Rambling on Dewdrop Ridge – Kamloops Trails
Dewdrop Ridge may be my favorite hike in the Kamloops area, but it only offers routes, not much in the way of trails. The route to the top is easy enough. Just turn onto the Frederick Road and park at the first pullout area on the right. Cross the flats and start the climb, picking your own path. I usually aim for the easternmost end of the ridge for the views down the valley, then hike along the rim. On this end-of-March day I chose instead to scramble down a gully in the cliffs to the bottom of the basalt bluffs and then hike along under the rock.
On the way up, I passed through an area burned in 2018. Skeletal remains stand amid the grass.
From the top of the ridge there are long and wide views down to then up the river valley.
Cooney Bay had wide gravel beaches and the river delta has many sandbars.
There are several lines of columnar basalt bluffs in the area. A favorite route is along the foot of the bluffs
At one point a rockfall in 2018 – 2019 brought down some of the columns in late winter thaw.
A few plants (sagebrush, mulleins, etc.) grow in the cracks of the columns and crustose lichens survive in the right conditions.
An arch created by a fallen tree contrasts with the open grassland slopes below.
I climbed back up to the top of the ridge and followed the rim west. The whole length of the top of the ridge provides wide views.
o the south Battle Bluff juts out into Kamloops Lake, the rock bluffs rising above the benchlands.
From the west end of the ridge there are views west down Kamloops Lake.
There are a few trees standing on top of the ridge, green on grey in this image.
“Its not easy being green.”
A Clark’s nutcracker flitted from tree to tree on the rim.
Back down at the parking area, a meadowlark periodically sang its plaintive song to the grasslands.
Click for an audio of the meadowlark song:
Note – This hike was done before the area was closed. Since it is in a provincial park, it is currently closed.
Doug Smith
Doug writes for Kamloops Trails, a not-for-profit (and ad free) website, offering information on trails, waterways, routes, featured spots, viewpoints, and explorations in the outdoors in the Kamloops area (and beyond).
Doug started exploring this area in 1976 and continues to follow tracks and routes wherever they lead, with the aid of map, compass, GPSr and camera. After many dead-ends, but also many discoveries, he chose to share this information.
The Kamloops Trails website has a massive number of interesting posts and would be of interest to anyone in Kamloops who enjoys the outdoors. Visit the Kamloops Trails website at: http://www.kamloopstrails.net/
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