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Embleton Mountain
Embleton Mountain Recreation Site, B.C.
May 2, 2025
Distance: 8.7 km (5.4 mi)
Cumulative Elevation Gain: 490 m (1608 ft)
Embleton Mountain is a popular destination for hiking, a half-hour’s drive northeast of Kamloops. But despite the positive write-ups and fine photos of Heffley Lake and surrounding valley I had seen online, I suspected, rightly it turns out, that Embleton Mountain was predominantly covered in trees with limited views. However, on the bright side, the trails are well-marked, and there’s the option of doing a loop. (See map on Sun Peaks Resort.)
One way to reach Embleton’s summit is the Skyline Trail, an out-and-back trip. Alternatively, Parking Lots 1 and 2 offer a chance to do a loop. Dinah and I drove up the short, rugged road to Parking Lot 1 and started our hike there. We were tempted to drive to Parking Lot 2, which would shorten our hike, but feared the upper road was in worse condition than the lower road. (As it turns out, our concerns were unfounded, and we could have easily driven our Crosstrek up.) We walked 400 m up the road to the second parking lot in under 15 minutes.
Shortly after going up the trail from Parking Lot 2, we reached a fork and kept left. We followed Old Mills Trail as it meandered east through a still forest. We gained little elevation until we turned northeast onto Skyline Trail where the climb became more significant. We had limited sights of Heffley Lake, even from viewpoints on side trails. However, one notable open stretch on Skyline Trail offered a beautiful, unobstructed view of the lake. Several minutes later, we reached the summit.
Trees surrounding the grassy summit obscured vistas, but it was possible to descend a bit and catch glimpses of the lake. Conspicuously, a gazebo sat on the summit, providing a welcome shelter on a hot or rainy day. Fortunately, we had fine weather. After lunch in the gazebo, we headed back down. We turned onto Pine Loop Trail and followed it, along with a few short trails, back through a pleasant forest to Parking Lot 2.
From Parking Lot 1, we walked up the road on the left
We passed a camper that someone had thoughtlessly dumped
Parking Lot 2. The trail is right.
After going up the trail a short distance, we crossed a fence
We continued up the trail
We detoured flooded trail sections
Fence Trail is ahead, but we turned left onto Old Mills Trail
We turned onto Skyline Trail
We passed impressive trees
We caught a glimpse of Heffley Lake
A 100 m side trail led to a view of the lake
An expansive view of Heffley Lake from Skyline Trail. Far right is Little Heffley Lake.
We continued to the summit which wasn't much higher
On the way to the summit, we passed the junction for Pine Loop Trail which we took back
A gazebo occupies the summit
Standing on the summit
A short walk below the summit, there's a viewpoint
A trail leads down to another viewpoint which includes a touching memorial (mouseover)
Heading back on Pine Loop Trail
