Kamloops Hike: Battle Bluffs Trail in BC, Canada

Disclosure: Advertising and affiliate services, including Amazon Associates, help the cost of running my blog. Clicking ads or making purchases through affiliate links may, at no additional cost to you, earn me a small commission. I appreciate your support.

2020 is the year of exploring your own local area. Or taking short trips to neighboring places. It’s the year of the great outdoors and getting away from it all (and people). So with that I feel like my number of outdoor activities and hikes has been increasing. For anyone traveling around Canada, specifically British Columbia this Kamloops hike is a wonderful, relatively short, hike. And if you’re not from Canada and thinking about coming here in the future, it’s a great reminder than not everything good is in one of the major cities. Taking a road trip is highly encouraged in a country this big and beautiful.

Where is Kamloops

Kamloops is a town in the interior of the province of British Columbia. The town is in a desert like area, not what you would typically associate with Canada. Kamloops is surrounded by a contrast of landscapes. The barren, desert land is just one part of that. There is a river running along the town and a short distance away are incredibly green forested areas. Kamloops is kind of a halfway point between Vancouver and the Canadian Rockies. The town is becoming more lively due to the popularity of the drive through to the famous Albertan mountain range. So make sure to stop off for a night at least on your way if that’s what you’re doing. If you’re in Vancouver, Kamloops is about a 4 hour drive away, a perfect weekend getaway.

How to get to Battle Bluff Trail

Battle Bluffs is just outside of Kamloops. To get to the trail head it’s about a half hour drive. From downtown Kamloops head over the Overlanders Bridge to the North Shore and head East once you get to Ord Road. At this point there isn’t really any way to get lost as you end up taking Ord Road. It turns into Tranquille Road and is basically the only road. You’ll pass the Kamloops Airport and the ghost town of Tranquille (more on that soon). And after crossing the railway tracks the road will eventually start becoming more of a dirt road than any semblance of a paved highway. The trailhead to this Kamloops hike might not be the most obvious but there are usually enough cars at the start of the trail next to the one sign that will grab your attention enough to stop.

PARKING: There is room for a couple of cars at the trail head area, but you will likely end up just parking on the right hand side of the road. Leaving enough room for others to pass of course. Parking is pretty unofficial. You will see a couple of spots, but keep driving a little further to the main trail head which is where we started. Look for this sign:

Kamloops hike: Battle Bluff Trail

The hike will not take you all day. In fact you will likely be done withing 2 hours unless you really keep stopping, or spend more time at the top before heading back. I am not exactly in peak physical fitness and I managed to do it. But Kamloops being in the desert does get hot so take that into account with the time of day to do this hike. I recommend starting early if you can. We began at about 11 am and it was pretty hot by the time we were on the return.

• Length of trail: 4.8 km
• Time needed: 1.5-2 hours
• Type of trail: Out and back
• Difficulty: Moderate
• Terrain: forested path to start, descend into a flat area with lots of desert plants/cacti, then climb a steeper dirt path and eventually rocks to the viewpoint

Remember to take a reusable water bottle with you on your travels, like this one from FastTech

What to bring on your Kamloops hike

The trail head is quite a distance from anything else so make sure you have a fully charged cell phone in case you need it. It’s good to know that there is cell reception for most of the trail. Also take plenty of water as the desert heat and some steep climbs might leave you gasping a bit. I didn’t bother with a backpack since the trail is not that long. But if you bring a few things with you a backpack might not be a bad idea.

• A full water bottle
• Comfortable shoes with good soles (watch out for small prickly cacti if you veer off the path)
• A small snack such as a granola bar or some nuts/fruit
• Lightweight breathable clothing, and ideally longer length pants as there are some longer grasses on part of the trail, and again some prickly plants you might go past
• A hat and sunglasses – it gets hot and the sun can be very intense in the valley area which is completely exposed
• Sunblock – same reason
• A camera – this Kamloops hike is really beautiful and the views towards the end are stunning

Starting the Battle Bluff trail

After parking your car and making sure you have everything you need (one last reminder about you water), walk along the path along a flat meadow-like area towards the trees. The forested trail will start to ascend and you’ll soon be under cover. Through this are keep an eye out for some lovely flowers and take in the silence of the trail. We went on a Sunday morning in June and although there were a few people, we didn’t feel like it was overly busy. During the week or towards the outer edges of the hiking season it will likely be even quieter.

• 

• 

The forested trail will start to level out after the initial ascent. Remember the trail is essentially two hills with a valley in between. So you’ll ascend for a while, level out, then descend into the valley area. Walking through this relatively flat (but uneven) terrain you’ll eventually start the ascent again towards the bluffs viewpoint.

As you get to the edge of the forest area, you’ll be heading down a dirt path that’s a little less like the soil you’ve gone through and is instead a lot drier. Therefore be careful of your footing as you can start to slip if you’re taking it too quickly. Again, a reminder that Kamloops is in the desert and there are cacti around and you don’t want to fall over onto one of those.

Walking through the valley

Like I mentioned before, this valley area is open to the elements, namely the sun. It gets hot pretty quickly as you leave the trees behind. While we found it wasn’t too bad on the way in the trail, the midday sun was getting hotter on the way back. It’s weird going from a regular walk through the forest to being surrounded by red dirt and sage brush plants. Almost like the trail isn’t even the same one. The plants, while different are no less beautiful, and the purple-green color of the sage plants make for some good photos.

At the bottom of the initial descent you’ll come across a burnt out, rusted up old car. Please don’t get in it. We saw some people do that, and it looks like Tetanus-city in there. Yes, it is pretty cool looking in that environment so take all the photos you want, just don’t get in or on it.

After this car the trail gets a little more rugged. The grassland can be overgrown in places and we found that we had to brush past some of the grasses at certain points. While that’s not a bad thing, it did mean that at the level we were at on the way back we couldn’t clearly see the path the whole time so ended up veering off in the wrong direction and having to back track. Helpful Tip: If you hear a rattlesnake, just stay still until it goes away. My friend used to live in Kamloops and told me about her evening walks around the outer areas of Kamloops and hearing the rattlesnakes. Although she never saw one if that makes you feel better!

The ascent to the bluffs

After making your way through the valley plateau, you’ll start to see the tree line again. There you make your way up through the dirt path that leads up to the bluffs. While the dirt is more like a forested black earth, I still found it was a little drier than the first part of the trail. Some of the dirt was quite loose, so be careful with your footing. More for coming down than going up.

The final ascent of this Kamloops hike is a little tough after the slow walk through the valley. And as the heat begins to get to you, you might want to move off to the side and let people pass while you have a rest (and some water). You’ll get to a point in the trail where you will find it becomes more rocky. Continuing on the trail involves a bit of climbing over the rocks to continue on the path to the bluffs. Remember to turn around and admire the view of where you’ve come from.

There are a couple of flatter grassy areas to stop and look out over Lake Kamloops. It’s a beautiful sight, but it can get a little windy the closer to the edge you get so be careful. The heat of the day meant it was a little hazy in some directions, and not fully clear, even a little stormy looking. Still amazing views, but if you want a more comfortable temperature think about the time of year you want to visit.

Battle Bluff Trail views

The final push to the top is worth all the hard work as you can see all around for miles. The view is incredible. For me, it was because of how varied the landscape was. The dark green of the trees, the lighter green grasslands and reddish rocks and dirt and the blue of the lake. Sit down, enjoy the view, and rest for a while before you start heading back.

To get back, simply retrace your steps to the beginning. Take care over the rocks coming down, and try to scope out your path through the valley before you’ve descended into it like I did. Even coming out of the trail back on the main road is amazing. The giant hills around make for a fantastic backdrop. I recommend making a couple of stops along the road back too, and take some photos. Don’t forget to look up for some big horn sheep on the mountain edges. Other than those we didn’t see any other wildlife while on the trail. We heard a couple of birds, saw a few bugs but that was it.

Explore Kamloops and British Columbia

The Kamloops hike on the Battle Bluff Trail was really good,. There’s fantastic scenery is completely different from what I’m used to in Vancouver. If you’re spending time in Western Canada then you’ll find Kamloops and the interior of British Columbia to be a change from the always green coastal area of Vancouver. And different still from the jaw droppingly incredible mountainous area of the Canadian Rockies. But still, it’s worth a trip. A lovely stop on your British Columbia road trip. Kamloops is an underrated place. For the reason that it can get lost sometimes between the two very popular places I just mentioned. But it has a thriving craft brewery and street art scene, and a small town friendly feel.

• 

• 

The hike was the perfect length for our weekend in Kamloops as it still left enough time to do other things. The trail is well traveled but not too busy. And is long enough to feel like you’ve earned a treat at the end. We worked up a good sweat to earn us a good lunch with a nice cold beer at the end of it.

If you’ve enjoyed this post leave a comment or share using the social media buttons below. Have you been to Kamloops or done the Kamloops hike to Battle Bluff before?