Manning Park has a lot of great hiking trails but only 3-4 of all the hikes can be called the premier routes of the area.   One of these is the Skyline Trail.   

There are two distinct sections that both traverse the ridges to the north and west of the the Lightning Lakes Chain.

Although Skyline II can be done as a day hike, it is most often done as a backpack with an overnight stay in an alpine backcountry campground. Skyline II is often used to explore Hozameen Ridge or to climb in the Hozameen Range. On my last hike out to Mowich Camp, I was impressed with the views from Lone Goat Mountain. The ridge to Hozameen is too long for a day hike and takes the hiker out of the park and across the border. The other challenge with Skyline II is that the trail climbs for 6 km to the ridge, but then there is a significant drop into Despair Pass before climbing back up Snow Camp Mountain. Skyline II is definitely worth the effort, but if you have to make a choice between Skyline I and Skyline II, the former should be done for your first trip.

The best way to do Skyline I is to use a two car system, leaving one vehicle at Strawberry Flats and one at Spruce Bay. This cuts 2km off the loop and allows the hiker to start at the higher point. We prefer to do Skyline Trail from Strawberry Flats since most of the climb is on the shaded north side of the ridge. the route from Lightning Lake climbs a southeast aspect and can be hot on a sunny day. Drive past the Lightning Lakes area towards Gibsons Pass and park at the trailhead in Strawberry Flats. the trail winds through meadows before starting to switchback up the north side of the ridge. At 6 km, a junction separates the two choices, west and down to Despair Pass or east and up to the top of the ridge. There are good views at this point, especially over towards the meadows on Snow Camp Mountain and the border peaks beyond. Skyline I climbs to the top of the ridge and continues along the top with views of Lightning Lakes Chain, Lone Mountain, Mount Frosty, and the Cascades. Wildflowers cover the meadows in the summer. A good place for lunch is at the highest point of the ridge. This is also an excellent spot for a panorama photo, stitching several shots together. As the trail starts to drop, it crosses an old burn, then continues all the way down to the lakes with many switchbacks. It comes out part way along the north side of Lightning Lake and then it is only a kilometre back to Spruce Bay to complete the loop. This is fairly strenuous hike covering 18-20km and a climb of 775m. Pick a day with good weather, carry lots of water, and prepare by learning how to take a panorama series of photos from the top of the ridge.