Coquihalla Canyon Park, Othello Tunnels set to partially reopen next month

One of British Columbia’s more popular provincial parks is set to reopen in mid-July following a multi-year closure.

Coquihalla Canyon Park, just east of Hope, shut down in November 2021 when the region was slammed by multiple atmospheric rivers that produced historic rainfall.

The Province says more than 30 sites throughout the park received severe flooding damage, which includes the Othello Tunnels.

While Coquihalla Canyon Park has been completely shuttered to the public since then, construction work over the past three months has repaired enough infrastructure to allow the Province to partially reopen the site.

In the spring, Environment Minister George Heyman said he knows the public has been waiting for a long time for the area to safely reopen.

"Coquihalla Canyon Park and Othello Tunnels are extremely popular, and their spectacular beauty and unique features provide good reason," he noted.

"We know people have been waiting a long time for the park to safely open. The damage to this park from the atmospheric river was extensive, and we are designing and rebuilding more resilient infrastructure so it can better withstand the impacts of climate change."

Restoration work was planned in two phases and started with a focus on restoring facilities and access so people can begin to visit the park this summer.

The remainder of the work will follow and the entire provincial park is expected to be open to the public at some point in 2025, the Province said.

The flood damage from November 2021 hampered all five of the historic Othello Tunnels, built in 1914, and impacted bridge foundations and the stability of canyon slopes.

Once a part of the route for the historic Kettle Valley Railway, construction of the Othello Tunnels over a century ago was a massive engineering feat to create a route through the canyon.

Coquihalla Canyon Park preserves an important piece of BC’s railroad history, one that the municipality of Hope depends greatly on for tourism.

"The park is located right in our backyard and generates tens of thousands of visitors every year to our area. It played a huge role in the movie First Blood, which was shot in Hope in 1981," said Brian McKinney, team lead at the Hope, Cascades and Canyons Visitor Centre and Museum.

"Whether you are a fan of John Rambo, a Kettle Valley Railway history buff or just B.C.'s beauty in general, this park has it all. This is welcome news."

The restoration project is anticipated to cost around $4.5 million and is largely supported by the federal government’s Disaster Financial Assistance Fund.