We have used the backroads of Hull Hill for snowshoeing for a while now, but since there are many sideroads, each one is a separate day of exploration. On this day, the sun was shining, it was cold, the snow was crystalline, and the group enjoyed a winter’s day on the snow. Vehicle Access: drive south on the Lac le … Continue reading…
Although we wanted to head out on higher trails, a heavy snowfall made us reconsider vehicle access and parking. We thought about trailheads that were easy to drive to, that still led to an area of trails and backroads with enough snow and we decided on the Outer Inks Lake Trails. In the past two years, these trails are low … Continue reading…
We have been going up Chuwhels Mountain in winter for a few years and returned again recently. It is still one of the best access routes to the high country. Vehicle Access: Go south on the Lac Le Jeune to Stake Lake the road goes west at this point and crosses under the Coquihalla Highway the road is usually plowed … Continue reading…
The second in a series of articles on Snowshoe Routes in the area. Vehicle access to Upper Timber Lake: Drive south on the Lac le Jeune Road Turn onto the Timber Lake Road this is an unsigned road, but is the first road past the ranch (turn at N50 34.443 W120 25.977) this is an active logging road so the … Continue reading…
A series of articles will be posted to this site featuring snowshoe routes of the area. Some of the prerequisites for a good snowshoe route include: road access to the high country parking at or near the trailhead lots of snow (south-facing slopes and lower areas can be hiked) routes cant be driven on easy-to-follow routes field work done to … Continue reading…
The hills and gullies between Barnhartvale and Juniper mostly have no names, except for Sunrise (Middle) Mountain and the Rio mountain bike trail. A series of trails starts at the end of Uplands-McLeod Road in Barnhartvale and leads west to gullies and ridges. A couple of older double tracks are now complemented by some newer single tracks and various combinations … Continue reading…
Our area doesn't have many well-established snowshoe trails. Sun Peaks has developed some trails (link), but we find these trails so stomped in that they become hard-packed hiking trails. Put the snowshoes away unless you arrive right after a snowfall. Overlander Ski Club has also established 8km of trails in the Stake Lake system. Overlander Ski Club and the Kamloops … Continue reading…
Shuswap Trail Alliance has had 7 years of success in promoting, planning, developing, and maintaining trails (link). We have often remarked that this kind of initiative should also be seen in the Kamloops area. The first steps toward this goal were started this week. A group met to start the first steps. The initial group included the City of Kamloops, … Continue reading…
There are many trails between the Coquihalla Highway and Greenstone-Chuwhels Mountains, but there is so much terrain, it is hard to link the trails and routes. The Greater Kamloops Motorcycle Association (GKMA) has explored the area on ATVs and motorcycles and has set up route signs along various trails, but has not provided maps to anyone wanting to ATV, hike, … Continue reading…
The Lyons Lake trail is a pleasant forest walk along a double track on a fairly level route to a grasslands forest at the end of Sullivan Valley. On a winter day, I trudged along this path in wet conditions, enjoying the quiet of a gully track between hills. The trailhead is near the Heffley Dump. Drive east towards Sun … Continue reading…
Barnhartvale is separated from Kamloops by an steep-sided mountain which local residents refer to as Sunrise Mountain, but is really a series of hills between Juniper and Barnhartvale. A few trails penetrate through the gullies to the hilltops. All the direct routes are steep. Access to the hilltops from the south and west are long, round-about routes. The north side … Continue reading…
There is a maze of old roads and ATV tracks in the hills west of the Coquihalla Highway and below the flanks of Greenstone Mountain. The trails also extend north towards Chuwhels Mountain. For the sake of clarity, we will call the northern end of this area the Outer Inks Lakes Trails. The Greater Kamloops Motorcycle has a number of … Continue reading…
Opax is the steep and wide mountain between Lac du Bois, Pass Lake, and Tranquille Canyon. There are three good routes to the top and they can be combined into a loop route. In the winter, though, the route from the east provides the easiest access. In each of the last three winters, we have trudged in the snow to … Continue reading…
A well-hiked trail/corridor is the flat pipeline road from Barnhartvale to Juniper. The trailhead can found at the end of McLeod-Uplands Road. The route heads to a ridge below Juniper. Most walkers/hikers skirt the north end of the ridge and traverse some gullies to access the benchlands below Juniper. Another route option for hikers and bikers is to follow the … Continue reading…
Starting in the Inks Lake Exit area, backroads and trails expand through the forested slopes, linking over to Greenstone Mountain southwest, to the Timber Lake-Bush Lake area south and beyond southwest to the Chuwhels Mountain trails. The total area is 15km by 7 km, with hundreds of trails, tracks, and backroads within a 100 square kilometer area. Much of the … Continue reading…
Orchard Lake Road climbs the hill from McLure on its way to Badger Lake. The road pass by three small lakes called the Struthers (Loon) Lakes. Not far past the largest of the lakes a road at 5.5 km turns south. This side road is the Coyote Lake Road and for most of the year it is suitable for most … Continue reading…