This 2005 and revised in 2008 Trails BC photo album/PowerPoint Presentation looks at the potential of a Trans Canada Trail routing option between Gray Creek and Kimberley BC
Gray Creek to Kimberley Trans Canada Trail PhotoAlbum Presentation
1. A Photo Study of a
Gray Creek to Kimberley
Trans-Canada Trail
Route Option
REV 1
by Al Skucas
Trails BC President
Rockies/East Kootenays Director
Oct 2008
2. A Photo Study of a
Gray Creek to Kimberley Trans-
Canada Trail
Route Option
REV 1
by Al Skucas
Trails BC President
Rockies/East Kootenays Director
Oct 2008
32 km
3. From Gray Creek to Kimberley
Kimberley
The
Pass
Gray Marysville
Creek St. Mary’s
Lake
82 Km through the scenic Purcell Mountains of B.C.
Interim Road Route in place with options to develop a
TCT route off road in stages of progressive development
4. Arriving on the M.V. Osprey from
Balfour
Crossing the Kootenay
Lake on the longest free
ferry ride in the world
38. Crossing of the St. Mary’s
River
Popular place for a
wilderness camping stop
52 km
39. Looking north-west up
the St. Mary’s River into
the renowned St.
Mary’s Alpine Park
Past the bridge the
road becomes the
St. Mary’s River
Forestry Road
45. At 64 km the St. Mary’s River paved road begins
72 km
46. The rural outskirts of
Kimberly and the
Kimberley Riverside
Campground appears to 79 km
the weary traveler
47. Access into the
Kimberley Nature Park
across the road from
the campground
Road Route ends 3km later
along the road at the
junction of Hwy 95 and the
St. Mary’s River Road.
79 km
48. Gray Creek to Summit and Over
Teck’s
Powerline
Access Road
The Off Road Route Options
49. A more rustic alternative
for hikers and equestrians
51. In the fall inversions are
common over Kootenay
Lake
52. This first section
is available
currently to use
Teck is in the process
of abandoning the line,
starting with public open
houses to begin in
2008/09
53. One of the effects of
abandonment would
be to remove the
Powerline completely
54. Parts of the trail are
closed in by the forest
canopy
With the closing of
the Sullivan Mine in
Kimberley in 1999,
this ROW as the
TCT may be a fitting
legacy
69. Again one of the appeals
to the PWL route is the
transitioning from into and
out of the forest
Note, the high standard to
which some sections of the
PWL road are
constructed. Lots of cut
and fill here to produce this
grade
70. At the eastern end of this
section Teck has removed the
bridge over Redding Creek.
New bridge required
77. This section would be
very accommodating to
cyclists as the grades
are easy to moderate
78. Teck’s bridge over Redding
Creek has been taken down for
safety reasons. Opportunity for a
tram crossing?
79. Redding Ck onto St. Mary’s River and Lake
This section of the route is an
abandoned forestry road that is now
quite grown over. At the eastern edge of
this section the old bridge over
Meachen Creek has been removed.
Instead of building a
crossing over Redding
Creek, 6 km of new trail
could be constructed from
the eastern end of section 3
Long term options to develop trail south of St. Mary’s River if
community interest would support such an initiative. In the
meantime the forestry road would be adequate
80. St Mary’s Lake to Kimberley
Potential shorter
route on Crown
land and PWL
This route has been
established as the Trans
Canada Trail within the
Kimberley Nature Park in
2006
Off Road Options on the approach to Kimberley
83. The Kimberley Nature
Park is one of Canada’s
largest urban parks
For 5 km, the TCT winds it
way through the Kimberley
Nature Park until it arrives
in the heart of Kimberley
84. Sharing the vision of the Trans
Canada Trail of Connecting Canadian
Communities Coast to Coast