Kinsol Trestle

The Kinsol Trestle crosses the Koksilah River at about forty-four metres high and one hundred and eighty-eight long, the largest wooden trestle in the Commonwealth, built of old-growth Douglas fir with an unusual seven-degree curve. Trains stopped in 1979 and the structure decayed until it was in danger of being torn down; the Cowichan Valley Regional District chose restoration instead, and it reopened in 2011. It now carries the Cowichan Valley Trail, part of the Trans Canada Trail.

History

The line was begun in 1911 by the Canadian Northern Pacific Railway as part of a plan to link Victoria with Nootka Sound by way of Cowichan Lake and Port Alberni and carry the island's old-growth timber; designed by engineers, it was built by local farmers and loggers with money from the Canadian Western Lumber Company. The trestle was still unfinished when Canadian National Railways took over the company in 1918, and it was completed in 1920. The name comes from the nearby Kinsol station, itself named after a very small mining venture called King Solomon Mines, though the line was not built to serve any mine. The present structure replaced the original high-level Howe truss deck after high water damaged it in 1931. Trains carried passengers and timber until the last one crossed in 1979; after a long debate over its future, the Cowichan Valley Regional District backed a restoration in 2007-2008 that cost about $5.7 million, and the trestle reopened on 28 July 2011 (Wikipedia, Kinsol Trestle).

What's there

• The timber structure - the largest wooden trestle in the Commonwealth.
• The curved crossing - the deck curving across the river at seven degrees.
• The river below - the Koksilah in a gorge forty-four metres down.
• The trail deck - a walking and cycling route across and beyond.

When to go

April to October for dry decking and river access; the trestle is open year-round. Autumn colour in the valley is good. Salmon run in the Koksilah in late autumn.

What to expect

Access is a walk of several hundred metres from the car park. There are no facilities on site.

Nearby

Cowichan Bay lies east; Duncan is northeast.

Key facts