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Record Ridge

Welcome to the scenic, southern end of the Seven Summits Trail. Record Ridge makes a great out-and-back to explore the high grasslands.

Summary
Trailhead:  Old Rossland Cascade Highway
Distance, round trip: 10.2km
Elevation: +350m
Season: late May to late October
Difficulty: Moderate

Trailhead and Driving Directions

From the Rossland Museum, drive 0.4km south on Highway 22 and then turn right onto the Old Rossland Cascade Highway and reset your odometer. This is a gravel road, but good for 2WD low clearance vehicles. Drive to the 12km marker at the crest of the road where it widens with a dirt road intersecting.

If the road starts to descend, you’ve gone too far. There isn’t a trailhead kiosk here, but the trail descends across the power-line to meet the road. If you look carefully, you’ll see the small Seven Summits trail marker.

Tiny trail marker – you’re in the right spot!

This is an out-and-back hike so you can decide how far along the Seven Summits Trail you’ll go. We added a loop at the far end that required a bit of bushwhacking and route finding.

Up the trail

The first part of the trail winds pleasantly through the forest, crossing under the hydro line with views peeking out at the distant mountains. After just 1km, the forest opens up into wide grassy slopes full of flowers and birds. Record Ridge is studded with old photogenic trees and surrounded by big blue vistas.

Hiking up the Seven Summits Trail

At 1.5km, the trail curves past a pond with mine diggings nearby. This is one of the nicest stretches of the hike and a perfectly reasonable place to sit down and picnic.

Further down the Ridge

Continuing further down the ridge, the trail levels for a while before dipping down into the forest. At 3.8km, you’ll reach a blank sign with a faint trail heading off to the right – this is an optional junction for hikers to stay high on the ridge and get up above the trees to a viewpoint. We stayed left to continue on the main Seven Summits Trail and through the forest.

At 4.7km, you’ll reach the other end of the viewpoint with another signed junction. We continued on a little further and then decided to hike back and take the hiker’s viewpoint to make a loop on the return.

Peaks in the distance as the rest of the seven summits comes into view

At this point, more peaks come into view in the distance, with Old Glory Mountain, Record Mountain, Granite, and Roberts north of the trail.

The Hiker’s Viewpoint

This extra viewpoint was an extra hassle. It’s always temping to add a loop and vary the return trip, but the trail faded to nothing and we followed scanty cairns up along the ridge. Bushwhacking, route finding, and GPS consulting was involved to stay on track. Don’t add this loop unless you’re prepared!

Taking a rest

From the hiker’s viewpoint, we bushwhacked back down to the main Seven Summits Trail and head home. This added up to a 10km day.

Kootenay ColumbiaTrail Society

The Kootenay Columbia Trail Society maintains the Seven Summits and Record Ridge trail. If you’ve enjoyed the hike, consider becoming a member, making a donation, or volunteering with them.

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