Media Advisory
October 6, 2025
The Sicamous ferry shuttle service to the Splatsin te Secwépemc/Shuswap North Okanagan Rail Trail along Mara Lake has now closed for the season.
This summer the Sicamous Ferry Society launched a FREE ferry shuttle service to km 0.5 of the rail trail and to Sicamous Beach with support from local volunteers and business sponsors including Twin Anchors. The ferry had sufficient funds to run until the end of September.
Trail user counts quickly grew once the ferry service started in August, topping out at 13,751 trips counted on September 30 when the ferry service closed for the season. Several days saw over 300 people use the trail. The Society hopes to raise new funds to resume the service again next year.
Public access for walking and bicycling along this section of the rail trail is now significantly limited through the fall and winter due to the ongoing construction of Bruhn Bridge on the Trans-Canada Highway and associated road closures.
The pedestrian sidewalk across Bruhn Bridge is closed until construction is completed. Full access from Sicamous to the rail trail will not be completed until 2027.
There is no parking on the west side of the narrows. Rail Trail users must park at one of the free parking lots in Sicamous. During Bruhn Bridge construction closure periods, westbound traffic (including cyclists) must then queue at the Highway 1 and Gill Avenue intersection every hour on the hour to await escort through the Bruhn Bridge closure zone. Trail users must then travel down Old Sicamous Road to West Mara Road and then Folland Road to access the rail trail at km 2.8.
There is no winter maintenance of the rail trail. Trail users do so at their own risk, must always use caution, stay clear of all construction equipment, and obey all signage. Periodic section closures will be required as trail construction continues through the winter.
There is currently no access onto the trail south of Mara Lake. Construction of the rail trail within the Agricultural Land Reserve remains on hold.
The Splatsin-Enderby pilot section between km 35.5 and 40.5 remains open from the Belvidere Park trailhead in Enderby just south of Cliff Avenue. And the Armstrong section between km 49.15 and 50.15 remains open allowing highway-separated access to Lansdowne Road.
An updated public information bulletin is available on the rail trail website at shuswapnorthokanaganrailtrail.ca that includes updated access information, maps, and further background on construction progress including the delays south of Mara Lake.
We thank everyone for their continued patience and understanding as work toward completion of the rail trail continues.
