On a sunny July day I drove up the Greenstone Mountain Road to the summit area to hike trails and routes in Greenstone Mountain Provincial Park.    It is reasonable to drive right to the top, but I prefer to park at a lower spot and do a loop route on tracks and trails.  I have done a hike in this area many times, but I prefer to vary the route each time.    On this day, I started up the main road, then turned off onto a rough single track trail mainly used by dirt bikes.    I used a mapping app (Maps.me) and a GPS-enabled mobile phone to navigate the trails.

One part of the single track trail went down a steep route through the forest, then emerged onto an open meadow on a shoulder with views to the northeast.

As the trail wound around the hill, there were views down to the replanted forest area on the north side of Greenstone Mountain.   The rough trail then descended down through the forest.   At a junction on a fenceline, I turned left and climbed steeply back up to the top of the mountain.

There are a number of communications towers and associated buildings on top of Greenstone Mountain, but the Greenstone Fire Lookout, originally built in 1936,  had been nicely renovated, thanks to the Logan Lake ATV Club, the Four Wheel Drive Association of BC, and BC Rec Sites and Trails.

After checking out the old building, I enjoyed the wide views.    To the west is a wide expanse of forested hills with many cutblocks.   Below was Kiwilalkwila Lake, still within the Park.    In the far distance Highland Valley Mine can be seen 33 km away.

I tried to hike to the lake, following old rough roads, but the forest around the lake was thick with deadfall, so I hiked out and back on a 4 x$ road that eventually connects to Dominic Lake.

The combination of routes passed through dense forest, open meadows, subalpine rocky hills, and some north-facing wet areas, a variety of habitats.    There were many flowering plants, pollinators, birds, and small mammals to watch for.

• Some of the flowering plants spotted on this hike can be seen in a Google Photos album at this link – Greenstone Mountain
• A YouTube video will also be published in the near future.