The Salmo-Troup Trail covers approximately 48 kilometres between Salmo and Nelson. This stretch of trail is part of a much more extensive proposed system of trails known as “The Kootenay Loop”, which connects to the Trans Canada Trail network in three locations. The hub of the Kootenays, the Salmo-Troup Trail is surrounded by mountains, clear, pristine streams and rivers and many small scenic lakes and marshlands. It is a natural haven for a variety of wildlife.
The trail is currently used for a variety of recreational activities including walking, mountain biking, cross-country skiing and motorized uses such as dirt biking, and snowmobiling.
Location: Between Salmo and Nelson extending to Troup Beach, 8kms east of Nelson on Kootenay Lake
Difficulty: Easy grades 1 – 2.4%
Elevation Gain: +628m 1,920’ climb and 1,528 descent
Key Elevations: Salmo 666m /2185’, Summit (turnoff to Whitewater Ski Resort) 3.086’, Mountain Station 668m /2192’, Svoboda Road 675m / 2215feet, Troup Beach 533m / 1749’
Distance: 48km
Time: Depends on if walking, cycling.
Season: All year
Access: Multiple Parking areas: Salmo, Ymir, Cottonwood Lake Regional Park, Mountain Station at the top of Gore Street, Svoboda Road near the Selkirk College Tenth St Campus.
Map: 82F/11, 82F/6, 82F/3, trailforks.com
Rail History
Like many of the other rail lines in southern BC at the time, rail expansion began with the drive to find huge deposits of gold, silver, lead and copper in the area, in the 1880s and 1890s.
Daniel Chase Corbin, an American financier from Spokane, built the Spokane Falls and Northern Railway (S F&N) to Colville in 1889 and to Little Dalles (24kms south of the US/Canada border near modern Northport) by 1890.
The British Columbia government initially resisted granting him a charter to build across the border into Canada because they were concerned the railway would only be a feeder railway to the American interests in Spokane, especially the Great Northern Railway. However, in 1891 Corbin persuaded the provincial legislature to pass a private act incorporating the Nelson and Fort Sheppard Railway, by promising to connect the railway to the coast and by using a group of Canadian businessmen as a front for the railway.
With the Columbia and Kootenay Steam Navigation Company providing boat access along the Columbia River to his railway he had indirect access to the rich mining areas of the Kootenays. Concerned with this development, the Canadian Pacific Railway reacted by building the Columbia and Kootenay Railway (C&K) between Robson (near Castlegar) and Nelson in 1891 along the unnavigable section of the Kootenay River between Kootenay Lake and the Arrow Lakes.
In 1893, Corbin received a charter from the Canadian government, declaring it to be a work for the greater advantage of Canada and transferring the railway corporation to federal jurisdiction. The connection to the coast was never built but the railway did reach Nelson in 1893 as the Nelson and Fort Sheppard Railway (N&FS). Fort Shepherd was a former Hudson’s Bay Company fort on the bank of the Columbia River on the United States border (note the different spellings). The N&FS connected Nelson with the Canada–United States border at Waneta, near Trail. It immediately crossed a 500-foot bridge over the Pend d’Oreille River that still stands. The railway climbed out of the Columbia Valley past the community of Fruitvale to Salmo. From Salmon Siding (now Salmo), the railway went north up the Salmo River valley to Ymir and then began the descent to Kootenay Lake. The line passed Nelson to the east as it descends along the hillside. The rail line was initially forced to use ‘Mountain Station’, located high above Nelson, with a steamer dock at Troup (also known as File Mile Point), 8 kilometres northeast of the ‘Queen City’ on Kootenay Lake. In 1895 a rail loop was established at Troup with a line along the lake to the outskirts of a neighbourhood called ‘Bogustown’ just outside of Nelson, now known as the Fairview neighbourhood.
Another significant step in railway expansion was the opening of the Great Northern Railway main line from Spokane to Seattle, also in 1893.
Construction was successful despite many reverses – the 1893 panic (put nearly all Western railroads in the hands of receivers), a railroad strike (which Corbin’s employees refused to join), and the great Columbia River flood of 1894 (which washed out much of the roadbed) – he still finished this road. Though he got far behind in salaries, he paid every dollar he owed.
In the early days, the rail line formed an important connection for the West Kootenay mining towns, allowing efficient shipping of their rich ores to the United States. With an all rail route to the United States and direct access to the Great Northern, the N&FS could provide more direct access to markets than the CPR could with its C&K. Business was so great on the S. F. and N. that they didn’t have the equipment to handle the large volume of business – boxcars were used to haul people.
The railway line was operated by a variety of corporate owners following the Great Northern acquisition in 1898. When the Canadian Pacific Railway was built along Kootenay Lake in 1900, the section between Nelson and Troup Junction was sold to the CPR and GN was given trackage rights.
The railroad from Spokane to Oroville, built between 1903-7, was the main line of the S F&N. Passengers had to change trains at Marcus for Northport and Canadian points. At Grand Forks, BC for Phoenix, and Kettle Valley depot.
The S F&N. was prosperous for about 15 years, with the hill country in the Kootenay/Boundary its biggest shipper. In 1920 the mines in Phoenix closed down and were dismantled. Phoenix, with 4,000 people and once the largest copper mining town in Canada, was abandoned. This closed the smelters in Grand Forks and Greenwood taking much revenue from the S F&N.
Passenger traffic also flowed between Nelson and Spokane from 1893 to 1941.
The GN was merged into the Burlington Northern Railroad (BN) in 1970. The creation of the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway (BNSF) in 1996 saw the N&FS receive its third change in ownership.
All train traffic into the region ceased in 1989, except in the section between Waneta and Ross Spur that continues to see active rail use to this day. In 1998 the rails and ties were removed between Ross Spur and Salmo, and in 1999 the final removal of the rails and ties between Salmo and Troup was completed.
Drive: Parking areas for access to the Great Northern Rail Trail.
Salmo. Burlington Northern Railway Station on Railway Ave on Highway 6. Built in 1913, it is one of the best surviving examples of standard railway station architecture used on Western Canada Branch lines – a small, one-story, wood-framed building.
Ymir. The trail runs right through the campground in Ymir, across the street from the Fire Hall and the Hotel Ymir. Nelson, about 30 kilometres north, Salmo about 15 kilometres south
Cottonwood Lake Regional Park. Provides waterfront access to Cottonwood Lake and facilities include a swimming beach, picnic tables, boat launch, walking trails, cross-country ski trails, restrooms and parking facilities.
Mountain Station at the top of Gore Street.
Svoboda Road near the Selkirk College Tenth St Campus.
Rail Trail: The abandoned section from Salmo to Nelson has been acquired by the provincial government and converted to the Salmo-Troup Rail Trail. Running generally north-south, it extends from the Salmo, on Highway 3, following Highway 6 to Nelson, then east to Troup Junction where it converges with the Canadian Pacific Railway on Kootenay Lake, about 8 kilometres east. Historically, and at present, this trail links the communities of Salmo, Summit, Ymir, Nelson and Troup.
Salmo
Beginning in the Village of Salmo, the trail winds north through a picturesque rural area in the environmentally sensitive Salmo River Valley. Climbing for 30 kilometres at an average grade of 1%, the trail passes through the historic settlement of Ymir, a former mining town, to Summit, and then descends past Cottonwood Lake Regional Park, to form the southeastern boundary of the City of Nelson, linking in numerous places with the street system.
The trail’s gravel surface is highly degraded in the Salmo area but improves as the trail heads north, away from heavy motorized activity. The RDCK allows motorized use on the trail’s southern half from Salmo to roughly Hall Siding, though off-highway vehicles currently cannot legally cross highways (as of Winter 2014), the damage by motorized vehicles typically tapers off at the first highway crossing north of Salmo. The trail normally improves in quality as it approaches Mountain Station, above Nelson.
The trail is also part of The Great Trail (aka Trans Canada Trail). The section from Mountain Station to Cottonwood Lake is part of the Great Trail through route. The entire GN Trail from Troup to Salmo is considered to be a Great Trail spur.
Annual closure in effect April 15 to June 15 (approx) — Due to grizzly bear foraging each spring, the Salmo Great Northern rail trail is normally closed annually for 10 kilometres between Cottonwood Lake and Hall Siding (northern section, about 8 km south of Nelson) from mid-April to mid-June. The trail operator, the Regional District of Central Kootenay (RDCK), is responsible for this closure. Users are asked to use the highway as a bypass route when the closure is in effect.
The section of the Nelson-Salmo Great Northern Trail between Wildhorse Creek Road and Wesco Road is closed indefinitely due to flooding of the Salmo River which has washed out a significant portion of the trail.
RAIL TRAIL to TROUP BEACH (5 Mile Point)
An easy, gently walk on an abandoned rail trail ending up at a great beach on the West Arm of Kootenay Lake 8kms east of Nelson
Difficulty: easy 2.4% grade
Elevation Gain/Loss: 164m
Key Elevations: Svoboda Road parking 693m / 2274 feet. Troup Beach 533m / 1749’
Distance: 12.5kms
Time: 2½-3 hours
Season: Year-around
Access: easy, 2WD. Copious parking on Svoboda Road
Map: 82F/11, trailforks.com
Drive: From downtown Nelson, follow the signs east toward Balfour and HWY 3A. Two blocks before the Orange Bridge at a Husky Service Station, turn right on Elwyn St and travel uphill, passing the 10th Street Campus of Selkirk College on the left just before Elwyn turns to a dirt road.
Continue to a T intersection and turn left onto Svoboda Road to near the Great Northern Trail. Parking is copious and easy.
Trail: Leaving the city, the trail continues to descend at about 2.4% down to Troup Junction, where it crosses the active CPR, and terminates on the fan of Five Mile Creek, for 12.5kms, the end of the 48-kilometre long Salmo-Troup Rail Trail.
• From the parking area on Svoboda Road, this is a walk in the woods with few views. Cross three long wooden bridges and pass through rock cuts and the occasional rock slides. At the end is a red picnic table.
• A small trail descends from the Rail Trail, crosses the active railway, and descends to the shoreline.
Troup Beach (Five Mile Point) is beautiful when the water level is low. A sand bar forms a natural bridge between Kootenay Lake and a small captive pond. Another sand bar points straight out to the middle of Kootenay Lake. The water is very shallow and clear.
Looking back towards Nelson, the orange bridge is 6km in the distance.
Return the same way.
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References:
https://www.trailforks.com/trails/nelson-salmo-great-northern-trail-the-great-trail/
https://westkootenayhiking.ca/rail-trail-to-five-mile-point/