I started exploring this area in 1976 and I continue to follow tracks and routes wherever they lead, with the aid of map, compass, GPSr and camera. After many dead-ends, but also many discoveries, I chose to share this information. Getting out 12 months each year, I continue to explore trails, tracks, routes, and waterways of the Kamloops area and beyond.
Otter Lake Provincial Park is situated on the northwest shore of Otter Lake, just north of Tulameen. It can be reached by driving north from Princeton on the Coalmont Road (33 km) or on gravel roads (34 km) from Highway 5A starting near the turn-off to Kentucky – Alleyne Lakes. The park itself is a forested 49 hectare area in … Continue reading…
Cornwall Hills Provincial Park is situated in the hills between Cache Creek/Ashcroft and Hat Creek. Access is by the Hat Creek Road which bears west 18 km from Cache Creek on the Trans-Canada Highway. The gravel road climbs through the Oregon Jack Creek Valley for 11.5 km. At that point is the junction with the Cornwall Hills Forest Service Road … Continue reading…
We camped at Haynes Point Provincial Park to do some paddling in the South Okanagan area. Osoyoos (“narrowing of the waters”) Lake is 18 km long with 2/3 north of the border and the south end in the United States. Haynes Point is one of the “narrowing” points with a shallow passage on the east side of the … Continue reading…
The snow clears off the Trophy Mountain meadows and the alpine ridges above by July, but we can hike into the open meadows in mid-June most years. The Trophy Mountain Road should be clear, although it may not be graded until mid-month. The first 2.3 km of the trail is in the forest so snow drifts often linger in … Continue reading…
The south side of Mount Mara is very rugged, with many bluffs, cliffs, canyons, hoodoos, and rocky slopes. We usually hike on two trails on the south side, but there are a number of hard-to-get-to areas requiring scrambling on steep terrain. To the west of the main canyon is a “hidden vale”, untouched by cattle grazing, wildfires, or human activity. … Continue reading…
The trail to Silvertip Falls is off the Spahats Creek Road. Take the Trophy Mountain Road, but stay right at 4.3 km and continue on for another 2.5 km. Where the road crosses Silvertip Creek is the Silvertip Falls Recreation site (just before the bridge). A short, rough road then leads up to 2 primitive campsites and the hiking trail … Continue reading…
On a sunny day in spring I traveled down the Trans Canada Highway between Cache Creek and Spences’s Bridge and I hiked Epsom Provincial Park, I drove through Venables Valley, and then I hiked to the top of Red Hill. The drive past Venables Lake was a scouting trip for some possible future hikes, but this was a scenic route … Continue reading…
The Lundbom Grasslands Commonage area is a gem for hikers. We have been hiking there for decades, but with the rise of mountain biking new single track trails have been added that make good hiking trails too. Some of them are shown as dashed blue lines on the map. The white dashed lines are double tracks. On our last visit … Continue reading…
Whitetail Lake lies in a valley in the Purcell Mountains about 28 km from Columbia Lake in the East Kootenays. Access is by the Findlay Creek Forest Service Road near Canal Flats. The final section is on the Whitetail FSR to the Whitetail Lake recreation Site. The lake is a destination for camping and fishing, but we traveled out there … Continue reading…
In an effort to explore as many hills as I can within 2 hours drive from Kamloops, I ventured down Highway 1 towards Spences Bridge and walked Epsom Provincial Park, toured the Venables Valley, and picked a large open hill to hike up in spring. From the rest stop at the foot of Red Hill, I worked my way north … Continue reading…
There are a set of recreational trails on the east side of the Rocky Mountain Trench southeast of Invermere. The Swansea Mountain Recreational area has hiking trails, mountain bike trails, and a base for paragliding and hang gliding using the Swansea Forest Service Road. We hiked from the lowest parking area to the summit of the mountain, a round trip … Continue reading…
There are a number of trails in the Hemp Creek Canyonlands, but most are done as a down and back hike. The most frequently hiked trail is the Moul Falls Trail on the south end of the Canyonlands. Other trails that see some hikers are the Flatiron Trail and the trail down to McDiarmid Falls. There are linking trails though, … Continue reading…
We drove some backroads out of Invermere to visit Lake Enid, about 6 km west of Wilmer. A small recreation site is there with a good boat launch and a hiking trail around the lake. We paddled the lake and then I hiked the trail around the lake to finish the outing. Enid Lake is not a large body of … Continue reading…
There are a lot of seldom visited provincial parks and Epsom is one of them. Access is off Highway #1, but the track is easy to miss with no signage, a single-lane dirt track on a sharp angle and little evidence of park status. The dirt track angles down a steep slope to a dry benchland. A sign recommends 4×4’s … Continue reading…
In early May I paddled down the Columbia River from Invermere to Radium, a distance of about 16 km. The river was low and slow-moving except for 3 spots of faster water. Adjacent to the river are many wetlands so birds and waterfowl were abundant along the way. The launch spot was by the Athalmer Bridge at the outlet to … Continue reading…
I have hiked to the top of Mount Mara about 50 times over 4 decades. The view from the summit is wonderful with vistas of the river valleys and all the hills surrounding them. We vary the route most times to explore, but most often we go to the top from the northeast side, parking at the end of the … Continue reading…
