Five hand cut tunnels blasted through solid granite, bridges over the turquoise Coquihalla River, and canyon walls a hundred feet high. The trail is flat and it is 3.5 km there and back. The shuttle runs all day between the tunnels and the town of Hope, so you can do both.
Pick your date below. The bus leaves from 1025 Dunsmuir Street in downtown Vancouver, in front of the Bentall Centre courtyard. One fare, thirty dollars, whoever you are.
Sold out
There are no seats left on any date we have up for Othello Tunnels & Hope. Leave your email and we will tell you the day new dates go up, while there is still a choice of them.
Cancel 14 or more days before you go and you get 90% back.
Choose your own adventure: we drop you off, and the bus picks you up in the same spot.
A short, flat walk on even ground, at your own pace.
The tunnels were finished in 1914 for the Kettle Valley Railway. The chief engineer was Andrew McCulloch, and the canyon here was so narrow and so hard that the line had to be driven straight through the rock in a series of tunnels with bridges between them. It was considered one of the great engineering feats of its day.
McCulloch loved Shakespeare, and he named the stations along the line after the plays and their characters. Othello, Lear, Iago, Portia, Romeo, Juliet. The tunnels kept the name.
The railway was decommissioned and the route became a trail, so you now walk the same alignment the trains took. Sheer walls on both sides, the Coquihalla running green and fast below the bridges, and the tunnels themselves cool and dark and dripping even in August.
It is 3.5 km there and back, mostly flat and well surfaced, which makes it one of the most accessible pieces of proper scenery in British Columbia.
A railway through solid rock, and you get to walk it.
The shuttle works between them all day. Start at either end and swap over at lunchtime, or stay put at one.
We pick you up
In front of the Bentall Centre courtyard, where you will also see a TD Bank. Turn up fifteen minutes early so there is time to get everybody on.
Just outside Hope, this trail takes you through a series of railway tunnels blasted into the cliffs of the Coquihalla Canyon. Towering walls, rushing water below, and moss draped forest make it one of the most breathtaking and accessible walks in the province.
Good to know:
Facilities: Nothing to buy at the tunnels, so bring food and water
Note: The tunnels are cool and damp even in high summer. Bring a layer.
Hope is a small mountain town with the peaks in every direction. It is compact enough that everything is a short walk, and there is more to do here than a stop between buses usually gets you.
Good to know:
Facilities: Cafés, restaurants and shops, Visitor centre, where you can pick up a carving map, Washrooms
Note: Pick up the chainsaw carving map at the visitor centre and the walk turns into a scavenger hunt.
We drop you back
The bus returns to the same place it left from, so you go home the way you came.
This is our estimated return time, not a guarantee. Traffic can change it and some trips do run late, so please leave yourself some room afterwards rather than booking something tight against it.
An easy walk in a cold canyon, and a town to potter around afterwards.
The bus leaves Vancouver in the morning and reaches the tunnels late morning. From there it moves between the tunnels and Memorial Park through the day, with several pickups at each.
You can do the tunnels in the morning and Hope in the afternoon, or the other way round, or stay at the tunnels all day. The timetable is in the FAQ below. Pick your plan before you get off the bus.
There is no shop at the tunnels. Bring water and something to eat, or plan your day so that lunch happens in Hope.
The tunnels stay cold and shaded whatever the forecast says, so a layer is worth carrying even on a hot day.
This shuttle runs as part of the NatureLink programme. Dates go up through the season, and when none are showing the season has either not opened or has sold out.
This season has sold out
We're Canada's outdoor bus service. Since 2010 we've taken more than 300,000 people to parks and trails without a car. You bring a daypack. We handle everything else.
One fare for adults, students, seniors and children alike. TD and AdvantageHope cover the difference through the NatureLink programme.
Three and a half kilometres there and back on an old railway grade. No climbing, good surface, and canyon walls the whole way.
The shuttle runs between the tunnels and Memorial Park in Hope all day, so a walk in the canyon and an afternoon in town both fit.
It is a long haul out of the city and back on a mountain highway. Read, sleep, look out of the window. Somebody else is doing it.
★★★★★ 4.6/5.0 on Google
This is a great service if you don't have a vehicle or just don't want to drive. I'm so happy to have discovered this. There will definitely be more Parkbus trips in my future!James Taylor Wilson · Happy Parkbus customer
This is the 1st time I used Parkbus but it won't be the last.Brenda H. · Google
Speaking from someone who doesn't drive. This is a must!! I highly recommend this!Linda Ann · Facebook · Jun 2024
All stops enable guests ample time to explore the destination. This is a highly a good idea trip for those that appreciate spending time in nature minus distractions.OnAir48444 · Tripadvisor · Oct 2025
Factor in the cost of gas, parking and renting a car, it's a lot cheaper than taking a personal vehicle.Toronto Star
Parkbus is a great option for nature lovers, whether it's a day trip or overnight camping getaway.The Globe and Mail
Cancel more than 14 days before departure and you get a 90% refund, with 10% withheld for payment processing. Inside 14 days refunds are not available, except for a medical emergency in the 48 hours before departure, which needs a signed doctor’s note within 14 days of the missed trip and returns 50%. Tickets are transferable: you can change the passenger name up to 48 hours before departure.
If Parkbus cancels a trip, you get a full refund. We decide no later than 48 hours before departure and only on confirmed conditions: the park closed or the park authority asking us to stand down, an evacuation order or alert, an area restriction order, the highway closed, or the trip judged unsafe to run. A forecast is not one of those things, and trips run rain or shine.
Supported by TD and AdvantageHope as part of the NatureLink programme, which is what keeps this shuttle at $30 for everybody.
Same fare for everybody, no car, and a shuttle that runs all day between the two.
Not quite the right fit? These all leave from the same spot downtown.
