5 Hikes we ♥
And why you’ll ♥ them, too
Summer is here and we’re presenting you with a selection of our favourite hikes that range from ‘very easy’ to ‘extreme.’ Please hike respectfully and be Bear Aware.
Columbia Lake Spirit Trail
VERY EASY. Family-friendly, perfect for hiking or biking. This low-elevation trail takes you along the shores of Columbia Lake, just south of Fairmont Hot Springs in the Columbia Valley. The route passes through Columbia Lake Provincial Park. It offers gorgeous scenery on the only undeveloped, low-elevation shoreline in southern British Columbia.
Visit www.Env.Gov.BC.ca/BCParks/Explore.
(Suggested by Heather Leschied, Wildsight Living Lakes Program Manager)
Kimberley Nature Park
EASY. Great mountain hiking inside one of Canada’s largest municipal parks. If you’re staying in Kimberley, you don’t even have to drive, as there are several access points from right in town. The 800-hectare Kimberley Nature Park is maintained by a volunteer group. Trails include old roads and footpaths and link ponds and panoramic viewpoints. Lots of trails to explore through cedar groves, larch forests, wetlands, grasslands and more. Your best bet is to buy a $5 map, available in many Kimberley shops. Online, visit http://kimberleynaturepark.rockies.net/.
(Suggested by Robyn Duncan, Wildsight Purcells Program Manager)
Jumbo Pass
CHALLENGING. An intense day hike. The area is known as Qat’muk to the Ktunaxa Nation, who respect it as home to the Grizzly Bear Spirit. Lush forests, alpine meadows and glacier-capped peaks make Jumbo Pass a quintessentially Purcell Mountain experience. Drive the Toby Creek Road for 18 kilometres past Panorama Mountain Resort, turn right onto the Jumbo Creek Road and park at the 15.4 km mark.
The two- to three-hour, six-kilometre hike to Jumbo Pass Cabin (which must be booked for an overnight stay) takes you up 600 metres in elevation.
To reserve the hut, visit www.cvhsinfo.org/general.htm.
More info: Mountain Footsteps, by Janice Strong • www.janicestrong.com
(Suggested by Kat Hartwig, Wildsight Development Director)
Akamina Ridge
DIFFICULT. A 20-kilometre loop hike with multiple shorter options. Part of B.C.’s Akamina-Kishinena Provincial Park, it’s easily accessible via a popular trail from Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta. The loop takes you along a breathtaking ridge that leads to the B.C./Alberta/U.S.A. border in Canada’s southern Rocky Mountains, and offers a great view of the Flathead River Valley. The oldest exposed rock in the Canadian Rockies creates swirls of red and green on massive mountain faces that glare down on myriad headwater lakes.
For access info, visit www.Env.Gov.BC.ca/BCParks/Explore.
(Suggested by Dave Quinn, Wildsight Purcell Mountains Strategic Advisor)
Cummins Lake: Ian MackenzieCummins Lakes Provincial Park
EXTREME. Mind blowing, challenging, remote. Cummins Provincial Park is on the B.C. side of the Rockies, level with Jasper National Park. Cummins Provincial Park is 60 kilometres north of Golden, B.C. Access is by helicopter and the terrain includes rare old growth interior rainforests. It contains a nationally-significant feature consisting of three spectacular waterfalls connecting two glacial lakes just below the Clemenceau Icefield. For info, visit www.Env.Gov.BC.ca/BCParks/Explore.
(Suggested by Ellen Zimmerman, Wildsight Columbia Wetlands Program Manager – retired)
