The Kettle Valley Steam Railway — Attraction in Summerland

Visiting from England with local relatives. We were blessed with a beautiful day at ~26°. We arrived just after lunch. Lots of car parking space. Minimal queuing - purchasing tickets in advance recommended. There are options within 1. closed carriages (large sliding windows open to help bring the outside in) and 2. open sided carriages which might be a better option on a hot day. Our carriage was very comfortable and the large window gave a nice through draft to keep everyone cool. The wonderful conductor with his microphone in hand, educated us on the railways history. The stories of the prolific bank robberies; things of interest that we might expect to see in the trip including bears. They had been seen in the area earlier in the day. How exciting. They played some good old country music in the background. It was great! The tour lasted about 1.5 hours. With commentary and breathtaking scenery, I'd highly recommend. I thought it was good value for money. Sometimes they have staged 'robberies' acted out and I'd have loved that. There was a bear but it quickly disappeared up a nearby tree however, just looking out for them was also great fun and even the big kids on board were loving it all. At the top of the track at.the half time point the engine swaps around ready for the return leg of the journey. At this point you can get out and stretch your legs, take photos and have a photo taken for you of your group at the front of the engine by one of the crew. All.part of the service amd a lovely momento of the day. In a.nutshell, definitely recommend a visit. Kids and adults alike will love this railway adventure that transports you back in time almost, when hearing all of those great stories. No dogs allowed. Great gift shop Clean washrooms. Friendly and knowledgeable staff. Loads of parking space Reasonable ticket prices Great value for money. Awesome views.

We also visited the dirty laundry winery for lunch before.this.trip, more about that next .... My photos don't do it justice, you have to go and see for...

The Kettle Valley Steam Railway...booked tickets as they were reasonably priced comparing to the Rocky Mountain train rides which can run you thousands per person and spread over a few days. So Kettle Valley it was! The location is decent, lots of parking on a gravel parking lot; a nice building and gift shop; and painted images of the train were good photo opps. Got my hopes up thinking I'd see gorgeous translucent waters, infamous on the West side of Canada, and beautiful mountains, but the ride itself took us past some houses, yes, in the mountains, but not that glorious backdrop we'd hope to see. It is always nice to see different houses in new areas you typically don't live in, in my opinion, but I guess I thought we'd see the blue green waters and ooh and aah along the way -- this train ride wasn't that in the slightest. The landscape wasn't lush grass, or anything of the sort. And while the ride was over an hour as stated, the train stopped at several intervals for minutes at a time, which took away a lot of time from being on the rails. The conductor spoke to give the history of the lands and rails, but being seated on the last car the mic volume seemed rather low especially given it was an open-air train car, the wind was blowing as we rode the rails, so at times we couldn't hear anything being said. In the end, it was a train ride, we paid for a train ride. It was nothing spectacular. I wouldn't tell anyone not to experience this ride on their own, if they wanted to check it out, but I myself would not return as a passenger on this train. We stayed in West Kelowna, the drive over was 100% better than the actual train ride, to me. On the drive, you ride along the mountain past the Okanagan River and it's gorgeous. No Amalfi coast, but definitely had the same feeling. I'd do the drive again before purchasing tickets on this train ride. To...

Actually 2.5 stars. We did the great train robbery. Let's discuss the good first.

Good - The staff/volunteers were very nice. Super helpful and always willing to answer your questions. The train is really cool. It is an old train that has been restored. Very nice. The view from the train was awesome. Very beautiful. The actors were very good. One of the main robbers on the horses was totally in it. He was great. I believe it was Chris Crash. To him I say bravo!

Bad - For a 2+ hour train ride there was very little entertainment. Maybe 15 minutes including the robbery. For how much the tickets cost ($71 per aldult) I was bored.

The robbery while fun was the last 10 minutes of the ride. I was disappointed with how little there was. I was expecting more.

The food was terrible. When you do the great train robbery you get a BBQ lunch/dinner. The beef was cold. The chicken was dry, the salads were either run of the mill bagged salad or gross slimy noodle salad and the gravy tasted very burnt. The dessert was tasteless.

No enforcement of the rules. We were told to stay seated while the train was in motion. One guy stood up multiple times and walked around while the train was moving. He was not talked to. This is for everyone's safety. Enforce the rules.

To people taking this Great Train Robbery: Bring some money or change to donate. All if the money "robbed" goes towards local Summerland charities. Don't be the jerk who...