Mount Rose and Mount Swanson are the rounded hills on the west side of Armstrong.   The hiking trails climb about 200m to broad hilltops and wind over forested ridges, through wooded valleys, and along side-slopes.   The trailhead is found off Chamberlaine Road (Salmon River Road > Hallam road > Chamberlaine Road).   From the signed trailhead there are 8 km of trails to be hiked.   For this grey summer morning I hiked the trails that climbed the hilltops to the right, labelled Mount Swanson on the signs and maps although most maps refer to the whole area as Mount Rose.

The main trail climbs steadily up through the forest.

The first signed junction is at 1. 7 km.   The trail climb more steeply to the top of Miller’s Bluffs where there are some views in 3 directions.

There are some more open views on the southern end of Mount Rose, about a kilometer away.   This is our third time hiking these trails and explored the other trails on those occasions.

From Miller’s Bluff we could see back up the valley towards the Enderby Bluffs.

Otter Lake lies in the valley only 4 km away.

The trails on Mount Rose and Mount Swanson provide a couple of hours of moderate hiking in the hills.   They are not really a destination hike, but if we are heading down to the Armstrong – Spallumcheen – Vernon area, they are a hood choice for a walk on well established forest trails.

A detailed trail description and map can be found on Shuswap Trails.