On Sunday, Oct. 15th from noon to 3:00 p.m. the Slocan Valley Rail Trail Society will be hosting a Fall Colours ‘Batty Bike’ Ride. The event will be based out of the Threads Guild Society building at Perry’s backroad. The two groups are partnering to create a unique Slocan Valley event and the theme is BATS!
When recently replacing the sign on the Threads Guild building, it was discovered that a bat colony was residing there. The group has since put up a new sign and a bat house, and feel this could be a good learning opportunity for everyone.
The Rail Trail puts on a Fall Colours Bike Ride every few years, so it seemed like a great idea to put the two together. Come and have a leisurely bike ride in the direction of your choice and stick around to learn all things batty and have a bite to boot. Who knows what costumes might show up???
The event will feature several information tables. Of course, there will be one hosted by Elodie Kuhnert of the Kootenay Community Bat Project, who will offer a talk at 1:30 p.m. There will be bat houses for sale, made by Everett Reid of Country Dawg in Glade. Slocan River Streamkeepers will have a booth, talking about the important work they are doing to strengthen our valley’s eco-system. Members of the Threads Guild will be there to show you their library, equipment and to talk about what’s happening at the Guild.
The Slocan Valley Rail Trail Society will turn on the barbeque, offering burgers and hot dogs, refreshments and assorted Bat Bite treats made by Threads Guild members.
The Thread’s Guild building can be found at the corner of Highway 6 and the Perry’s Bridge Backroad, aprox 7 km north of Winlaw and 6 km south of the Village of Slocan. For more information info@slocanvalleyrailtrail.ca

We’re seeing a large influx of out-of-areas cyclist on the Rail Trail these days. So glad to have you here. The Rail Trail is perfect this time of year.

We’d like to remind folks that we’re a volunteer organization that rely heavily on donations to help cover our on-going operating expenses. Please take a moment and hit the DONATE button on this page. You can either use PayPal ormake an eTransfer. There are also donation boxes along the Trail we urge folks to take advantage of. Help us to help you have a great time riding this little piece of paradise.

TRAIL RESURFACING – Tuesday, Aug.8th. We’ll be doing a stretch of our Trail from the north end of Slocan Park and heading south for about 1 km to Evin Rd. Please use caution or use an alternate route if machinery is working. Thanks

We’ve resurfaced a third section of the Rail Trail north of Passmore for folks to enjoy. The 1.2 km section offers an amazing view of Frog Peak and has a picnic table in just the right spot to take a break. We will be continuing our resurfacing program the week of July 10th in the Slocan Park area. Thanks to the Columbia Basin Trust, the Western Diversification Program, RSTBC and the RDCK for the funding support to make this work possible.

We’ve now completed two segments of our Trail resurfacing program. The latest 1.1 km we’ve done is between Berekoff and Katelnikoff Roads. It looks and rides great. The next segment will be at the Vallican Bluff area, about for km north of Passmore. This work will begin Monday, June 26th.

We’re resurfacing the area between Nixon and Katalnikoff Road in Appledale over the next few days. Please use caution and make sure the crew now’s you’re there.

May 23rd UPDATE – Trail resurfacing has begun at the Winlaw Bridge headed north. We will be redoing about a 2 km stretch of trail that has a (in spots) thick vegetative mat, which is becoming increasingly difficult to deal with in the summer months. We ask folks to refrain from using the area while the crew is working. FYI – WE WILL BE RESURFACING SEVERAL AREAS OF THE RAIL TRAIL IN THE WEEKS AHEAD

In the spring of 2022, the Slocan Valley Heritage Trail Society, formally asked it’s membership to change the name of our Society to the Slocan Valley Rail Trail Society. The motion was accepted.

Feb. 18,2022. The Slocan Valley Rail Trail Society manages the Rail Trail in partnership with Rec Sites and Trails BC, under the Ministry of Environment. The Rail Trail is wholly owned by the Province and does not cross private property. The guidelines on our website’s Etiquette Page are based on the provincial regulations on the use of Crown Land and recreational trails. The important ones to note are:1. Dogs must always be under control on recreational trails. (RSTBC Regulations)2. Dogs cannot chase wildlife on Crown Land. (Section 78-79 of the Wildlife Act)3. Dogs cannot stray onto private property. (Trespass Act)Our Trail Etiquette Page has essentially been the same for the past 15 years. Last year we put up new signage to replace the 12-year-old signs. With increasing use of the Trail, we clarified the guideline from saying “Control your pets at all times” which was too vague, to “Leash up when meeting others so people feel safe”. Leashing your dog is not mandatory if you have a well-trained dog that obeys your callback when meeting others on the trail.We have no enforcement ability. In the case of serious dog issues, we encourage you to contact the RCMP and to please let us know as we monitor these complaints. Only the person who had the serious encounter can file this complaint. The Rail Trail connects us all and we want everyone to feel safe to enjoy it.

As part of our long term planning, the Slocan Valley Rail Trail Society is interested in Trail users feedback.

Please read and respond to the following three questions by February 8th

1. What aspect of the trail is most important to you and that you want to see continue?
2. What would be the one or two changes or improvements that you would like to see?
3. Would you be interested in getting involved as a volunteer for the Slocan Valley Rail Please email your responses to: info@slocanvalleyrailtrail.ca by February 8th

Thanks for your support