Beatrice Lake Trail

The Beatrice Lake Trail offers steady hiking through forests and wetlands as it traces an old mining road, following a chain of lakes through Valhalla Provincial Park. There are several backcountry campgrounds along the way at Emerald and Cahill Lakes until the trail finally ends at distant Beatrice Lake.

SUMMARY

Map: Valhalla Provincial Park

Trailhead: Evans Creek (accessible by boat or hike)

Distance, round trip: 12km to Cahill Lake (east shore), 18km to Beatrice Lake

Elevation: +715m to Cahill lake (east shore), +930m to Beatrice Lake

White Queen

White Queen is a scenic off-trail hike just outside of Nelson, BC. Starting at Whitewater Ski Resort, the route crosses familiar ski terrain before ascending to a stunning ridge-line ramble with big views of Ymir Peak and surrounding country. At the summit of White Queen, you can see Kokanee and the Valhallas, and many distant mountains fading to overlapping shades of blue.

SUMMARY

Trailhead: Whitewater Ski Resort, Whitewater Road

Distance, round trip: 9.4km

Elevation: +666m

GPS: link

Mount Grohman

Mount Grohman is a stunning ridge-line hike near Nelson, BC. Most of this hike is done off-trail, but the access road starts you way up in the alpine and the route is surrounded by prominent peaks and landmarks. You’ll see Gray’s and Esmeralda Peaks in Kokanee Glacier Park, the Bonnington Range peaks, the Valhallas, Old Glory Mountain, distant Mount Loki, the West Arm of Kootenay Lake and more!

SUMMARY

Trailhead: Baldface Lodge, Grohman FSR

Distance, round trip: 8km

Elevation: +617m

GPS: link

Wildflowers on the Flagpole Trail

With summery temperatures pushing +30, the snow-line is finally receding higher into the mountains and more shoulder-season hikes are opening up.

The wildflowers on the Flagpole trail above Nelson are absolutely fantastic right now. Red paintbrush, blue delphinium, and huge clusters of yellow balsamroot, as well as many more are blanketing the open sections of the trail!

Looking down along the Kootenay River

Hiking back towards Nelson

Christina Lake – Deer Point Trail

The Deer Point Trail is an incredibly scenic hike that traces the high bluffs above Christina Lake. The trail is smoothly graded and winds through ponderosa forest, opening up to big views of the lakeshore below.

Trailhead: East Shore Road, Texas Creek Provincial Park

Map: Gladstone Provincial Park

Distance, Round Trip: 13.8km

Elevation: +336m

Montrose Antenna Trail

The Montrose Antenna Trail is a short shoulder-season hike with scenic views of the Columbia River Valley. The trail network includes options to make a smaller loop on the Antenna Trail or to climb higher on the Flagpole Trail extension.

SUMMARY

Trailhead: 5th St, Village of Montrose

Distance, Round Trip: 3.2km (Antenna Loop) or 5.1km (Flagpole Trail & traverse)

Elevation: +217m (Antenna Loop) or +307m (Flagpole Trail)

The first snow-free hikes of 2018

The snow is going fast at lake-level with the mild spring temperatures, and that has opened up a couple of great shoreline hikes! These two trails are now snow-free and ready for exploring:

• Pilot Peninsula – East Shore Kootenay Lake
• Yellow Pine Trail – Syringa Provincial Park, Castlegar

 

View along Pilot Peninsula Trail from March 17, 2018

The CBC Tower

Following the CBC Tower trail takes you to the very summit of Mount Nelson (or Elephant Mountain as some locals affectionately call it). It’s a difficult hike with significant elevation, but it’s scenic and close to home! At each milestone, the City of Nelson shrinks further below and more and more peaks enfold from the distant valleys.

SUMMARY

Map: Pulpit Rock Trail Network

Trailhead: Pulpit Rock Trailhead, Johnstone Road, Nelson

Distance, Round Trip: 14.1km

Elevation: +1120m

Fall Colours at the Flagpole

It was a beautiful day to hike up to the flagpole above Pulpit Rock. The fall leaves are at their peak right now and Nelson is full of colour!

The flagpole trail has had a number of improvements this season, including the development of new switchbacks to ease the moderate route. I took the difficult route up just to change things up. The grade is much steeper, and there are sections that involve scrambling up rocky bluffs! Nevertheless, the views up the difficult trail are very good with a constant panorama of Nelson below.

Looking down the Kootenay River Valley towards the Playmor Junction

Thanksgiving Hike at Lightning Strike

It was a good plan. We were going to hike Jumbo Pass and Monica Meadows over the Thanksgiving long weekend, ending the hiking season in a blaze of glorious, golden larches. Sadly, Air Canada had other ideas.