Farron to Castlegar. Columbia & Western Railway / Trans Canada Trail in the Paulson Area
Distance

DISTANCE

54km
GPS

GPS DOWNLOADS

Distance

MAP

About the Journey

The Trans Canada enters the West Kootenay region just north of the Paulson bridge along the Columbia & Western Railway at the height of land near Farron Station. This portion of the trail is filled which rich history, including the spectacular bombing of the railway in 1924. A small monument to its target, Doukhobor leader, Peter Verigin, lies adjacent to the trail. Further north, the trail passes through the nearly 1-km long Bulldog Tunnel, before turning east and travelling downhill to Castlegar, featuring fantastic views of Lower Arrow Lake along the way. This is possibly the most remote part of the KVR/C&W rail trail. The trail ends when it reaches the Hugh Keenleyside Dam; from here, the rail line is still active; the main line in Castlegar connects Nelson and Trail, with this sideline to the dam servicing the nearby timber mill.

The trail surface varies from hard packed to loose gravel. Trail maintenance is performed by the BC government (Rec Sites and Trails BC) and the local volunteer steward group, the Columbia & Western Trail Society. Due to the rugged and remote nature of the area, the trail’s various trestles, culverts and embankments are bombarded by Mother Nature each winter and spring; trail users should anticipate closures and temporary bypasses when setting out on the trail early in the year. Please report any major washouts or new damage to us, or the organizations mentioned above.

Trail users may wish to note that snow can cling to the height-of-land (at the Farron explosion site) as late as early June. Though usually no deeper than 6-8″, some users may wish to consult the map and take note of a logging road which detours 7 km of the trail on its east side. The southern end of this road is very steep and muddy.

Important: You will almost certainly encounter motorized vehicles along the route, particularly ATVs and dirt bikes, which could be travelling at high speeds. Over the years, unregulated motorized use has degraded the trail surface along the Columbia & Western, making many areas quite challenging for hikers and cyclists. Users should come prepared for sandy conditions. Please see our equipment recommendations on the West Kootenay main page or even more detail on our “Equipment Tips” page of our Travel Tips.




Staging Areas:

GPS INFORMATION:

  • KML/KMZ files can be opened in Google Earth, and many smartphone apps.
  • GPX files can be opened by most GPS software apps when KMZ cannot. Note, GPX files do not contain custom colours and icons that we use on our maps; all tracks and icons will appear the same colour and styles. We recommend using KMZ instead of GPX if possible.

The files below include data for only this specific area. For all of our Trans Canada Trail data for the entire province (including features, campsites and alternate routes), download our BC.kmz master file (1.2 MB)

Visit our GPS & Navigation page for instructions of how to use your smartphone as a GPS device (even when outside of data coverage) or how to import data to your Garmin unit.


GPS DOWNLOAD (KMZ FILE)
GPS DOWNLOAD (GPX FILE)
DOWNLOAD INFORMATION SHEET

Staging Areas:

Washrooms:

Route Highlights:

  • Farron Explosion Site
  • The tunnels and trestles of the Columbia & Western Railway (especially the 912m long Bulldog Tunnel!)
  • Views of Lower Arrow Lake
  • Old rails preserved and still intact (near Castlegar)

DOWNLOAD INFORMATION SHEET

Shopping:

Accomodations:

Transportation: