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.
Paddling our rivers is a matter of picking the right launch and landing spots, the right date and time, and the right weather. We launched our boats at the end of Harrington Road next to the Golf Course in Westsyde. This spot is a good spot from March through October. We could have chosen to launch off the end of … Continue reading…
We returned to hike Crowfoot Mountain 5 years after our first hike there. Crowfoot Mountain stands above Celista and Magna Bay on Shuswap Lake. We can drive right to the edge of the subalpine meadows on an older Forest Service Road. The route is well-used by snowmobilers and ATVers so it has been kept clear of fallen trees, but the … Continue reading…
In the back valleys between Shuswap Lake and Adams Lake are a chain of lakes. Hummamilt Lake is the largest and a superb lake for paddling. To get to Hummamilt Lake, follow the North Shuswap Road past Anglemont on the way to Seymour Arm. Pass Albas Provincial Park and turn up the Celista Creek Forest Service Road. At 9.7 km, … Continue reading…
We hike into Hanging Valley year round. The route starts in Lac du Bois Provincial Park right at Lac du Bois. We follow the gated (Nature Conservancy) double track along the north side of the lake as it goes through a pass between Wheeler Mountain and Opax Mountain. After 1.3 km, the track emerges into Hanging Valley which was homesteaded … Continue reading…
Cornwall Hills Provincial Park lies southwest of Cache Creek and Ashcroft. Cornwall Mountain is 6880 feet high. Access is from Highway 1, 7.5 km south of Ashcroft. Turn west onto the Hat Creek Forest Road and follow it up into the hills for 13km. The junction between Oregon Jack Provincial Park and Cornwall Hills is well-signed. The road up … Continue reading…
I keep saying I will never hike Yak Peak again. It is relentlessly steep and there are a number of awkward spots. But going up is easier than coming down the “Marble Staircase.” Almost every footstep coming down is onto smaller marble-shaped rocks. It is a demanding route with constant risks of falling, a continuous opportunity to tear up … Continue reading…
The South Thompson River from Chase to Kamloops provides excellent downriver paddling. We can divide the river route into 3 sections (based on accessible launch/landing sites) – Chase to Pritchard, Pritchard to Lafarge, and Lafarge to downtown Kamloops. We paddled from Lafarge to Pioneer Park in mid-June. [map style=”width: auto; height:400px; margin:20px 0px 20px 0px; border: 1px solid black;” maptype=”OSM … Continue reading…
We hike the trail to the western rim of Opax Mountain (Wopax) every year and try to vary the season we go up the 15km return route. It takes a bit of careful navigating on the top to go out to the right spot, especially with all the fallen trees along the old double tracks. Now that the route goes … Continue reading…
It was raining on the West Chilcotin Plateau. While traveling east on Highway 20 there was a break in the weather right at Nimpo Lake, so I found a boat launch and paddled out into the quiet lake. There was no wind and no other boats on this larger lake. It is too big a lake to go all … Continue reading…
The Birch Bluffs Rim Trail is a side trail from the official BC Parks Moul Falls Trail. Just above Moul Falls is a bridge that crosses over onto private property owned by the Neaves. Hikers may cross the bridge and then veer west to the brink of the falls and beyond to the Birch Rim. Mindful that the first section … Continue reading…
The drive to Bella Coola and back has long been a call-to-explore and a week was set aside into the calendar for the tour. It is 740 km each way so I got an early start on a Monday morning. The road is paved all the way to Anaheim Lake so I proceeded along the route, stopping for gas as … Continue reading…
Harper Mountain has good ski trails and bike trails, but we can hike or snowshoe some of them too. Hiking on the mountain bike trails on weekends in season may not be the best idea. Most trails are for downhill bikes and going up these steep single tracks is asking for trouble. On the other hand, a combination of the … Continue reading…
In spring we paddle downriver, enjoying the green corridors of our valleys in our kayaks and canoes. We choose to go before the noise and wakes of powerboats take over the rivers. [map style=”width: auto; height:400px; margin:20px 0px 20px 0px; border: 1px solid black;” maptype=”OSM Cycle” gpx=”https://kamloopstrails.net/wp-content/uploads/Chase to Lafarge.gpx” elevation=”no” download=”no”] We paddled from the public beach at Chase on … Continue reading…
The Gattling Gorge Trail starts at Helmcken Falls in Wells Gray Provincial Park. From the viewing area, just continue along the rim as it follows the Murtle River west. After a kilometre it looks out over the confluence of the Murtle and Clearwater Rivers. As the trail turns north upriver, it descends eventually down to the river’s edge at Gattling … Continue reading…
The Hamilton Corrals Commonage is a section of Crown Land surrounded by private ranching lands. A commonage is used as pasture land and fences may be erected to control the cattle (or horses). As public lands, we can access the area, but as always, we want to respect cattle, gates, and fences and leave nothing but our footprints. The commonage … Continue reading…
A recent addition to the wonderful work that the Nature Conservancy of Canada does, the Napier Ranch Conservancy is a grasslands preserve on the bench above Trapp and Napier Lakes, south of Kamloops. Visitors on foot are welcome to explore the tract of land, “treading lightly” and respecting grazing cattle on the hillside. Napier Lake Ranch (NCC site) Turn off … Continue reading…
