Running north from the Galena Trail in Rosebery, the Rosebery-Summit Lake Rail Trail follows the shorelines of Slocan Lake, Bonanza Creek and Summit Lake and continues to the Regional District of Central Kootenay (RDCK) Area H/K Boundary, linking up with the Nakusp-Summit Lake trail.

Extending over 26 km, the rail trail offers beautiful Selkirk mountain scenery and a wide range of recreation options. Much of the trail passes through important year-round and seasonal habitat for a variety of mammals, birds, amphibians and other wildlife.

Construction of the original rail berm has over time impacted and in some cases fragmented important wetland complexes along Bonanza Creek. These, along with Snk’mip (Bonanza) Marsh and the wetlands at the south end of Summit Lake (Summit Lake Marsh), constitute a corridor of high biological diversity with a wide variety of habitats and wildlife.

Since removal of tracks and ties, trail users have undertaken informal volunteer maintenance, mainly brushing and bridging of a few small tributaries to Bonanza Creek. Currently, the trail has little infrastructure aside from a few culverts and small rustic bridges.

The 2020 management plan proposal is an outcome of a facilitated  planning process involving local trail user groups and funded by Rec Sites and Trails BC, a branch of the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations which oversees most public trails in the area.  It was undertaken following release of the 2015 management plan proposal which was broadly supported in a household poll of residents (see Rail Trail 2015 page) but found lacking by local ATV clubs.