The area of Six Mile Protected Area (part of BC Parks) below the highway is best accessed from the Six Mile Viewpoint or from Tobiano.   the first part of the downhill route from Tobiano is steep and rough, but routes get easier after 15 minutes of progress down the hill.  There are not trails but once we are on the slopes we can easily see routes down the ridges.   There are few trees and the slopes are covered in grasses.   We scouted out the area last year and we returned with a group of hikers to explore more of the ridges and gullies, but we also included a walk along the beach too.

The upper area is steep and there is no easy way down, but we have found that a route paralleling the highway for about 300m leads us to a good area to strike off down the open ridges.   There are natural routes down the slopes that are obvious.

There are no trails, but we can just amble down the ridges, avoiding all the gullies.

On the west side of the north-south ridges are Six Mile Bluffs, a local climbing spot.

Near the bottom of the way down to the lake are the Tobiano hoodoos, a side route worth exploring.

We followed a ridge right to the bottom then went out to a broad gravel beach on Kamloops Lake where we stopped for lunch.  Rousseau Hill stands above the lake 3 km north.

The winter beach stretches down to Six Mile Point.   The shoreline floods from spring through summer., leaving little beach to land on in a boat or to walk along on a hike

To the east the sloped beach continues underneath the benchlands of Tobiano.

The point where we started from was 1 km away but required a steep 210m (690 ft) vertical climb, following a prominent rib to the top.

There is much more terrain to explore in this area, but we will start at Tobiano next time and find a new loop for a 2 hour hike.

More Information:

• Six Mile Protected Area (article – use the Search bar)
• Six Mile Protected Area (BC Parks)