The Trans Canada Trail has had many challenges to find a proper route through the Kootenays. In fact, most, if not all of the originally proposed route has been changed. From Grand Forks the trail continues along the Kettle Valley Railway – Boundary Subdivision route for some 100km as it follows the old Columbia and Western Railway to Castlegar. There is currently no official route across the Columbia River, but most people hook up with the Waldie Island Trails in town. From here, the trail gets routed south onto the road and highway to hook up with the Columbia River trail for over 20km into the city of Trail. Past Trail, the route soft of falls apart and is routed along the highway to Salmo. Between Salmo and Nelson, the TCT merges with the great Northern Trail to follow this abandoned railbed north for 48km. At Nelson, the interim route returns to the road, joining highway 3A to Proctor. At Proctor, there is a ferry to Kootenay Bay, where there is a bit more highway walking to Gray Creek. At Gray Creek, the route turns east again, following the Gray Creek Pass FSR all the way to Kimberley. At Kimberley, the TCT joins the brand new North Star Rail Trail, an easy 25km paved route to Cranbrook. Beyond Cranbrook to the Elk Pass o the Alberta border, hikers and bikers are basically left to their owns devices. For information on the current state of the trail, visit www.trailsbc.ca
