a better option like the Othello Tunnels! I will definitely be adding that hike to my list instead.
There are sooo many other good’uns in this area. 🙂 If you visit and need other ideas, please feel free to ask.
What a beautiful but kinda scary hike! I cant believe people would stand on that really old bridge! It looks so treacherous! But what absolutely beautiful pictures you managed to capture. The Othello Tunnels look really cool too.
After reading about the path next to the tunnel, I know it’s not a good one to bring a dog. It will be hard to concentrate with one hand on the cable and the other one on a dog’s leash. A pretty good trail though.
Ahh, you’re making me wanna go camping again! It’s been super firey lately so we’ve been holding off — I miss being outside. This looks like it would be fun (but also kinda scary) — I’d love to check out the Othello Tunnels!
This trail looks great, I love hikes that are a bit challenging
Knowing when to abandon a hike is good practice.
What a shame you wouldn’t recommend hiking to Ladner Creek Trestle. I’ve read quite a few posts about the hike saying how great it is but I agree with you, if the area is sketchy, potentially dangerous and underwhelming, it sounds like it is worth skipping. Othello Tunnels sounds like a great alternative though, thanks for recommending somewhere else instead!
It’s funny isn’t it. I’d only read positive things about it.
Maybe the landslide got worse since they were written and the barrier was added to stop people getting close to the trestle!?
What a fun hike! I love the trestle bridge and the tunnels – I wish I had more like that around here to explore! Looks like a lot to see on a short little loop!
This looks like quite a challenging hike and maybe a bit dangerous too. I think I would opt for the Othello Tunnels instead!
This looks like a fun hike. I love all the railroad sites, especially the tunnels. It sounds a bit challenging but not too over the top.
It looks like a great challenging hike, I love these types. But I’d love to check out the Othello Tunnels too
What lovely fun hikes here! I love the tunnels and bridges but they seem a bit challenging. Your images are well-captured! 🙂
What a beautiful hike but I don’t think I’d do it as it’s so steep and trespassing. But I would enjoying hiking Othello Tunnels as that looks like a fun and much safer adventure!
Othello Tunnels look so nice and such a better solution than Ladner creek indeed! Thank you for your honesty, I appreciate it so much!
Your honest review is much appreciated! Like you, it’s rare I come across a trail that I don’t think is worth repeating but it sounds like this is very much in the “Don’t do” category. Seeing your photos makes me realize why this has disappeared from social media – that fence stopping people from venturing onto it is not very influencer-friendly!
Yeah that must be why it no longer shows up on insta so much!
I think that might be for the best as I saw an article about a forest fire that started when someone dropped a cigarette from the trestle!
This hike looks beautiful but that steep bit is off putting! I definitely struggle with the descent way more than the ascent and if it’s with loose slippery rocks.. my knees die. But it sure is pretty so probably worth the struggle.
Yeah I know what you mean. My knees find it really tough going down steep trails too. At least this one was super short, so it’s not actually too bad for knees.
Thank you for being honest about the ladner creek trestle hike. I would be disappointed if I were to visit and wasn’t supposed to be there. The Othello Tunnels though – those look more appealing to me!
Yeees, Those tunnels are a way better option!
Wow looks like such a cool hike! I’d love to check it out
I guess instagram encourages people to do silly things. Maybe they’d think it must be safe, as so many other people did it before them!?
We didn’t go for a while either with the fires. I hope things are better near you now Farrah!
Nice review. I did this in 2019 when there was no fence on the old railway bridge and did walk down the slope to it but did not walk that far on it. Yes, it is a bit risky but if you are careful and go slow, it can be done, I did step just a few feet on it to take some pictures. In 2018, someone started a fire on the railway bridge so many of the remaining wood was burnt and not safe to walk on. It would be cool if they restored the bridge and other remaining sections of the railway to turn it in a walking, cycling route beside the highway. The highway was built on much of the old railway.
I have a feeling I would have liked it more back then when there were fewer barriers to make it obvious you’re not meant to visit!! 😉
I totally agree. It would be amazing as a cycling route like the section in Myra Canyon!