First on our list was hiking at Sun Peaks. I hadn’t done this in years so when I was planning out what we should do with our visitors, I realized we were at the tail end of Alpine Blossom season. I wasn’t entirely sure if we would see any of the flowers but knowing how active our friends are – we’d all be happy with a nice hike either way. Driving up to Sun Peaks was great in itself… it has been said that it isn’t just about the destination but the journey as well. The 20 some kilometre stretch from the highway is a beautiful drive – cutting through forested landscapes, roadside lakes (where we stopped for some Stand Up Paddling – blog to come) and beautiful ranches.
Our guests were pleasantly surprised to arrive at Sun Peaks and see that it was a village. Where they are from, the ski resorts do not have restaurants or accommodation at the base of the mountain – so they thought that was pretty neat. After picking up our hiking passes from the activity centre ($17/adult for the lift tickets) we made our way over to Mountain High Pizza – the perfect place to fuel up before beginning a trek! Pizza in hand, we walked over to the lift which by the way - had no line…. And jumped on! What’s great about the ride up is the view below… with mountain bike season in full swing – you can watch all the hardcore riders ripping down the mountain and taking jumps at speeds you would never dare attempt (or at least, at speeds we would never dare attempt)! Looking over your shoulder at the view of the village is pretty spectacular as well.
At the top, we pulled out our trail map and decided that we would hike to Todd Lake. It was about 40 minutes to the lake so it was perfect for our timeframe. Walking through the forested trail, the weather was absolutely perfect… the views were amazing and we were pleasantly surprised to find that there were still thousands of alpine flowers in bloom. Many photo stops were made along the way, not only by our guests but us as well! Making it to the top was quite an accomplishment for us (remember, we were stand up paddling prior and already a little tired) so sitting down at the large picnic table and enjoying our surroundings for a little while was truly welcomed.
After we had a bit of a break and took some photos, we decided to take a different route back down. On our way, we actually ran into Phil & Grace from Dirty Feet Trail Series who were on their way to the Top of the World (another trail there). They insisted that we had to go to the top as it has the very best view of the area (we made it that far, what was another few km’s) and they almost had us convinced… however, we were slightly under dressed for that high elevation and were getting a little chilly at that point so we decided that Top of the World would be on our list for next time!
The trail down did not disappoint… the different landscape actually surprised us (more open fields) and the new vantage points of the village were just as beautiful as the first. Feeling quite satisfied by the time we hit the bottom of the hill, we all cozied up in the car and slept on the way home (well, except for my poor husband who had to drive…). I highly recommend this activity while in our area – with so many trails available – it isn’t crowded and the flowers and views make it absolutely worth it! Hiking at Sun Peaks is now over for the season (get your skies ready though!) but be sure to add this to your Summer bucket list next year! Check out this link for more info about hiking in our area: http://www.tourismkamloops.com/home_showSection_ID_34.html
Cheers,
Kamloops Kendel
