Nine different newspapers ran the same wire story in May: the Adra Tunnel has reopened. If you live in the village, you already knew that, because you probably drove past the Smethurst Road turnoff and saw the pylons gone. What most of those stories didn't mention is that this was the tunnel's second reopening in twelve months, and the version you can walk into now is functionally different from the one that made headlines last year.
A few blocks away, at Wharf Park, something quieter happened in February that never got the same syndication treatment but changes an actual daily habit for anyone with a dog.
What Actually Changed At The Tunnel This Year
The Adra Tunnel's headline moment came in May 2025, when a three-year restoration effort finished and the 483-metre passage reopened to the public for the first time in decades. That project was carried by a community group called Woodwackers 2.0, working with the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen and Recreation Sites and Trails BC, and it ran on donations. At one stage in the fundraising, the RDOS reported more than $700,000 raised privately with another $300,000 still needed to finish the work, a scale of local funding that Electoral Area E Director Adrienne Fedrigo called the result of "a strong community vision and financial contributions from a wide cross section of the community."
That was the tunnel you could visit last summer. It closed again on May 4, 2026, this time for a shorter round of upgrade work, and reopened fully on May 26. The difference between version one and version two is the part that actually matters if you're using this trail on a regular Tuesday rather than as a one-time bucket-list stop.
| May 2025 reopening | May 2026 upgrade | |
|---|---|---|
| Tunnel access | Open for the first time in decades | Open, resurfaced |
| Parking | Existing lot | Improved |
| Seating and rest stops | None added | Benches and picnic tables added |
| Bike infrastructure | None | Bike racks added |
| Waste and washroom | None | Garbage cans and a pit toilet added |
| Wayfinding | Minimal | New signage and split-rail fencing |
The first reopening gave the village its landmark back. The second one gave it a trail you can actually plan a short outing around instead of just a photo stop.
The Short Walk Locals Actually Take
Most of the coverage this spring described the tunnel as part of the wider Kettle Valley Rail corridor, which is technically true and not very useful if you already live five minutes from it. The tourist version of this trip is a 34-kilometre round-trip bike ride from the Little Tunnel, or a 16-kilometre trek in from the Glenfir parking area on Chute Lake Road. Neither is what a Naramata Village resident is doing on a weeknight.
The route that actually gets used starts at the Smethurst Road parking area, where a signed connector trail runs about 750 metres to the tunnel mouth, mostly uphill through forest. It shares ground with a dirt bike network, so it pays to watch for motorized traffic on the way in. There's a rougher alternative too, a roughly 1.5-kilometre hike in from the unpaved Naramata Creek Forest Service Road, which requires higher clearance and some patience with loose rock, but skips the parking lot entirely if Smethurst is full on a summer weekend.
Neither route needs a full day. That's the point of the upgrade: a bench to sit on, a bike rack that means you don't have to lean your bike against a rock, and a pit toilet mean this can be a 45-minute loop after work instead of an expedition.
Down At The Wharf, A Quieter Change
While the tunnel story was making the rounds nationally, the RDOS quietly launched a trial off-leash dog area at Wharf Park in February 2026. It's easy to miss if you're not a dog owner, and it's a meaningfully different amenity from what's available a short walk away at Manitou Park, where dogs aren't permitted on the beach itself.
"The survey results clearly showed that many residents are interested in having a dedicated off-leash space for dogs in Naramata," Fedrigo said when the trial was announced, adding that the RDOS would be "carefully monitoring how the park is used and ensuring it continues to serve the broader community." Signage went up at three entrances to the park outlining expectations, and the trial period is still running as of this summer, with the RDOS watching use patterns before deciding whether it becomes permanent.
What this means in practice is that the village now has two distinct waterfront experiences within a few minutes' walk of each other. Manitou Park keeps its swim dock, volleyball court, and two playgrounds as a family beach. Wharf Park, right beside the marina, has become the spot where a dog can actually run without a leash while you watch the boats come in.
One Season, Two Upgrades, One Loop
Put together, these two changes describe something the syndicated tunnel headline didn't: this was a year the village's outdoor infrastructure got worked on at both ends at once, the historic high ground and the working waterfront, without either project stepping on the other's territory. A resident can now string together a genuine loop that didn't fully exist a year ago. Let the dog off the leash at Wharf Park in the early evening, then either walk into the village or drive up to Smethurst for the short climb to the tunnel before the light goes.
The trail crews have left the tunnel site and the temporary closures are gone, which means this window, before the KVR gets its first fall rain and the trail turns to mud in spots, is when both upgrades are actually usable at their best. The dog trial is still being watched, so how it gets used this season may decide whether it sticks around.
None of this shows up in a listing description or a market report. It's the kind of thing you only know if you're paying attention to what the RDOS is actually building here, not just what got picked up by the wire service.
If you're weighing a move to Naramata Village, or you already live here and are curious what your property might be worth given how the neighborhood keeps developing, Teresa Braam knows this stretch of the Bench block by block, tunnel included. Let's Connect.
