Snow(y) Beauty

This trail follows Snowy Cabin from the main cabin to the junction with Snowy Owl then continues south to Snowy Vista.

It is a more-scenic route than Snowy Cabin or Snowy Hilton and provides views from the clearcut areas it traverses.

The name is derived from the trail's proximity to the Black Beauty ski trail.

Snowblind

This trail goes between Snow(y) Vista and Snowy Owl.

Its name comes from the hunter's chair in a tree near the Snow(y) Vista end. The chair is somewhat like a blind which birders use to take photos, hence the trail's name.

Snowbound

Snowbound is a four-kilometre loop to the east of Snow(y) Vista, leaving at Snow(y) Vista's one-kilometre mark and rejoining at Snowy Vista's two-kilometre mark. It is near the Riverside ski trail and crosses Riverside twice. It provides access to the south end of Snow Goose and Snow View (which provides access to Snow Lynx and Snowy Kitten, and leads over Thunder Mountain to the Summit Parking Lot).

Snow Business

This trail leaves Snow Vista at about the 2.5 kilometre mark (a signed junction), then heads east, crossing the Riverside ski trail.

It meanders through an area which is regenerating nicely, then through an area of older trees subject to falling in high winds, coming out of the trees on the edge of a marsh. It follows the edge of the marsh north then turns west to cross the marsh and climb a hill.

From the top of the hill you have a nice view of the surrounding area, particularly the Backcountry ski trail and the hill we call Thunder Mountain. The trail heads north along the ridge then drops steeply (to the west or left) down to Riverside, crossing it and joining Snow Vista at the lunch spot beyond the large marsh with sticks for trail markers. This statement makes sense if you read about Snow Vista.

This trail provides access to the north end of Snow Goose and Snow Lynx.

The name is a parody of the title of the song which begins "There's no business/Like show business."

Snow Business West

This trail leaves Snow Vista just south of its junction with Snow Business and continues west across several ski trails to join Snow Beauty just south of the Log Cabin.

Snowy Cabin

This trail leaves Snow Vista just behind the main cabin and heads north (to the left) through a recent clearcut, crossing the Jackrabbit (watch for skiers from the left) and Log Cabin (watch for skiers in either direction) ski trails and then continuing through more clearcut to meet Snowy Owl. Much of this area was logged in the spring of 2004 to deal with a pine beetle infestation. You can still see some beetle-infested trees along this trail. Some of those trees have tape wrapped around their trunks; others have little spots of sap which came out when the beetles drilled into the trees.

If you just want a short trip, follow Snowy Owl left from the junction and Snowy Hilton (another left turn) back to the main cabin. This short loop is designed for people who want a short trip, as part of a trip with small children, or as a first try at snowshoeing. It also provides an alternative access to Snowy Owl, instead of using Snowy Hilton.

Rather than taking this short loop, most people will continue north on the Snowy Cabin trail, leading, not surprisingly, to a cabin, the log cabin on the Log Cabin ski trail.

From the junction mentioned above, the trail continues through clearcuts and woods between the Log Cabin and Black Beauty ski trails, crossing Hawk Hill (skiers coming from the left), coming out on Log Cabin across the road from the log cabin. Watch out for skiers from both directions on the Log Cabin trail!

The distance is approximately 3 km.

Snow Goose

This trail, new in 2006/07 (thank you, Leon), runs between Snow Business and  Snowbound.

The short trail begins (from either end) going through the trees and then crosses an open area in the middle. This open area is shared with a beaver whose lodge is easily seen.

Snowy Hemlock

This trail joins the north end of the Snowy Hilton trail to the Snow Vista trail system, and also provides access to the Snowy Summit trail.

It begins at the site of the late, lamented, Nordic Hilton, with tapes leading off to the northeast. It follows a road over the ridge and then strikes off (right) into the woods. Look for the red trail tape. (There is also trail tape, pink and black, leading off to the northwest. This is part of the Okanagan Highlands trail and is not a maintained snowshoe trail, although it is occasionally used as such.) About halfway to the next ski trail crossing, the Snowy Summit trail breaks off to the left. The junction is signed.

The trail continues through a nice mix of open areas and woods. It crosses the Lower Meadow ski trail (watch for skiers coming from uphill), follows the old Hemlock Glide ski trail (look for the historic ski sign), and crosses Beaver Run. Immediately after crossing Beaver Run, you intersect the Snow Vista trail. To the left, Snow Vista leads you to the Meadow Cabin (two kilometres) and to the right are two choices, the rest of Snow Vista (going off to the left) and Snowy Way (going straight ahead).

The name is based on the presence of Western Hemlock trees, a very unusual species here. Look for the trees (there are only a few) to the right of the snowshoe trail immediately after you cross to the east side of the Lower Meadow ski trail.

Snowy Hilton

The Nordic Hilton was a plastic-roofed, log-raftered, rock- and plywood-floored A-frame, on a ridge overlooking Long Meadow Lake. It has been removed due to abuse by ATV users. The Snowy Hilton trail goes from the main parking lot to the former site of the Nordic Hilton, beginning between the interpretive signs.

Generally it is well-broken, often with two or more parallel tracks, for at least a while. Almost immediately it crosses the current sawmill ski trail. After passing the junction with Snowy owl, it crosses the old route of the Sawmill ski trail, then goes through a clearcut before it crosses the ski trail connection between Log Cabin and Sawmill ski trails (skiers usually come from the right), then a mixture of woods and clearcut until it crosses the Lookout Trail (most skiers come up Lookout but some ski down. Watch for them.)

It reaches a high point at about 2.5 km then drops down a long hill, culminating in a left turn that climbs again. The snowshoe trail heads along a ridge to a signed junction, the southwest end of the Snowy Log trail.

The Snowy Hilton trail drops down off the ridge (to the left), wanders through a flattish area, climbs a hill, passes an intersection (on the right) with the north end of Snowy Log, and then climbs a final hill (about kilometre 5). Expect to take about one hour and 45 minutes to reach the end of the trail, assuming the trail is broken.

The Snowy Hilton trail then becomes the Snowy Summit trail.

Snowy Kitten

As young lynx wander away from their mother's track, this snowshoe trail wanders away from Snowy Lynx.

It begins on SnowView, a little ways from the south end of Snowy Lynx and then loops back to join Snowy Lynx just before it crosses the backcountry ski trail.

This is an interesting trail but gets little use.

Snowy Leon

See what happens when you lay out a new trail and don't come up with a catchy name for it? Leon Blumer laid out this trail in the fall of 2006 and we named it after him!

It begins from the marsh just below the high point on Snow Business and continues north across the Fletcher Challenge ski trail (watch for skiers in both directions) and then heads northwest towards the Snow Vista trail, crossing Olympic and Roller Coaster, re-crossing Snowy Vista just after the abandoned trapper's cabin and just before the Meadow Cabin.

This is an interesting trail but gets little use. Once we skied to Snow Business and then carried our skis until we reached the Upper Meadow ski trail. We are now using Snowy Leon as part of the annual New Year's Day trip to the Meadow Cabin.

Snowy Log

Originally, this trail provided an alternate route to (or from) the Snowy Hilton (and other trails). Part of the trail has since been renamed Snowy Way, making Snowy Way a longer trail. Snowy Log now begins halfway along Snowy Way and then heads north to a junction with Snowy Hilton.

Snowy Lookout

This trail branches off Snow View before (coming from the east) you reach the summit of Thunder Mountain. It leads to a viewpoint with a bench and then drops down, crossing the JDS Energy ski trail, and joins Snowy Memorial.

Snowy Lynx

This trail connects Snow View and Snow Business, It's a short trail but scenic. It doesn't get a lot of use, but should.

There are many lynx in the area, although you will most likely see only their tracks. One year, we saw a lynx and three kittens in the area. The adult lynx was walking in a straight line but the young were wandering. In their memory, we created the Snowy Kitten trail which wanders near Snowy Lynx.

Snowy Memorial

This trail begins at the Summit parking lot at the top of Rock Creek Pass. It crosses the ski trail and comes to a junction. Going left, it climbs gradually to the escarpment above the parking lot and has extensive views of Big White and the highway below. Eventually it comes to the junction with Snow View trail on an old logging road. Going right from the junction gives a steep climb up the escarpment and then a flatter trail to the junction.

Yes, the trail is a loop. Time is approx 45 min - 1 hour.

It provides access to Snow View which leads over Thunder Mountain towards the main cabin.

The trail is named after club members Ineke and Scott Elliot (club president in 1977-9), who died in September 2007 when they were caught in an African bush fire. Hugh Carmichael suggested the name.

Snowy Moonlight

This short trail, a loop off the west side of Snowy Vista, is sometimes used for moonlight snowshoe trips as it crosses a large marsh.

Snowy Owl

This trail is a connection between the Snowy Hilton and Snow Vista trails. It begins about 300 m along the Snowy Hilton trail and leads off to the right (east).

Snowy Owl crosses more ski trails than any other snowshoe trail. It crosses Log Cabin, then Black Beauty, then Cat's Disaster (now disused and renamed Spruce Glen), then Black Beauty again, then Doe Run (now disused), then crosses Log Cabin again, before going over a marsh, a low ridge, and a second marsh before climbing a hill (Vista Ridge) to join Snow Vista.

At the base of the Vista Ridge, the trail crosses a creek. Beavers are in the area, so they have a pond; you'll see their lodge (or is it lodges?). Keep close to the dam when you cross the pond, particularly if the ice looks uncertain.

This trail is better done in a clockwise direction. Including Snow Vista, the trail is about 4 km long, and will take a couple of hours.

Snowy P.M.

Leon Blumer was busy in the fall of 2006 and laid out this trail as well.

It begins where Snowy Leon crosses the Fletcher Challenge ski trail (watch for skiers in both directions) and then heads northeast paralleling Fletcher Challenge. Its eventual goal is the Summit parking lot, but ends for now just beyond the corner of Backcountry and Fletcher Challenge at Pym's Cabin. (P is the first initial of the person who built the cabin.) Snowy Valentine joins this trail just before the Fletcher Challenge-Backcountry junction.

This is another trail that gets little use and is perhaps best approached using skis.

Snowy Summit

This trail, new in the Fall of 2003 and extended in the Fall of 2006, leads you to the summit of a hill northwest of the Meadow Cabin. The trail follows through woods, both open and closed, eventually hitting a system of old roads. It follows the roads to the base of the hill and then works its way up. The trail tape here is a suggestion of a route only. The tapes go straight uphill. You probably don't want to do that on your snowshoes.

If the summit is windy (and it usually is), there is shelter in the trees. Working a little to the east on the summit and looking down, you can see the Meadow Cabin. Return the way you came or follow the trail tapes north off the summit down to the Meadow Cabin.

The trail has been used infrequently because it is a long ways from the main parking lot. One way to do this trail is to ski from the main parking lot, carrying your snowshoes and boots, to the intersection of the Lower Meadow ski trail with the Snowy Hemlock snowshoe trail. You can continue a little further along Lower Meadow to where a second old road joins Lower Meadow. Snowy Summit uses this road.

However you get to it, follow the Snowy Hemlock trail west to the junction with Snowy Summit. If you go to the summit and then the Meadow Cabin, you may be tempted to walk back to your skis along the ski trail. Please walk off to the side of the ski trail, keeping outside the tracks, preferably completely off the ski trail. An alternative is to walk back along the Snow Vista trail to Snowy Hemlock. You'll have a short distance off the side of the ski trails to get back to your skis.

Snowy Valentine

This name was first used for a trail laid out, in the shape of a heart, on St. Valentine's Day 2004. That trail has since been renamed. The name Snowy Valentine has been reused (we had a bunch of signs made up!) for a trail in the northeast corner of the area. It joins Snowy P.M. and Snow Vista. Leon Blumer laid it out in the fall of 2006.

Like the other trails in the northern part of the area, this trail is not used often and is best approached via skis.

Snow View (or Snowview)

Snow View is a trail leaving from Snowbound and heading to the top of Thunder Mountain, continuing east to Snow Memorial.

It's a great view, which is more easily accessed via Snow Memorial. This trail is not often used on its own; a favourite trip is to combine it with Snow Memorial and a car swap. That trip takes 4-5 hours.

Snow Vista (or Snowy Vista)

This trail is a long route from the main parking lot to the Meadow cabin. It has several side trails to the west (Snowblind, Snowy Moonlight, Snowy Owl, Snow Business West, Snowy Way, and Snowy Hemlock) and to the east (Snowbound and Snow Business).

Snow Vista begins behind the main ski cabin as the trail to the toboggan slope. Turn right at the Snowy Cabin junction and carefully cross the Jackrabbit ski trail (watch for skiers on the left); go down the hill. Cross the flats, and then cross Jackrabbit again (watching for skiers on the right.) Go down the hill and through the willows, until you find the first major intersection. The Snowbound trail takes off here to the right, and Snow Vista continues straight ahead, aiming for the hill in front to you.

Continue north, crossing Kallis Creek and then, almost immediately, the Alta Vista ski trail, and work your way up the ridge to the next major intersection. This four-way intersection has Snowbound coming in from the east (on the right) and Snowy Owl coming from the west (on the left). On a clear day you should be able to see Big White to the east, and Little White to the west. If you look back to the west, over the area you have just covered, you may be able to see the toboggan slope. It takes about one hour to get here.

Continue north, joining a road looping to the left. To your right the road becomes the south end of the Snow Business trail. Following the road to the left, eventually you'll cross the Connector ski trail, joining That Dam ski trail to Riverside.

After crossing the Connector, you walk through a logged area which is growing back nicely. Then you come to a large marshy area. This area is subject to wind so the trail is often hard to find. However, there are usually several sticks, decorated with orange tape, jammed into the snow marking the route; if you can't see the sticks, head north across the marsh. There is a sheltered area in the trees at the north end of the marsh. It has frequently been used for lunch. The north end of Snow Business branches off to the right just after this lunch spot. The east end of Snow Business west branches off to the left just before this lunch spot.

Continue north, through a logged-over area and along a logging road. Watch for deadfall all through here. You will cross Riverside ski trail; watch for skiers coming from the right. Then a short loop through an open area leads you to the crossing of the Lower Meadow trail. Watch for skiers from either direction. If you want a break, there is a bench here.

Walk up the old road going uphill. There is a lot of deadfall here; much of which has been left in place because there are ways around it. Eventually you leave the road and strike off to the left through the woods. Watch for this junction as the road continues ahead.

The trail drops steeply over a rock face into a meadow. The meadow is triangular, with trails on each side. Snow Vista follows the northeast side of the meadow (to your right), eventually intersecting with Snowy Hemlock. If you follow the south side of the meadow, you meet Snowy Way going back to the Log Cabin. The trail along the west side of the meadow is a convenience for people using Snowy Hemlock and the Snowy Way.

From the junction with the Snowy Hemlock trail, Snow Vista continues north about two kilometres to the Meadow Cabin. Expect to break trail on this section of the trail. The trail passes an old, collapsed, cabin which is probably covered in snow. There is a sign telling you where it is, however. Just before the cabin, you cross a beaver pond. Keep close to the dam, the right as you head north, if there is an question about the ice.

Soon thereafter, the trail crosses the Inner Meadow (Kallis Creek) ski trail, and climbs over a final ridge to the Meadow Cabin. The Meadow Cabin is a solid structure, with a woodstove and an outhouse, and is used by many skiers. It takes about four hours to get to this cabin, depending on snow conditions.

Snowy Way

This trail joins Snowy Hilton to Snowy Vista. It passes behind the Log Cabin, crosses the Lower Meadow ski trail, walks along a disused ski trail, crosses Beaver Run, and enters the woods, meeting the Snow Vista trail.

Other planned trails

Snow Bunny, Snowflake, Snowy Solitude, Snowy Waste, Snowstorm, and Snow Good (as in "That trail's no good!") have been suggested as names for future trails.

Some combinations

Here is a list of the common trips (in order by estimated time, round-trip). Breaks for lunch are not included. Of course, the time you will take will vary depending on your experience, level of fitness, amount of trail-breaking, and weather. You can combine the trails in other combinations, too.

These trips are loops, beginning and ending at the main parking lot, with no shelters or cabins along the way.

• Short loop trip. Out via Snow Vista and Snowy Cabin, back via Snowy Owl, Snowy Hilton - 1.5 - 2 hours

• Longer loop. Out via Snowy Hilton and Snowy Owl to the top of Vista Ridge, back via Snow Vista - 2 - 2.5 hours
• Longer loop - Out via Snow Vista and Snowbound, back via Snow Vista (a big loop).
• Longer loop - Site of the now-removed Nordic Hilton shelter. Out via Snowy Hilton, back the same way - 3.5 - 4 hours.

• Longest loop. Out via Snow Vista and Snow Business, back via Snow Vista - 4.5 - 5 hours
• Longest loop - Site of the now-removed Nordic Hilton shelter. Out via Snowy Hilton, back via Snowy Log, Snowy Way, and Snowy Cabin (or Beauty) - 4 - 4.5 hours.
• Longest loop - Site of the now-removed Nordic Hilton shelter. Out via Snowy Hilton, back via Snowy Log, Snowy Way, and Snow Vista - 4.5 - 5 hours

These trails also loop back to the main parking lot, but they have shelters or cabins along the way, usually suitable for a break at lunchtime.

• Destination - Log Cabin. Out via Snowy Hilton and Snowy Way, back via Snowy Cabin or Snow Beauty - 3 - 4 hours
• Destination - Log Cabin. Out via Snowy Hilton and Snowy Log, back via Snowy Cabin, Snowy Owl, and Snowy Hilton - 3 - 4 hours
• Destination - Meadow Cabin. Out and back via Snow Vista - 6 - 7 hours

The trails listed below are best done by skiing to the start point with your snowshoes tied on your pack, leaving the skis off the trail, and then skiing a loop back to the skis.

• Ski Lower Meadow, then snowshoe Snowy Summit to Meadow Cabin
• Ski Riverside, then snowshoe Snow Business, Snowy Leon, and Snow Vista
• Ski Riverside, then snowshoe Snow Business, Snowy Leon, Snowy P.M., Snowy Valentine, and Snow Vista.
• Ski Riverside, then snowshoe Snowbound, Snow View, Snow Business, and Snow Goose

Reminder

Please do not walk on the ski trails. In many places snowshoe trails cross ski trails. Lift your snowshoes over the tracks so that you do not damage them.

Additional information

Please contact Rick at 250 763 0124.

Last update 2016 12 09