gnilma's Hiking Adventures 026 - Myra Canyon Trail
680 sats \ 7 comments \ @gnilma 2 Jun earth
The Myra Canyon Trail is located in the Okanagan area near Kelowna, BC. The trail is a 24km out and back trail with 544m elevation gain. The trail is quite long for walking but the distance is perfect for bikes. It used to be a train route, but the track had been removed and the path turned into a flat multi-use trail suitable for walking, running, and biking. Although the train tracks had been removed, the trestles and tunnels remain, and this trail boasts 18 trestles and 2 tunnels. The trestles were destroyed by a forest fire back in the summer 2003, but they had been rebuilt and the trail reopened in June 2008.
We first visited this trail way back in 2014 during a road trip to Kelowna, as this trail was ranked one of the top destinations by numerous online tourism websites. We started from the Myra Station trailhead, going from trestle 18 back towards trestle 1, because we didn't plan on walking the full 12km, and the section near trestle 18 had more trestles and was closer to the tunnel. Rental bikes are also available near the parking lot if you want to travel the full 12km and back, but did not bring a bike and did not want to walk. Our plan was to reach the tunnel then turn back, which gives us a good 6km+ walk in total. We were still able to see dead burned trees left by the 2003 fire. The vegetation seen along the trail was quite bare, without much tall trees.
Burned trees and little vegetation along the trail.
Lots of burned trees on the hills and forest not very thick.
Plaque commemorating the rebuilding of the trestles that were destroyed by the 2003 forest fire.
We revisited this trail during another family road trip to Kelowna in June 2022. The moment I entered the trail, I noticed much more vegetation and growth to the sides of the trail. Also, the mountains and hills seem much greener with thicker and taller trees. We also did not rent a bike and decided to take the same walk to the tunnel and back, because my little one was only 4 years old at the time; he did not know how to bike nor did the bike rental place have a child bike seat for rent. We walked over numerous trestles and saw some beautiful views along the way. Upon reaching the tunnel, we went through the tunnel to the other side and turned around to head back to the parking lot.
Map of Myra Canyon Trail
Much thicker and taller vegetation along the trail.
Thciker and greener forests on the hills.
View of Okanagan Valley far in the background.
Multiple trestles along the trail.
Can you spot the long trestle far in the background?
Short trestle.
More trestles.
Reached the tunnel.
Entering the tunnel. It was immediately much cooler inside the tunnel.
Check out my previous hikes:
  1. The Panoramic Views of Panorama Ridge
  2. The Golden Larches of Frosty Mountain
  3. The Winter Snow of Pump Peak at Mount Seymour
  4. Sapphire Waters and Azure Skies of Battle Bluff
  5. It Isn't Always Sunshine and Blue Skies
  6. The Frozen River and Waterfalls of Maligne Canyon
  7. The Amazing Arches of Arches National Park
  8. The Bizarre Hoodoos of Bryce Canyon National Park
  9. The Magnificent Stones of Zion National Park
  10. The Flowing Walls of Lower Antelope Canyon
  11. A Glimpse of Hope at the Hope Lookout Trail
  12. Turquoise Waters viewed from Sea to Summit Trail
  13. The Three Peaks of Mount Seymour
  14. The Serene Winter Scene at Dog Mountain
  15. Murrin Loop and Jurassic Ridge
  16. Yosemite National Park
  17. The Bear's Hump at Waterton National Park
  18. Views of Okanagan from Pincushion Mountain Trail
  19. The Half Frozen Waterfalls at Franklin Falls
  20. Hole in the Wall of Vancouver Island
  21. Sometimes You Just Get Lucky
  22. Winter Wonderland at Alexander Falls
  23. Eagle Bluffs
  24. Smuggler Cove Marine Provincial Park
  25. Admiralty Point
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21 sats \ 1 reply \ @SatsMate 2 Jun
Thanks for sharing, hiking is one of my favorite past times! Unfortunately in Arizona I can't hike right now unless I want to burn on the side of the mountain.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @gnilma OP 3 Jun
Arizona probably has some awesome hikes. I've been to the Grand Canyon South Rim and walked through sections of the South Rim Trail, but would love to one day hike down the canyon to the Colorado River and back.
Where do you normally go hiking in Arizona?
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21 sats \ 1 reply \ @Carresan 2 Jun
Great to see how nature recovers! Hopefully will be getting better in the near future. Thanks for sharing.
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30 sats \ 0 replies \ @gnilma OP 2 Jun
It seems to be a cycle. When forests grow to be too thick, they burn down more easily and makes room for new growth. Nature has its own way of balancing itself between life and death.
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21 sats \ 2 replies \ @grayruby 2 Jun
Very nice. What was the tunnel like? How long was it? Did you see anything cool inside?
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50 sats \ 1 reply \ @gnilma OP 2 Jun
Thanks.
The tunnel was dark with much cooler temperature. I estimate at least 5 or 6 degrees C cooler than outside under the sun. There were some wet spots on the ground from the condensation that built up on the ceiling in the tunnel. We didn't run into any animals dwelling in the tunnel. It was a short tunnel, probably only 100m long or so. There wasn't really anything cool in the tunnel, except probably the temperature haha.
There was some wooden tunnel cribbing on the other side of the tunnel. According to the info sign, the cribbing was destroyed when the railway was abandoned, but it was rebuilt during a reconstruction project.
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21 sats \ 0 replies \ @grayruby 2 Jun
Very cool.
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