Mobile Menu

  • Destinations
    • Canada
      • British Columbia
        • Vancouver Island, B.C.
        • Okanagan
        • Lower Mainland, B.C.
        • Northern B.C.
        • Interior B.C.
        • Kootenays/Rockies
      • Alberta
      • Yukon
      • Northwest Territories
    • U.S.A.
      • Alaska
      • Washington
      • Oregon
      • California
    • West Coast Galleries
  • Experiences
    • Things To Do
    • Staycation Secrets
      • Canada
      • U.S.A.
    • Adventure
      • Adrenaline
      • Beaches
      • Biking
      • Camping
      • Fishing
      • Hiking
      • Hunting and Fishing
      • Rafting
      • Skiing
    • Sip & Savour
    • Family Activities
    • Indigenous Tourism
    • Accessible Travel
    • Travel Tips & Advisories
  • West Coast Galleries
    • Nature Photography
    • Wildlife Photography
    • Cityscapes
  • Contests
    • Camel’s Hump Guest Ranch Getaway
    • Raft. Relax. Recharge
  • About
    • The Armchair Traveller Newsletter
    • Explore our travel guides
    • Impressive West Coast
    • West Coast Partners
    • West Coast Traveller Directory
    • Join Our Team
    • Contact Us
    • Explore West Coast Traveller on TikTok
  • Search
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • TikTok Icon
  • Flickr Icon
  • Menu
  • Skip to left header navigation
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Before Header

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • TikTok Icon
  • Flickr Icon

West Coast Traveller

  • Destinations
    • Canada
      • British Columbia
        • Vancouver Island, B.C.
        • Okanagan
        • Lower Mainland, B.C.
        • Northern B.C.
        • Interior B.C.
        • Kootenays/Rockies
      • Alberta
      • Yukon
      • Northwest Territories
    • U.S.A.
      • Alaska
      • Washington
      • Oregon
      • California
    • West Coast Galleries
  • Experiences
    • Things To Do
    • Staycation Secrets
      • Canada
      • U.S.A.
    • Adventure
      • Adrenaline
      • Beaches
      • Biking
      • Camping
      • Fishing
      • Hiking
      • Hunting and Fishing
      • Rafting
      • Skiing
    • Sip & Savour
    • Family Activities
    • Indigenous Tourism
    • Accessible Travel
    • Travel Tips & Advisories
  • West Coast Galleries
    • Nature Photography
    • Wildlife Photography
    • Cityscapes
  • Contests
    • Camel’s Hump Guest Ranch Getaway
    • Raft. Relax. Recharge
  • About
    • The Armchair Traveller Newsletter
    • Explore our travel guides
    • Impressive West Coast
    • West Coast Partners
    • West Coast Traveller Directory
    • Join Our Team
    • Contact Us
    • Explore West Coast Traveller on TikTok
  • Search
You are here: Home / Travel / Hiking, Biking, Hunting in Creston Valley

Photo by Jim Watt (Amateur Photographer 2018)

Hiking, Biking, Hunting in Creston Valley

July 19, 2019 //  by Black Press Media Staff

Share this:

Many locals will admit that hiking in the Creston Valley is one of their favourite pastimes — one that everyone should experience. Not only does it promote good health, but it’s also a great social activity. Difficulty levels vary, but it’s easy to find an outdoor experience suitable for almost everyone.

Here are a few local favourites:

Balancing Rock Trail

Ten minutes west of Creston, this is one of many trails on Mount Creston. It takes about 30 minutes to climb the winding trail, parts of which are quite steep. Balancing Rock (hikers will understand the name when they see it) sits atop a ledge overlooking the Creston Valley and Purcell mountain range. A small pullout on West Creston Road, near its intersection with Highway 3, serves as a parking area. From Balancing Rock, the trail leads west into the woods where hikers experience marshes filled with giant-leafed skunk cabbage and cool, fern-covered forest floors. Where the trail forks on a wooden bridge, heading left takes hikers on a very steep hike a few kilometres farther on the Creston Mountain Trail to enjoy spectacular panoramic views from the mountainside. The trail to the right winds its way along the Fern Forest Trail down the other side of the ridge and into the former Summit Creek Park campground.

Creston Valley Wildlife Management Area

The trails weaving through the CVWMA are open year-round, even when the Wildlife Interpretation Centre is closed. From Highway 3 west of Creston, turn onto West Creston Road and drive to the parking lot on the left. The trails are well-marked and easy to find on maps posted in the area.

Photo by Caroline Martin

Lady’s Slipper Trail

This trail is a delight from spring through fall with brilliant shows of wildflowers, including orchids, dotting the path on Arrow Mountain (a.k.a. Goat Mountain to the locals), which provides a backdrop to Creston’s townsite. Best of all, the easily accessible trail starts out only a few minutes’ drive northwest from town. From Creston, follow Highway 3A north, then turn right onto Lakeview- Arrow Creek Road. Follow this road to Foster Road, then continue straight onto the BC Forest Service road and follow it for about six kilometres until a parking lot.

Mount Thompson

To access the top of the mountains overlooking Creston to the east, head east on Highway 3, then turn right onto Canyon-Lister Road. After crossing the bridge, turn left on Whimster Road and follow it to a forestry road (suitable only for high-clearance or 4×4 vehicles). The trailhead for the Thompson Pack Trail and Thompson Rotary Trail is located at 2km on the forestry road. At 3.5km, there is a second trailhead for the Rotary Trail. Continuing along the winding forestry road for another 8.5km will take you to the top of Mount Thompson; here you will find the Thompson Rim trailhead. After crossing the bridge, turn left on Whimster Road and follow it to a forestry road (suitable only for high-clearance or four-by- four vehicles), which winds to the top of Mount Thompson. After parking, hikers may wander through alpine meadows on the ridge’s Thompson Rim Trail or enjoy a picnic with a panoramic view of the Selkirk Mountains to the west and south, and the Purcell Mountains to the east.

Billy Goat Bluffs.

Turn off Highway 3 on the west side of Creston onto Helen Street and watch for the trail head sign on the left. The trail, constructed by the Creston Community Forest organization, takes a winding and often steep route to a forest service road. The up-and-back hike offers a good 5.3 km workout.

Lockhart Creek.

This trail is located about 45 minutes north of Creston on Highway 3A at Lockhart Beach Provincial Park. The first seven kilometres of the trail — maintained by the BC Forest Service and the Lockhart Creek Heritage Committee — are suitable for beginning hikers, while advanced outdoors enthusiasts can continue to the 2,134-metre summit. The park offers treed campsites, and picnic tables and a beach are located across the highway near the trailhead.

Pilot Bay Lighthouse Trail

Near the Kootenay Bay Ferry Landing, just over an hour north of Creston on Highway 3A, turn onto Pilot Bay Road. After 4.5 kilometres, a sign reading “Lighthouse Trail” will alert drivers to pull well off the road, or park a short distance away at a circular turnaround. At the end of the 15-minute walk along the trail is the Pilot Bay Lighthouse, which operated from 1904-1993, and is now maintained by the Friends of West Kootenay Parks.

Ripple Ridge

Get a taste the alpine on this popular two-hour hike that starts with a half-hour drive west on Highway 3 to the summit at Kootenay Pass. Drive to Stagleap Provincial Park and Bridal Lake, then hike south for 2.5 kilometres if you want a true mountain experience. Mountain biking is also popular, and many local bikers enjoy frequenting the numerous logging roads in the area. For bikers who prefer the open road, the Wynndel loop (Highway 3A and Lower Wynndel Road), the Canyon-Lister loop (Highway 21, Canyon Lister Road and Highway 3) and the West Creston loop (Evans Road, West Creston Road, Nick’s Island Road and Highway 3) are popular. An interactive cycling map is online at www.selkirkloop.org.

Fishing and hunting are also popular pastimes, and the Creston Valley is the place to make these outdoor dreams become reality.

Duck Lake is famous for bass fishing — and ice fishing in the winter — and Kootenay Lake is the place for rainbow trout, Dolly Varden and kokanee. And the seemingly endless streams and alpine lakes in the Kootenays certainly make fly fishing a viable option.

Hunting

The Creston Valley has some of the Kootenays’ best big game hunting, and the marshland on the flats is a prime location for setting up blinds and decoys to hunt waterfowl.

To hunt or fish, a valid licence is required, and it’s best to inquire at Sirdar General Store, Wynndel Foods or the Service BC office on Canyon Street for more details. Wynndel Foods offers much of the necessary equipment, as does downtown Creston’s Mawson’s Sports, founded in 1918.

Be careful and plan ahead. As with any outdoor recreational sport, using common sense is very important. Comfortable and sturdy footwear is a necessity — hiking boots give you more protection than do running shoes. This is especially true if your trek takes you in the mountains and wilderness.

While in the great outdoors, be wary of bears, both grizzly and black. Visiting bearaware.ca is the best way to find information on dealing with the creatures.

For information about many other hiking trails and recreation areas, drop into the Visitor Centre at 121 Northwest Blvd., where knowledgeable staff will be pleased to provide suggestions, directions and material to send you on your way to an outdoor experience, Creston Valley style.

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram.

Share this:

Category: TravelTag: Creston Valley, Hunting, Trails

Related Posts

You may be interested in these posts from the same category.

‘It was a super cool experience’: Wolfpack spotted hanging out in Kelowna

A Kelowna photographer captured images of a pack of wolves while on a weekend hike…

‘It was a super cool experience’: Wolfpack spotted hanging out in KelownaRead More

Gary the cat shreds the gnar in Golden

He might be a better skier and influencer than any Gen Z could imagine, possibly…

Gary the cat shreds the gnar in GoldenRead More

Travel on the Fly: Dine Out Vancouver; Waddling with penguins in Calgary; Fernie’s powder perfection + more!

What’s going on around the West Coast? Here’s your inside guide to what’s happening where,…

Travel on the Fly: Dine Out Vancouver; Waddling with penguins in Calgary; Fernie’s powder perfection + more!Read More

Nothing is the New Something in B.C.’s Southern Gulf Islands

Many travellers believe spring and summer are the best times to explore. That means the…

Nothing is the New Something in B.C.’s Southern Gulf IslandsRead More

Vancouver Island photographer’s bald eagle image is Canada’s choice for international contest

A dramatic image by professional Vancouver Island photographer Anthony Bucci will represent Canada in a…

Vancouver Island photographer’s bald eagle image is Canada’s choice for international contestRead More

Fuel up for outdoor adventures in The ‘Loops: Serving up seconds on magical meals and memories!

The best compliment you can give a chef? Returning for seconds! Oh, and to tell…

Fuel up for outdoor adventures in The ‘Loops: Serving up seconds on magical meals and memories!Read More

The writer who’s been everywhere shares his 2023 California travel wish list

By Christopher Reynolds, Los Angeles Times I’ve been meandering around California for decades, which is…

The writer who’s been everywhere shares his 2023 California travel wish listRead More

Tourism hopes high in B.C. as China lifts border rules, but recovery may take months

Zhengwen Hao says the phone for his Richmond, B.C., restaurant hasn’t stopped buzzing in recent…

Tourism hopes high in B.C. as China lifts border rules, but recovery may take monthsRead More

VIDEO: Young orcas caught showboating off Greater Victoria

They say the downfall of every great fishing story is a witness. But a group…

VIDEO: Young orcas caught showboating off Greater VictoriaRead More

Previous Post: « Things to do in Fernie
Next Post: Hidden Places in Nelson »

Primary Sidebar

Things To Do

‘It was a super cool experience’: Wolfpack spotted hanging out in Kelowna

January 25, 2023

Gary the cat shreds the gnar in Golden

January 25, 2023

Travel on the Fly: Dine Out Vancouver; Waddling with penguins in Calgary; Fernie’s powder perfection + more!

January 24, 2023

Nothing is the New Something in B.C.’s Southern Gulf Islands

January 24, 2023

Recent Posts

‘It was a super cool experience’: Wolfpack spotted hanging out in Kelowna

January 25, 2023

Gary the cat shreds the gnar in Golden

January 25, 2023

Travel on the Fly: Dine Out Vancouver; Waddling with penguins in Calgary; Fernie’s powder perfection + more!

January 24, 2023

Nothing is the New Something in B.C.’s Southern Gulf Islands

January 24, 2023

Footer

The West Coast Traveller has an immense social media footprint, with eight social media sites and and 125,000+ social followers.

Join us on social media and Join Our Community by sharing your stuff!

Get Inspired

News Media Groups

Black Press Media
Sound Publishing
Oahu Media Group
Alaska
Boulevard Magazines
Used.ca

Let’s Get Social

West Coast Traveller
I Love British Columbia
I Love Alberta
I Love Yukon
I Love Northwest Territories
I Love Washington
I Love California
I Love Oregon
I Love Alaska

Visit Our Companion Sites

I Love Saskatchewan
I Love Manitoba
I Love Nunavut
I Love Ontario
I Love Quebec
I Love Newfoundland and Labrador
I Love Nova Scotia
I Love New Brunswick
I Love Prince Edward Island

Site Footer

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • TikTok Icon

Copyright © 2023 West Coast Traveller and · All Rights Reserved