Woodbury Cabin

A scenic trail that contours through open slopes full of flowers and huckleberries, edging towards stunning Glacier View Peak and the Woodbury Glacier. This trail is well worth the trip if you book a night at Woodbury Cabin.

Summary

Trailhead: Woodbury-Fletcher FSR
Distance, round trip: 16.7km
Elevation: +868m
Season: mid-July to late September
Difficulty: Moderate

Trailhead & Driving Directions

This is a rough road and the final 2km is suitable only for 4WD high clearance vehicles. 2WD low clearance vehicles may struggle on the waterbars on the earlier sections of the road, so be warned. If you’re staying overnight, remember to porcupine-proof your car!

From Highway 31, turn onto Woodbury-Fletcher FSR. This road starts 22.km north of Balfour or 14.3km south of Kalso, and it is signed for Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park.

Reset your odometer and drive up Woodbury-Fletcher FSR. The road immediately ascends with lots of waterbars. At 1km, reached a signed junction and fork left. At 1.5km, fork right and stay lower. Reach a 3-way triangle intersection at 2.4km and stay right. The road now follows Woodbury Creek and slowly ascends. Continue on, staying on the main road and ignore overgrown spurs. You’ll cross Woodbury Creek and then continue up. At 11.5km, reach a signed junction for Woodbury, Silverspray, and Sunset Lake. If you’re in a 2WD or low-clearance vehicle or unsure whether you’d be able to get back up to this point, park here. Otherwise, take the right fork and descend over steep lumpy waterbars. The last 2km of road is rough and overgrown.

Along Woodbury Creek

The trail takes off, tunnelling into the forest and crossing a few old slide paths. Cross Woodbury Creek and then follow a series of small boardwalks and bridges higher up the meadow.

At 1.5km, reach a junction. Left continues up the creek to Woodbury Cabin and right climbs to Silver Spray. Go left. The trail weaves along the forest floor, crossing a series of boardwalks as it edges between huckleberry bushes.

The forest will quickly fall away as the trail ascends into an old burn area from the massive fire in 2013. The bad news: a hot, south-facing slope. The good news: lots of views along the way! Bring lots of sun protection and water if you’re heading out on a sunny summer day – there isn’t much shade along the trail.

The trail slowly ascends. For the first half, the grade is barely noticeable it’s such a gentle climb. You’ll contour around ridges full of bracken ferns, huckleberries, thimbleberries, and fireweed. The spiky top of Glacier View Peak will come into view.

Across the slopes

After about 4.4km, the grade of the trail will get steeper as it curves West. You’re still hiking up through open burnt slope, coming slowly around to the North face of Glacier View Peak.

At 6.4km, cross a creek flowing from a lake high above. This is a good place to fill water, but there is still no shade. As you progress, the Woodbury Glacier comes into view with multiple waterfalls flowing down from the headwall above. Woodbury Cabin is still high up there – perched above the headwall.

The trail angles towards the headwall, ascending along the south-western slope. At 7.4km, you’ll be above the headwall – where is that cabin?? The trail will keep climbing, turning into a series of switchbacks on a steeper grade for the final kilometer.

Woodbury Cabin

Finally at 8.35km, turn a corner and see Woodbury Cabin. At last!

The cabin sleeps 8 and can be booked online through the Alpine Club of Canada. Enter through the woodshed and keep the cabin door closed so that “Georgia” the packrat doesn’t join you inside. You’ll find propane stove and lights, a stove, and plenty of cooking gear. All you need to bring is your sleeping bag, food, and TP!

You can hike higher up the signed “Moonlight Peak Trail” for a beautiful view of Woodbury Glacier. Going higher to the col will lead to an old mine and one end of the Woodbury-Silverspray Traverse.

Woodbury Glacier descends from Glacier View Peak in a series of pooling blue-grey folds. The serrated teeth of the peak surround the ice in a wide coronet. It’s a captivating centrepiece for the area.

It took us 4 hours to reach Woodbury Cabin at a slow pace. While the trail is more gently graded than the steep Silver Spray Cabin trail, it’s tough going on a hot day!