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No doubt this has got to be one of our favourite hikes of all time!!! If you’re looking for a hike that ends with 360 views of mountains then this is the hike for you. Also bonus: you’ll likely get to see some mountain goats. Hike details:
📍 Gimli Ridge Trail
🥾 10.2 km roundtrip
📈 891 m elevation gain
⏰ 3.5-5 hours
🥵 Moderate-Hard difficulty
You’re likely going to want to have a 4WD high clearance vehicle to get to this trail head as the FSR has quite a lot of waterbeds to maneuver. From the little town of Slocan you will drive down Little Slocan Rd N for roughly 13km before turning right onto Bannock Burn FSR. Follow this road for another 13km and you should see the sings for Gimli Ridge. You’re going to need to take this drive a little slow so make sure you factor that time into your day when planning.
From the parking lot you will already see Gimli peak in the distance. Starting off it is a pretty long and
steady hike switch backing through the forest. After quite a long steep hike the path will open up to a nice mountain view, encouraging you to keep going, because the hike is not over yet. The trail keeps ascending out of the forest to a shoulder in the ridge which provides a good view of the alpine surroundings. You will be walking towards the iconic view of Gimli as seen in this photo. Here you can find an outhouse to go to the bathroom if necessary. It is asked not to pee along the trail as the goats are attracted to the urine and it can cause the goats to approach people.
Looking towards Gimli, a small saddle is visible on the left side. A small track of rocks can be found along the base of the mountain, leading to this saddle. The views north into Mulvey Basin and Asgard Peak are definitely worth this scramble, which takes about an additional 30 minutes. From here enjoy the 360 mountain views, the stunning lake, and maybe some snacks, you’ll need the extra energy to climb back down 😂
If you’re feeling up for it we highly recommend you do this hike for either sunset or sunrise as it just elevates the views that much more. Just make sure you have some head lamps, and bear spray.