The trails near Isobel Lake have been upgraded in the last two years.    The trails were originally built by the BC Forest Service and were connected to the McQueen Lake Trail system.    At one point students used to cross country ski to Isobel Lake and back in winter.   Much later, Isobel Lake was developed as a Recreational Site and is now part of the BC Rec Sites and Trails system.   When the Lac du Bois Grasslands area was designated as a BC Parks Protected Area in 1996, it started a process of restricting some of the motorized access into the upper grasslands and nearby montane forests.    Then, the Nature Conservancy of Canada purchased lands from the Frolek Cattle Company so there is now mostly continuous protected status for the area from the lower end in the Batchelor Hills all the way up to Isobel Lake.

During this process outdoor non-motorized recreational activities also changed from just hiking and cross country skiing to also include mountain biking (in our area in the 1990’s) and snowshoeing.    More recently fat tire biking has also become quite popular.    Fat tire biking requires groomed (packed) trails, but is compatible with snowshoeing.    It is not really compatible with cross country skiing and hiking since both leave postholes or grooves in the snowy track.

The Kamloops Mountain Biking Community looked for trails to use for fat tire biking and successfully used the Ironmask Trails for a season.   That may be an option for the future, but for now they have worked hard to work out an agreement with BC Rec Sites and Trails to resurrect the old cross country trails near Isobel Lake for fat tire biking.    they have expanded the trails and now have a winter trail network.

The Kamloops Peformance Cycling Center has taken on the responsibilities of maintenance, including rolling the trails:

The cycling community has taken the initiative and they are looking for cooperation and support from the wider community.   They have fund-raised for signage, equipment, and maintenance costs.   Kamloops Hiking Club has supported their efforts and has donated $500 to their fund-raising goals.   Since KHC snowshoes all winter, this is a good way to develop trails in our area.

To snowshoe the trails, drive to the McQueen Lake entrance on the Isobel Lake Road, park, then take the former Forestry Capital Trail, now called Beer’s a Waiting.   Signage is now posted (partly funded by KHC).

Our congratulations to the Kamloops biking community for all of their work in developing trails in our area.

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Doug Smith

Retired now, I get into the outdoors most days to hike, paddle, camp, snowshoe, run, walk, or explore. More information can be found at: KamloopsTrails.net.

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