Othello Tunnels – Hope, BC 

Difficulty: Easy

Distance: 3.5kms / 2.2 Miles out and back

Elevation gain: Minimal

Time: 2 hours

Just east of the town of Hope you will find a very impressive piece of British Columbia history tucked away in The Coquihalla Provincial Park. The Othello Tunnels were built in the early 1900’s as part of the Canadian Pacific Railway. A series of 5 tunnels were carved out of granite through the gorge with a raging river below. It’s truly a sight you have to see to believe and imagine the challenges they must have faced all those years ago.

For those movie buffs out there. The area has been used a number of times for some blockbuster movies. If you have seen; Rambo: First Blood, Shoot to Kill, Far from Home: The Adventures of Yellow Dog, Cabin in the Woods of War for the Planet of the Apes, you’re probably going to recognize some familiar locations.

We initially had planned on completing a much longer version of this hike but we were unaware after driving an hour and a half to get there, that the park was actually closed for the season. We cautiously ventured in as many others were on this day and only did the tunnel portion.

Once we completed the short hike we decided to head towards home and find some lunch at Fieldhouse Brewing in East Abbotsford. The trail itself is 89 kms from the brewery but we go right by it heading back to town and its a quick 5 minutes off of the Sumas Exit of Highway 1.

As always on weekends, the brewery was packed and the outdoor heated patio was also nearly full even though temperatures were just above freezing. My wife, Theresa really enjoyed her salad and The Sour Wheat Gose while I went for my usual chef special Grilled Cheese and Housemade Tomato Soup which I paired with A delicious Wild Farm Ale. A collaboration between Fieldhouse and Dageraad in Burnaby. It was so good I bought a bottle to go!

Check out the video of our day!