Kaslo Viewpoint

The Kaslo Viewpoint trail is short, sweet, and steep! It winds up along a pleasant forest path to a scenic bench overlooking Kaslo, Kootenay Lake, and the towering Purcell Mountains.

Summary

Trailhead: Wardner St, Kaslo
Distance, round trip: 1.82km
Elevation: +178m
Season: early April to early November
Difficulty:  Easy

Trailhead & Driving Directions

Drive up A Avenue in Kaslo, BC. At the junction for Highway 31A, continue straight and up the hill. Turn right onto Wardner St and drive one block to reach the trailhead on the left.

Up the Viewpoint Trail

If you check out the map at the trailhead kiosk, you’ll see the Viewpoint trail is part of a bigger network developed by the Kaslo Outdoor Recreation & Trails Society.  You’ll encounter several junctions leading up to longer and higher trails as you hike, so familiarize yourself with the map.

The Viewpoint Trail (Trail #2 on the map) goes up to the scenic viewpoint, but can form a nice loop if you head down on Trails #4 and #3 which is the route we took.

Hiking up the trail

Fall colours and sunlight

The Viewpoint Trail (#2) ascends through the forest on a series of switchbacks. It’s a steep climb, but the grade has been nicely managed over the smooth trail.

The Viewpoint

Reach the top of the Viewpoint trail after about 15-20 minutes of hiking. There is a scenic bench at the top which overlooks Kaslo and Kootenay Lake. We hiked up in October which was a very pretty time of year – fall colours below and snowy peaks beyond.

Down the loop

There is a map near the bench to help remind you of the trail layout. Instead of retracing our steps, we took trails #4 and #3 back to the trailhead to make a nice forested loop. Together, these two trails were just 1.0km of total distance so it was a nice gentle decent.