The Similkameen Hiking Guide is a project of the Vermilion Forks Field Naturalist Society. It is in print, and may be obtained from this web site, at the price of $12.00, plus shipping and postage. All profits are donated to the society.
THE
SIMILKAMEEN HIKING
GUIDE
THIRTY EIGHT HIKES IN THE VICINITY OF
PRINCETON, COALMONT, TULAMEEN AND
HEDLEY
Compiled by Members of the
Vermilion Forks Field Naturalist Society
EDITOR: DON BURBIDGE
CONTENTS
PREFACE
INTRODUCTION
CROWSNEST HIGHWAY SOUTH-WEST
1 Kettle Valley Rail--Princeton to Coalmont
2 Blackmine Road
3Whipsaw Creek
4Garrison Lake
5Similkameen Gold Pools
6Placer Lake and Meadows
COALMONT-TULAMEEN ROAD
7China Ridge
8Lodestone Lake
9Davis Mountain
10Kettle Valley Rail--Otter Lake
11Thynne Mountain
MERRITT HIGHWAY
12Rampart Lake
13Stringer--Gill--Butler Lakes
14Hornet Lakes
15Kentucky--Alleyne Lakes
OSPREY LAKE ROAD
16Kettle Valley Rail---Princeton to Belfort Road
17Baldy--Holmes Mountains
18Kettle Valley Rail--Separation Lakes--Jura Loop
19Hembre Ridge
20Red Creek
21Westmere
22Spukunne Lake
23Kettle Valley Rail--Osprey Lake Loop
COPPER MOUNTAIN ROAD
24Allenby Slopes
25Hole in the Wall
26Jameson Lake
OLD HEDLEY ROAD
27Jacob Creek
28Bromley Ridge
CROWSNEST EAST
29Darcy Mountain--Basely Lake
30Darcy Mountain South
31Soukup Mountain
32Polecutter Road
HEDLEY AREA
33Stemwinder Mountain
34Hart Lake
35Banbury Mine
36Hedley Creek
ASHNOLA
37Crater Mountain
38Trapper, Lil' Joe Lakes
Appendix 1 Wild Flower List
Appendix 11 Wild Bird List
For a sample hike description, see the following page.
HIKE 15 KENTUCKY---ALLEYNE LAKES
ACCESS Merritt Highway (5a), north, for 56 kilometres
Then right onto Bates road for 6 kilometres, to Kentucky-Alleyne Provincial Park.
TIME REQUIRED Driving time--one hour
Hiking time--- Kentucky lake circuit-- 2-3 hours
Bluey lake circuit---4-5 hours
DIFFICULTY The hike around Kentucky lake is level and easy. The hike to Bluey and back is
moderate, because of the ramble through the woods at the end of Kentucky lake.
Kentucky-Alleyne Provincial Park is a favourite with campers during the summer, since it offers
excellent boating, swimming, and fishing. During the spring and fall it is almost deserted, and affords
one of the most pleasant hikes we have discovered, an interesting lakeside walk, with a contrast
between a thriving Douglas Fir, Lodgepole Pine forest at one end, and the open range land of the cattle
country on the other. An additional bonus is the hike to Bluey lake, a bit more challenging, but well
worth the effort.
THE DRIVE
Take the Merritt highway north from Princeton for about 56 k., to the turnoff on the right, where signs
indicate the way to the Kentucky-Alleyne Provincial Park. This is Bates road, which is paved, and
which leads to the campsites between Kentucky and Alleyne lakes. Park in the Kentucky lake parking
area. There are plenty of places to camp, if you wish to stay for a while ($7 a night). And there are a
number of lakes in this area, most of which are clear and vividly turquoise in colour, with plenty of fish,
so it might be worth your while to stay overnight and relax between hikes. .
The trail around Kentucky lake is well marked and well maintained. Begin at the campsite, and take the
trail along the right (west) shoreline first. You can't get lost, even if you make a detour halfway up the
east side to visit the pond on the right of the trail. There are some huge fir and pine along the route,
scattered through the immature forest. Take your time, smell the flowers, and keep an eye out for the
old Osprey nest on the western shore. You have only about two and a half kilometres to go before you
are back at the campsite.
The route to Bluey lake is a bit more demanding. You can hike along the four-wheel-drive road which
turns south off Bates road, about a quarter kilometre west of the Kentucky lake campsite. But we
advise experienced hikers to take the Kentucky lake trail to the south end of the lake, and then strike
off through the forest, due west for about a kilometre, until you reach the Bluey lake road. You may
need a compass for this stage, unless the sun is out and you are skilled at using its position to find your
way. You will find yourself scrambling over dead fall as you climb the small hill at the outset, but the
going after that is good as you pass through the immature forest, with tall trees showing vigorous growth
after logging long ago. You will cross, at right angles, a couple of old logging tracks, running north and
south, before you descend into a small valley , where you will strike the road to Bluey lake. You now
have another two and a half kilometres to trek south along the road to the lakes.
The topography exhibits the rough, tumbled hills found in the various portions of the Princeton area,
and for which we have been unable to find a geological explanation, beyond the homily that 'the glaciers
did it'. Bluey lake, and the two smaller ponds you encounter before you reach it, look as if they have
been scooped out with a giant spoon. Their shores tend to be steep, and they have no visible streams
entering or leaving them. They are surrounded by that beautiful mixed-age forest, right to the water's
edge. Bluey lake is shaped rather like the footprint of a dinosaur, with a couple of deep bays and
promontories, and the camping areas are well placed on the latter. Old hands tell me that, when they
were young, they caught five pound Rainbow in this lake. But even if you don't fish, the peninsulas at
the north end of the lake are splendid places to have your lunch, and drink in the scenery. The
Whiskey-jacks will keep you close company.
On our exploratory hike we stopped at the northernmost pond to watch a family of four River Otters
(Lutra canadensis) reveling in the water, rolling and ducking together, climbing on shore and plunging
back in, having a wonderful time and showing a tremendous joie de vivre. Few in our group had seen
these magnificent creatures in the wild before, so it was a rare treat. We were surprised by their size,
but we realized that they are the third largest members of the weasel family, next to their cousins, the
Sea Otter (Enhydra lutris), and to the biggest Mustelid of all, the Wolverine (Gulo luscus). To cap the
experience, a small muskrat (Ondatra zibethica), clearly upset by all the fuss, came swimming right up
to the bank where we stood, its rat tail vibrating behind it like a small out board motor, and the hair
raised on the back of its head like a teenager's brush cut. We hope future hikers have similar luck.
On the way back, retrace your steps to where you broke out of the forest onto the road, stopping to
puzzle at the large painted sign on a big fir, which says, cryptically 'NO HOLE CAMPING'. No one in
the party could decipher this mysterious message.(1) Here you have a choice. You can go back north
along the road to Bates road, turn right, and you will soon find yourself back at your vehicle. Or you
can forge your way back to the east through the woods to Kentucky Lake, and then take the eastern
path along the lake shore back to the parking lot. It would be wise to veer a bit north of east as you
go, in order to avoid missing the lake entirely.
There appears to be no trail right around Alleyne Lake, since much of the eastern shore is private land,
owned by the Douglas Lake Cattle Company. In any case, its eastern slopes comprise rather fragile
grassland, and under no circumstances should you take a vehicle off the road. The road on the western
side of the lake leads to the public park on the north end, but you must either return the way you came,
or follow the shore below the high water mark, on the eastern side of Alleyne lake, to return to the
Kentucky lake campsite. This option, we confess, we have not explored at this writing..
Trails blazed by Linda Neuman, Madelon Schouten, and Peter Antonick
Return to List of Books
Last Updated December 27, 2003 by M. Burbidge
1. We thought it could be a prohibition of the well known custom of camping in holes, or then again, it could be a stern warning against any trespass by the members of the notorious Hole family. A reader may be able to clarify this for us.