On a sunny November day we hiked tracks and routes in the hills above Kamloops Lake.    We started from Abbey Road, parking near the gate, then followed the gravel road as it angled toward the Cherry Bluffs area.   We turned onto a side track and followed it up, then downhill all the way to Saltwort Pond, an alkali dry lake on the benchland.   A series of hills lies between the pond and Kamloops Lake so we hiked up a steep hill off-trail to a viewpoint over the lake, and for a lunch break.

From the top of the hill we had open views down Kamloops Lake and over to the Dewdrop Range.

We angled down to the lake and followed another track as it wound up through the hills, eventually joining the route we took earlier.    We followed our tracks back to where we parked, finishing an 11.2 km hike, taking over 3.5 hours.     We only hike this area in the off-season to avoid any cattle grazing issues.    On this day there was no one else in the area.    There were deer and bear scats, but none were spotted.    The route is rolling with 634 m elevation change, with a number of good hills, both up and down.     There are a number of other routes to be hiked in this area too, with open views and quiet areas to explore.

Some of the photos taken on this hike are shared here in a Google Photos album.    For captions, follow the link to the album itself.

 
This is an area we hike in the off-season every year. Next year a different route will be chosen.