The Barnes Lake Trail system was developed by a horse riders group in the Barnhartvale area, but these are fine hiking trails for all seasons.  There are 4 separate trailheads and for this late fall day, we chose to start at the most remote one, the Back Gate.

To find the back gate, take the Scuitto Lake Road for 1.1km and park just past the small wetlands area on the right side.   There are many motorcycle and ATV tracks through the whole area so finding the right one may not be easy.   The gate can be found at N50 36.733 W120 07.159.

Once on the designated trails, there are numbered trail signs at assist, but carrying a map would help.

• Barnes Lake Trails map (pdf)
• More information on the Barnes Lake Trails – 2012 article

We hiked for 9.75 km on the trails, enjoying the upper forest and the lower grasslands.

Twisted stumps line the trails in the forest and beetle-killed ponderosa pines flank the route in the grasslands.

The area is very quiet in late fall or early spring, some of the best times to hike.