Savona Caves in the Summer

Savona Caves in the Summer

Doug Smith  August 17, 2020 at 9:00 am

We hiked the Savona Caves Trail on a hot summer day. We drove on the Tunkwa Lake Road, then turned onto the 402 FSR (Savona Mountain Road) and parked at the trailhead on the right at 0.6 km.

The trail follows an old double track for a short distance, then becomes a single track winding through the trees to the foot of a ridge. From there, we climbed steeply up to the cliffs on the East side of Savona Mountain.

The final half kilometer is steep and some scrambling may be needed, depending on which route you choose. The caves are situated in the middle of the cliffs.

The caves extend horizontally into the mountain for about 30 feet. The overhead is low enough to require ducking.

I found pictographs in 4 locations inside the caves.

From inside the caves, the view is down to the Durand Creek Valley.

We came down the steep, rocky ridge slowly. the steep and slippery section is about 1 km long. The whole hike is about 5.2 km, but it will probably take 2 hours since the route is slow-going. It is a route for the sure-of-foot only. The upper sections have some sections requiring light scrambling and there are spots where a fall would a serious problem. I have done this hike many times since my first time in 1976. The hike has not changed much, but the trail becomes more eroded each year. It is now a Provincial Park, but it remains a rugged backcountry route for the adventurous.

More Information – Savona Caves

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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.ca/

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