Rail Trail Cafe & Market

Part cafe, part general store and part gift shop, Rail Trail Cafe and Market sits on Kalamalka Road at the point where the Okanagan Rail Trail runs close to Kalamalka Beach. Trail users and drivers stop for much the same handful of things: a coffee, something made at the counter, and the everyday items a small market keeps for the moment you realise you are out of something on the way home.

The rhythm here follows the trail and the beach. Summer brings cyclists, walkers and swimmers past the door in numbers, the shoulder seasons run quieter, and a year-round business in a seasonal spot usually trims its hours rather than its doors. The Coldstream number is (250) 542-5582, and a call is the quickest way to confirm that food service is running on the day, whether the kitchen is on a summer or a winter schedule, and whether the patio is open. If you are coming off the rail trail with a group, or planning to build a gift basket out of what is on the shelves, checking first saves the ride back. Parking is easier outside the middle of a hot afternoon, when the beach crowd and the trail crowd arrive together.