Visit Kaslo | Kaslo Guide 2019

Trails
Photo : Alexandra Halliday
Mountain Biking
Take ‘er easy and sing while you pedal,
or take it wild and
shriek like a mountain marmot!
Kaslo has it all: relaxing pedal-and-coast
country roads, or barely-in-control downslope
exhilaration. Combine the trails into
various loops and you’ll be entertained for
days. The most famous go-round is the
iDIDaRide 40 km, a stage favourite of many
ST6 riders from 2017. There is every kind
of terrain on that loop. The Kaslo Wagon
Road is beautiful and relaxing double-track;
it leads you west, through the Valley of the
Ghosts… heck, with just a little road riding
you can ride trail to New Denver – a great
two day adventure going there and back!
Kaslo River Trail This lovely riverside
stroll is bracketed by two beet-red covered
bridges. The Unity Bridge is at the lower
end of 5th Street. On the the northside trail,
halfway to the second bridge – the Trailblazer
Bridge – is the Family Pump Park. It’s really
fun for kids, novice and even expert mountain
bikers to swoop along through this network of
single track trails embraced within a curve of
the Kaslo River.
In early summer the Kaslo River is at its
wildest, and the damp forest floor is spangled
with the white-petalled queen’s cup. The
Trailblazer Bridge marks the far end of the
the bridge loop, but you can keep travelling
westward along the river. There are wooden
boardwalks, a couple of little bridges to cross
and some deeply shady spots where you can
stop and cool your toes in the icy water. The
trail eventually leaves the river, and climbs
steeply to the Kaslo airstrip and the True Blue
Recreation Area.
True Blue Trails
There is a lot of variety on the multi-purpose
trails above the airport in the True
Blue Recreation Area, with about 9 trails of
varying difficulty. Spanish Moss (trail 9) is
one of our favourites to walk or mountain
bike! If you take Straightface trail it will
connect you to I’ll Call Rusty, a trail which
heads west, then does a big loop to return
you to the south side of the River Trail.
Little wooden bridges and boardwalks carry
you over ephemeral streams, brooks and
boggy areas.
To get to the True Blue Recreation Area,
take Hwy 31 heading south out of Kaslo,
turn right on Balfour Avenue (before the
Esso), follow Balfour Avenue up the hill
until you reach the gravel pit and the signage
on the left before the airport.
Pick up a trail map at a local business
or go online to www.trailforks.com
See trail maps
in the centre pullout
Wardner Street Lookout or the Viewpoint
is a narrow switchback that leads to
a ridge overlooking Kaslo and Kootenay
Lake. The gain in elevation is about 100
metres. If you’re really fit and want a challenge,
you can make it up to the viewpoint
in 15 to 18 minutes. Or if not so much, give
yourself an hour for both up and down.
East/West Access Trail & No Brakes
These are challenging trails for mountain
bikers. Because they are on a southeast
facing slope, they are the first trails to
become free of snow in the spring. To get to
the trailhead, head up, up, up the highway
north out of Kaslo and you’ll see it on your
left, by the brake check stop for trucks.
The Monster and Mr. Skinny are
two black diamond single-track trails in
the Buchanan Recreation Area just west of
Kaslo. The Monster starts at the Buchanan
fire lookout tower. If you’ve made it from
the lookout all the way down to the Wagon
Road, you’ve made it to Mr. Skinny. Both
trails are gnarly, with wooden bridges and
other structures, rolling stones and steep
rooty sections. A generation of Kaslo parents
have been alarmed to learn, after the
fact, just what their kids were riding on. But
the kids are alright.
Whitewater Canyon Trail This hike
takes you through alpine bowls and offers
fascinating remnants of the valley’s mining
past. It’s also pretty easy walking. Start with
the Whitewater Forest Service Road. It begins
from Hwy 31A just after the old Retallack
bunkhouses (which are now someone’s home)
and before the big sign for Retallack Lodge.
Walk as far as you like and then return. Most
people opt for a 3 to 5 hour excursion.
www.visitkaslo.com Kaslo and Area Guide 2019| Kaslo BC, Canada 23