A single track route has been in place all the way from Peterson Creek to Barnhartvale for many years, long before the first house was built in Juniper.     The west end  has a piece of private land and fences, so it is less used.   The eastern end now has a gravel pit and a private home to steer around, but we can still hike/bike from Valleyview Arena all the way to the end of Uplands Drive in Barnhartvale.

The route starts at the Valleyview Nature Park sign and climbs to the benchland.   A trail leads across a gully, down and up, and starts a long angular but easy climb toward the forest below Juniper.   There is a section of fences and gates at this point, but bikers and hikers go quietly, leaving no trace.   This trail under Juniper is well used.   The City calls one section Capilano Park.   The route winds through forest, skirting the south end of the gullies.   There is now an active gravel pit to go around.   On our recent hike, we followed the fence line around the north side.   Much of the trail is now obscured, so follow the new road east for a short distance, then go east before the road starts to descend.   Continue along the gas line track all the way to Barnhartvale and return by the same route.   On the way back, we climbed the ridge on the south side of the gravel pit on a good double track, then came down the Rio (mountain bike) Trail in the gully back to our east-west trail.   The northeast end of Juniper has now extended right down to the trail, even though the lots have no homes yet.   This will be a green corridor trail for the future.   Or hike was 14.1km and took over 3 hours.   This is a fine route in the shoulder season.   Watch for deer and coyote tracks in the fall and winter.   In the spring, meadowlarks and bluebirds can be spotted in the grasslands.

There are a number of side trails for exploration.   We are very lucky to have an area like this so close to town.

Update – 2016:

A land status update will be provided once completed since there are more private owners in the area now.