The area east of the Lac du Bois Road is very hilly. The southern end is heavily used by dirtbikes and ATV’s during the dry season. The double tracks and single tracks make good hiking routes in the off-season though. There are also some areas beyond the ATV area that take some effort to get to, but offering challenging and scenic hiking.
Driving Directions:
From the North Shore of Kamloops, follow 8th Street to Batchelor Hills Drive. Climb through the neighborhood and cross a cattleguard. This is Km 0 on the odometer (but the Forest Service Road markers call this 1 Km). There is a parking area on the right. Additional trails are found farther up the road.
Trailhead #1
- At the first parking lot, single and double track trails go east. There is no signage, but there are no trees either so hikers can see the trails and pick their own route.
- Once over the ridge, trails continue north along the Westsyde Bench for an out and back route.
- Loop routes over the Batchelor Ridge are also an option, but this will involve some good climb and the rest of the route will be quite hilly.
Trailhead # 2 (ATV area)
- 1.4 km along the road on the right (past the 2.0 km sign)
- This is actually the ATV parking area and is not good for hiking in the dry season.
- Routes climb into the Batchelor Hills offering a good hike on single and double tracks.
- The backroad that bears north can be driven with a high-clearance vehicle to get beyond the ATV area and into the grasslands/North Batchelor Hills where there are a number of make-your-own-route options.
There are better hiking trails than these on the west side of the Lac du Bois Road but the east side trails make a good off-season choice for hikers.
More information:
grasslandspano2/dsmith