Thacker Marsh

A short, pleasant walk along a wildlife area on the old Kettle Valley Railway grade near the town of Hope, British Columbia.

Statistics

Directions

Follow Old-Hope Princeton Way through Hope to 6th Avenue, next to the large Chevron gas station. Turning left onto 6th Avenue, follow it a short distance to Kawkawa Lake Road. Turn right onto Kawkawa Lake Road and follow it over the Coquihalla River, immediately turning left onto Union Bar Road after the narrow bridge.

Park in the gravel parking lot on the right-hand side of the road a short distance later, immediately before a wooden one-lane bridge.

Details

Located in Hope's Thacker Regional park, this trail follows a section of the former Kettle Valley Railway grade along a salmon spawning area and marsh.

Starting at the Sucker's Creek spawning area off of Union Bar road, head east past the outhouse and over a series of recently constructed wooden bridges over a salmon spawning viewing area. A short distance later, the trail levels out onto an old dike created for the Kettle Valley Railway. The trail continues completely straight as it travels behind the marsh area, eventually leading out to a new subdivision development.

Continuing past the subdivision, across Kawkawa Lake Road and down Kettle Valley Road will eventually lead to the western trailhead for the Coquihalla Canyon Trail (Othello Tunnels). The entire route, including the marsh and spawning area, is part of the Trans-Canada trail.

GPS Waypoints

West Trailhead Parking Lot (Union Bar Road)	N49.38325 W121.42372	10U 614404 5471256
East Trailhead (Kettle Valley Road)	N49.38483 W121.41349	10U 615142 5471447