Ridge Lakes Loop
We have hiked, run, biked, cross country skied, and snowshoed this route over many years. A description of the route was provided in a summer hike post (link), but this time we snowshoed the route in mid-January.
The route starts at the end of Lac le Jeune Drive. Park on the street and go through the gate at the end of the road. Follow a winding trail for 0.5k, then turn uphill on a single track and climb for 2.5 km. Once on the Ridge Lakes elevation, follow tracks to the East Ridge Lake. The easiest way from there over to the main lake is to follow the open drainage, but snowshoers can also follow the backroads.
At the far end of the larger Ridge Lake is a junction. The route going west climbs over the hill and then down to Mildred Lake, 4km away. It is also possible to go over to the Frogmoore Lakes by this route, but some route-finding would be required.
We enjoy doing a loop route back to the edge of the former Lac le Jeune ski hill, which is on private property, so we recommend following the trail, then respectfully skirting the property. This will require a short walk along the road back to the vehicle.
- trailhead – N50 28.280 W120 29.054
- junction – turn uphill after 0.5 km at N50 28.337 W120 28.718
- arrive at the East Ridge Lake at N50 27.151 W120 29.137
- arrive at Ridge Lake at N50 27.032 W120 29.641
- Junction with the Mildred Lake Road – N50 26.842 W120 29.964
- Junction – route back to the Lac le Jeune Ski Hill area – N50 27.284 W120 29.386
Ridge Lakes Loop
The lower trail had been stomped in by snowshoers and hikers. Once up on the ridge, snowmobiles had tracked in all the main routes. There is no signage to help the snowshoer, but the well-established tracks will be easy to follow until a major snowfall.