The day before our Barnes Lake Trails hike was a rainy day and it snowed in the hills above.    We had planned to hike a longer loop route in Roche Lake Provincial Park and we headed up there.    About 1/3 of the way to the lake, the road turned to mud and slush.    I put the truck in 4WD, but the vehicles following would have had more difficulty.    We also wanted to avoid hiking in mud-slush, so we turned around and drove out to Barnhartvale instead.    We parked at Barnhartvale Hall and hiked the Barnes Lake (Horse and Hiker) Trails.

The weather was cloudy and cool, but the trails were not muddy.   We hiked across the grasslands slopes to the upper forested areas.

The lower end has open forests with some ponderosa pines, but as we climbed, we hiked through douglas fir forests.

We did a loop route through the glaciated hills, following a series of (numbered) trails.

Our route took us back to the lower hills for a traverse across the grasslands to the start, a 9.5 km hike.

We hike the Barnes Lake Trails in spring and fall each year, and on occasion, we try a different route in the area for a change.    Every hike on these trails is a rewarding experience.