Four club members and two guests, one two-legged and one four-legged, enjoyed a beautiful hike through the Snowden Forest on Feb 6, taking some main trails and several mountain bike trails. Starting out the temperature was about -5 but warmed up to just above freezing later in the morning, full sunshine all day. There was a very light skiff of snow in patches and on exposed areas, frequent frost heaves along the trails, ponds were frozen and Riley Lake nearly so, as determined by our four-footed guest.

We were able to access Snowden Forest via the recently re-opened dam road, considerably reducing the driving time. We parked at the Lost Lake parking lot, headed north on Trimac, then around the east side of Lost Lake, cutting off onto Scotty’s which meandered over the bluffs to the north and west of Lost Lake. We then followed Oggie’s, passing by the west side of Riley Lake. Lunch break was on a small open bluff in the snow. We returned via Trimac again. 2.5 hrs walking, 6 km. We noted the trails to the south and west of Riley Lake for further exploration; with the dam road open, access to this extensive and well-maintained trail network is once again quick and easy.

Valerie van Veen

Thanks to  Les and Val for the photos

(click on photos to enlarge)

Hiking – Snowden Forest – 6 Feb 2019