My friend Jenny told me about these old train tunnels in Hope, BC that were shut down in the 60’s and converted into a tour ground at the Coquihalla Canyon Provincial Park. Since Ryan and I were going to Abbotsford that afternoon for a BBQ we decided to make a morning of exploring the train tunnels. Ryan likes trains and big holes in the ground so it was probably one of the best suggestions I could have possibly made. 

We set out in the morning and were stuck in traffic for a bit. We hadn’t realized how far it was beyond Abbotsford (about an hour) but the drive was nice after we got to Chilliwack. The Fraser Valley is quite serene. I’m always amazed at how beautiful and present the mountains are. They sort of shoot up immediately alongside you rather than gradually. That’s the nature of the valley though ;). 

From the parking lot to the end of the tunnels is about a 1.4km walk so it’s a fairly easy attraction to visit with kids and dogs. There’s also a nice small creek to cool down along. It was pretty hot that day, 30c so it was welcome to most. The tunnels were pretty cool, very much welcome since we had been driving for so long. A lot of folks brought their flashlights for the tunnel. The longest one was pretty dark and even though you could see the bright light at the end of the tunnel, you still had to be careful because the ground wasn’t even. Though the tunnels may seem well lit in my photo’s, they aren’t. I increased the exposure so you could see the insides. It really is like walking in the dark and being sort of blinding and guided by the light at the end of the tunnel. I kept my eye out for bats but didn’t see any unforunately.

The train tunnels were blasted in a few series so if you look closely at the photo you’ll see several in the distance. 

Hard to imagine the bridge we were on used to carry people and goods. It’s a little scary if you looked at the structure under the bridge. 

The water below looked pretty refreshing. We saw fish swimming in them too. 

If you continued to walk past the tunnel there was this beautifully laid out trail. We weren’t quite sure how far along you could walk but we did walk about 20 minutes and the trail didn’t seem to end for a bit. It was a good 1/2 day trip so if you want something to do I’d reccommend it. I’ll remember to bring a swimsuit next time. 

Here’s a link to the park: http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/parkpgs/coquihalla_cyn/