Four Seasons on Mt. Embleton
With so many routes in our area, it is rare for us to hike a trail more than twice a year, but we end up hiking the Mt. Embleton trails at least 3 times each year. We hike it in the spring when the trails dry out. We return late spring when the wildflowers emerge. We try to hike late fall before the snows arrive. We try to snowshoe up the trail in the winter too when the conditions are right.
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When the track is snowed in, we start at the Sun Peaks Road and the loop is 8.6km. When the road is open, we can drive to the upper parking lot 2km higher, making the route shorter. From the road, the climb to the high point is 1600 feet of vertical. From the upper parking lot, it is only 1200 feet.
At the gazebo at the upper viewpoint, the views face west, but at the lower viewpoint on the ridge, we can see almost all of Heffley Lake and over the hills south and west.
The upper part of the trail winds through beautiful aspen groves, grey-white barked and green-leaved in spring, then yellow in fall.
Each season has its highlights. Wildflowers appear in spring and early summer in successions along the trails. We will be back in the fall for the mushroom and fungus show.