Myra Canyon is such a lovely place to hike or cycle. This is part of the Kettle Valley Railway, so you get to traverse over 18 beautiful trestles and through railway tunnels. The trail is pretty flat so it’s family friendly, even though the views are fabulous.

We first saw Myra Canyon from above on our helicopter tour from Kelowna, so I’d been wanting to come back and hike along the trestle-filled route. I managed to persuade my companions that after a day on a wine tour in West Kelowna, it might be nice to use some energy the next morning. We were just planning to hike, but once we realized we could hire bikes at the trailhead, we decided to cycle instead. I’m so glad we did!

Myra Canyon Map

This map shows a lot of extra elevation gain and loss for some reason. Click here for my strava recording to see it’s actually pretty flat!

Cycling Myra Canyon – the basics

Distance: 22 km-ish
Elevation gain: 40m
High Point: 1280m
Time: It took 2.5 hours at a leisurely pace
What to bring: We hired bikes at the trailhead, so just brought water, snacks and extra layers.
Facilities: There are loos at the trailhead
Dogs: Dogs are allowed (on leash)
How hard is it? Pretty easy as it is so flat. It would be a pleasant walk, but it was even more fun to cycle.
Extra Notes: We reserved our bikes online here the night before we arrived for $48 per bike. Bikes are available from May-October.

Cycling Myra Canyon – Getting Started

The trail head is at the top of Myra Forest Service Road at the Myra Station Parking Lot. It’s about 24km from Kelowna, but the road is not too dodgy, so you can mange without 4×4. We reserved bikes in advance from Myra Canyon Bike Rentals. Once we arrived, our bikes were already set up and ready for us, so we just needed to sign the waiver and get going.

The Myra Canyon trail is impressive right from the start! You can see places where workers must have blasted a trail through the rocks.

Myra Canyon Trestles

There are 18 trestle bridges along Myra Canyon, built by hand over a century ago. This was one of the last sections of the Kettle Valley Railway to be built. Partly, this was because the terrain made it so difficult as the canyon is very deep, wide and steep. The railway opened in 1915, and was the main route for transportation (and communication) from the BC interior to the coast up until 1949.

So not only are there trestles really beautiful, they are an important part of British Columbian history. Unfortunately 12 out of the 18 trestles were damaged or destroyed from a wildfire in 2003. The bridges and trail were re-built by volunteers and opened in 2008.

Myra Canyon Tunnels

In addition to the trestles, there are two tunnels. It is slightly scary to cycle through the center of these in the dark when you can’t really see the floor. Luckily the trail is pretty smooth!

Trestle bridge viewpoints

Many of the trestles have viewpoints where you can peek down to see the incredible structures as well as the views.

It has been 20 years since the massive 2003 Okanagan Mountain Park fire, but you can still see remains of burned trees and burned timbers from the old trestle bridges down at the base of the canyon. It’s kind of impressive to see how much forest can re-grow in 2 decades.

The views from the trail are pretty impressive for such an easy bike route.

The route wiggles around the canyon so sometimes you can see over to the trestles you have just been on. The final two trestles provide some views down to Okanagan Lake 900m below.

I loved seeing all the cliffs above us and the steep sides of the canyon.

After the last trestle, trees line the trail, so you get fewer views. Still, not everyone cycles or walks this far so it’s quiet and calm.

Rock Oven

Most of the railway construction camps had rock ovens like this for baking bread. This one is located just off the trail near the far end at Ruth station.

When should you visit Myra Canyon

If you’d like to cycle along this route, it is best to visit between May and October. We visited in late September on a chilly day, which was great (as it was cool, and not too busy!) You can visit in winter and snowshoe along the trail. However we noticed that lots of the trees were larches. Now I would love to go back in the autumn to see them turn golden.

How hard is the Myra Canyon trail?

This trail is great for beginners. The trail is incredibly well maintained with wooden boards on the bridges and gravel along the rest of the trail. None of us were cycling regularly when we attempted this day out (and it was the day after a wine tour, so we weren’t full of energy.)

Even if you can’t make it the full 12km each way, there are so many gorgeous view near the start, that you can just peddle as far as you fancy, then turn back.

Turn Around at Ruth Station

This is an out and back route, so once you reach the gate at the location of the old Ruth Station, turn around and head back to the start.

Other Rail trails in BC

If you like this kind of rail trail, you might be interested in some of my other posts located along the Kettle Valley Railway and beyond:

• The famous Othello Tunnels (I LOVE this one, it is half open after flooding destroyed part of the trail in 2022.)
• Cascade Falls near Christina Lake takes you on the Columbia & Western Railway (which joins the KVR)
• Ladner Creek Trestle is another quick hike near Hope.
• If you are feeling super bougie, take a Helicopter tour to see Myra Canyon from above.

I always love visiting the Okanagan Region for wine tasting; But it was even more fun to mix in some sightseeing fun with all the food and wine! What do you think of Myra Canyon? Would you like to cycle the route, or would you take it easy and stroll through the fabulous views?