Mount Midgeley Trail

This is a very pleasant trail located at the west side of the valley north of Highway 3 on Mt. Midgeley with views of the Creston Valley for much of the way. There has been a trail here for many years to a trapper’s cabin originally built in the 1980s.

From the forestry landing/parking area you will be walking through an old clear cut without an obvious trail. Keep your eyes open for flagging tape that after about 75 M bearing south brings you to the edge of the clearing, where the real trail begins has a very comfortable grade with views of the valley below you to the East and Kootenay Lake to the north,

Eventually after approximately one hour of hiking you will arrive at the old trapper's cabin in a small marshy basin below Mount Midgely. It is now owned by the Ministry of Forests and the Trails for Creston Valley Society is granted permission to use it. The cabin can be booked via the webpage https://www.crestonvalleytrails.ca/midgeley-cabin.

The trail into the cabin usually becomes snow-free in early July and autumn snows may begin in October. Late fall is a nice time to visit with alpine larch trees turning golden and biting insects becoming less bothersome.

Day hikes to the summit of Mt. Midgeley can be easily accomplished using the cabin as a base camp. The route to the summit (2150M) has not been cleared yet but is a fairly obvious bushwack to the left (south side) of the Mt. Midgeley Ridge which is clearly visible from the cabin and once on the ridge it is an open walk to the peak which has views of Kootenay Lake and almost as far as Bonners Ferry.

Note here is a licensed trapping line in the vicinity of the cabin so no other hunting is allowed in the area. Please note that access to Midgeley Lake to the West is not available from this trail as the lake is located on private property (Nature Conservancy of Canada; please refer to their website for permission to enter Darkwoods lands.)

Access Info

Head west on Hwy 3 from Creston, heading up Kootenay Pass. Just after the Summit Creek bridge turn right on the Topaz Forest Service Road. Set your odometer at zero and head up the logging road.

At km 3 the road makes a left turn ((Newington Road goes straight) and in a few meters goes through a yellow control gate. Continue climbing up the logging road passing two spurs (one to the left at approximately 9 km and one to the right at approximately 10.5 km) until you arrive at three forks approximately 13 km from Hwy 3. Continue straight on the middle fork (the right fork goes to the communication towers).

At this point, the road is no longer maintained and has water bars that require a high clearance vehicle to cross. Go approximately 1.5 km and take the left, ascending fork. The trail head is approximately another 2 km. The trail head is on the left and should be marked with flagging tape and a sign.

Note: This is an active logging road used by J.H.Huscroft and is radio controlled; you may encounter logging trucks at any time so please use caution. Also, the kilometers provided by this summary may not correspond exactly with the occasional kilometer signs posted along the road. Good backroads navigational knowledge, 4x4, and a high-clearance vehicle are strongly reccmmended.