Painted Bluffs Provincial Park is a series of colorful ridges and gullies on the north side of Kamloops Trails.   Access is overland from the Copper Creek Road or by boat to the beach area below the bluffs.  We have been to Painted Bluffs many times.   We tried a different route in the spring, arriving at the top of the bluffs, skirting the rim, and returning back through a longer route (link),   On this October day, we tried a lower route, going just north of the fenceline and winding over ridges down to the lower end of the park.

There is a locked gate now on the Copper Creek Road 1.2 km from the junction above so we need to park above the gate.   The best route strikes off to the east about 220 m above the gate.   There are no signs and no trails.

As we climbed over the ridges we could see some heritage buildings in Copper Creek.   At one point there was a station house, a school, a store, and several residents living at Copper Creek.   There was no road or track to Savona so the connection was by rail (after 1915), by horseback over the hills, or by boat.

The grassland hills offer long views down Kamloops Lake on the way into Painted Bluffs.

We could hear migrating sandhill cranes overhead as we hiked the 2.5 km route to the bluffs.

As we crested the last ridge before Painted Bluffs, the multi-hued ridges on the west side came into view.

The approach to the bluffs is up a wide, eroded gully.

With a little bit of effort, we worked our way up some of the gullies , exploring the area.

We hiked and scrambled up some of the ridges and gullies for more views.

Some of the landscape has an unearthly look to it.

The Painted Bluffs are rich in copper, iron, and cinnabar (mercury).   At the top of one of the bluffs is an old claim and mine shaft left by a cinnabar miner.     Cinnabar is the most toxic mineral to handle on the planet so it would be best to leave the red rocks be.

We had to climb over the hills on the way back to our vehicles,   By the afternoon, the greyish skies were brighter and the colors stood out more vividly.

From the tops of the hills we enjoyed the views down the lake again.  The route in is only 2.5 km each way, but these are slow off-trail routes.   It took us 2 hours to get in on the more difficult lower route, but only 1 hour and 15 minutes to come out by the upper route.

The recommended route is shown on this annotated map:

We actually prefer to kayak in to the beach then hike the bluffs.    Painted Bluffs is a worthwhile destination for hikers  however you choose to get there.

Driving Directions:

• Drive to Savona, then continue west.
• Turn onto the Sabiston Creek Forest Service Road.
• Follow the road for about 23 km to the Copper Creek Road junction (there are mileage markers along the gravel road)
• turn down the Copper Creek Road and park about 1 km down the road

 

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