By the end of the first week of February, the lower south-facing slopes of the Batchelor Hills were dry and quite good for winter hiking.     The area has been used for hiking for a long time, but over the last decade additional single track trails have been added for mountain biking.    These trails are now signed and maintained by KBRA, in partnership with BC Parks (Lac du Bois Grasslands Protected Area).   These are busy trails in spring and summer, but in the latter part of winter, they are also good trails for hiking.   We started at the parking area near the gravel pit (N50 43.355 W120 23.100).    A new ditch has been dug on the roadway, but the double track trail bears off southwest.    We hiked on a trail now called Lazy Boy, a moderate track bearing west.

After hiking west for about 2 km, we turned south and climbed to the top of Beacon Hill.    There is a communications tower on a nearby hill, but the highest point has a beacon tower (for aircraft coming in).    We enjoyed the view to the west from there.

To create a loop route, we turned uphill towards the Tower Hill then followed the access road east.     We turned at the signed start to the Arizona Trail, following it back to the start.   The snowy Dome Hills stood above the east side of the North Thompson River Valley.

Our loop route was 6.5 km, taking about 2 hours.     This is a moderate route suitable to all hikers, but it is a better route for walkers when there aren’t too many bikes on the trails.    Shoulder season is a good time for this route.

A short video shares some of these moments:

More Information:

• Batchelor Hills Trails on Trailforks
• Batchelor Hills Trails