Syringa & Yellow Pine Trails

The trails above Syringa Provincial Park meander through an open forest of towering ponderosa pine. This is easy, pleasant walking with excellent views of Lower Arrow Lake.

Summary

Trailhead: Deer Park Road, Syringa Provincial Park
Distance, round trip: 6.6km
Elevation: +200m
Season: late March to mid-November
Difficulty:  Easy

Trailhead

There are 3 trailheads to choose from:

1. East trailhead – near the Sturgeon Point Day Use area.
2. Deer Park Road trailhead – on Deer Park road, just before the main entrance gates to Syringa.
3. West trailhead – further up Deer Park road, above the Bighorn Campground Day Use area.

We parked at the middle Deer Park Road trailhead by the main gate. This gave us the chance to fully explore the trail system without having to spend much time looping back on the road.

Up to the trail!

Walking up from the middle Deer Park Road trailhead, the trail steadily climbs 60m elevation to reach the main trail system.

To the left is the Yellow Pine Trail. To the right is the Syringa Trail. We turned right and almost immediately discovered a scenic bench:

The Syringa trail weaves through open forest littered with soft ponderosa needles. It is level, easy walking.

Hiking along the Syringa Trail

Forest views along the Syringa Trail

After 2.2km, the Syringa trail dips down into switchbacks to the distant East trailhead, but we turned back and retraced our footsteps to start following the Yellow Pine trail.

Scenic Lookouts

There are two scenic lookouts where the trail offshoots and climbs higher up the mountain.

Just before the switchbacks start down to the east end of the Syringa Trail, you can follow a short trail that takes you to an overlook of Syringa Creek Canyon:

And as we made our way back towards the junction where the Yellow Pine and Syringa Trails meet, another trail climbs up to a rock outcrop. This is a great place to have lunch, overlooking the lake and enjoying the wide views:

Heading Home

We passed the junction back down to the middle Deer Park Road trailhead and continued 1.6km along the Yellow Pine trail.

The ponderosa pines towered above us and shone red in the sun. It was a perfect sunny day to be out in the forest.

We left the trails behind at the West trailhead and continued down to Syringa Provincial Park’s beach. A great end to a great hike!

We covered 6.6km on the trails, after doubling back on Syringa, but you can hike a much shorter route depending on what trailheads you choose.

Psst – while you’re in the area, why not make a quick visit to Tulip Creek Falls?