Timber Lake is located next to the Coquihalla Highway on the lower slopes of Chuwhels Mountain. There are many backroads and trails in the area. Access is from the Lac le Jeune Road, by turning west onto the Timber Lake Road, which goes under the Coquihalla Highway at 1.3 km. The road then bears northwest past Timber Lake and continues into the hills, but there are also some side roads worth exploring. The first road on the west side of the Highway has a power line next to a high-clearance road. This goes up to a communications tower, but there are some viewpoints on the east and north side of the hill, worth the climb up and back.
On this day, I hiked the hill to the tower, then headed south and west onto a series of tracks which were once used as cross country ski trails, part of the network of trails established for the 1979 BC Winter Games. The trails were maintained by the BC Forest Service until the Coquihalla was built, cutting off reasonable winter access. When these trails were deactivated, the Stake Lake Trails were built to replace the older trail system. We can still hike the old trails in the Timber Hills and higher up near Bush Lake. When I hike these trails, I sometimes see remnants of old trail signs. The Trans Mountain pipeline expansion altered the old tracks on the east side too.
I sometimes hike these trails and in winter they make a good spot for snowshoeing too. On an early October day, I hiked a known loop route through the forested hills.
A number of photos were taken along the way, shared here in a Google Photos slideshow:
- Click any photo to see more (captions and other information).
- Another post – Hiking the Timber Lake Hills
- Video – Exploring the Timber Hills
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