On a grey cool day in early March we drove to Savona to hike the Savona to Sabiston Beach route.    This is an open (no trees) south-facing sloped area above Kamloops Lake that is one of the first trails to dry out in late winter.  The trailhead is at the end of the Savona Cemetary Road.    The turn is past Savona on the west side of the bridge over the Thompson River.   The trail starts as a double track, then continues east as a rugged single track on the sideslopes above the railway, above the lake.

All along the trail we had open views of Kamloops Lake and the hills above.    This view is looking southwest to the end of the lake with /Savona Mountain standing to the south.   We came across a small herd of bighorn sheep.    The slopes were dry with lots of cactus and sagebrush, and some rocky areas.

The trail goes past a series of gravel beaches which will be flooded later in spring.    The trail continues past the beach we go to, climbing over a ridge and down to Sabiston Creek.    It is possible to hike all the way to Copper Creek combing trails and roads.   From having done this hike many times, we usually hike for 4.5 km, and when the trail comes down to a spot near the railroad, we follow an old track down to the beach.

Our halfway point was a gravel beach on the lake.    There were lots of logs to sit on for a quiet lunch break.

This is an out-and-back 9 km hike taking about 3 hours.    There are a number of hills along the way and some areas where the trail is rougher and rocky.

The Savona to Sabiston trail is a good spring hike, one we have been doing almost every year for decades, and hope to continue to do for some years to come.