Hills Nordic Trail loops on Reibin Rd.

Hills Nordic Trail Loops on Reibin Rd.
Distance: ~4-5 km (2-3 mi) depending on route
Route type: Multiple loops
Suitable for: XC Skiing
Elevation change: 26 metres up, 26 metres down

Technical difficulty rating:  
Navigational difficulty rating:  

About half the local kids seem to participate in XC ski lessons in the winter. Classes run for about 8 weeks along the groomed trails in Hills. This year there are three different age-groups. The older group trains on the groomed system of trails off Reibin Road.

These trails are a busy network of flat and rolling loops with a few optional technical sections. While a first-timer may have some difficulty navigating the trails, they are so tightly coiled together that it is hard to get lost: within a couple of minutes you'll end up somewhere familiar and find your way to wherever you're hoping to go.

To access the trails, park near the carport halfway along the road above Elvendel Farm. The farm is privately owned by a XC ski family who help maintain the trails and lend skiers access across and within their property. Please be respectful, and mind the goats if they're about!

There is a hand-drawn map of the trail system on a piece of corrugated plastic at the top of the driveway, and trails are usually beautifully groomed. Most are groomed wide enough to allow for skate-skiers.

From the road you can head down, to the left or to the right. Most people start out skiing towards the left. After a short flat section you head gradually downhill and arrive at a flatter four-way cross-roads of trails. Straight ahead will take you to a sunny promontory above the gravel pit where the views are beautiful. A left turn will take you alongside a fence and then to a tiny almost-circular flat loop in a meadow. It's worth exploring the entire network.

 

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Snow on utility pole

Upper Carpenter Creek

... in Sandon

Hills Nordic Rail Trail

Hills Nordic Rail Trail
Distance: 10.75 km (6.68 mi).
Route type: Out-and-back
Suitable for: XC Skiing
Elevation change: 70 metres up, 70 metres down

Technical difficulty rating:  
Navigational difficulty rating:  

A beautiful, easy ski alongside Bonanza Creek. Turn west off Highway 6 in Hills (about 12 km north of New Denver) on Reibin Road, drive 400 metres to the end of the road and veer right onto a little spur called Huckleberry Road, which ends shortly thereafter in a parking area with a generous turnaround. Access to the rail trail is via a 20-metre pathway on the left side of the parking area. Gear up at the bottom of the slope.

The trail extends in two directions. To the south (left) it falls away with a ~3% grade for about 1.3 kilometres before reaching a precipitous hill where judicious skiers normally stop, turn around and head back. To the north (right) it climbs with a 1-2% grade for many kilometres, with the first 3.5 kilometres being groomed regularly by the lovely movers and shakers at the Hills Nordic Ski Club. The trail is well worth skiing in both directions, though the northerly direction as far as "the red house" (a falling-down shack was once painted barn red) is particularly attractive and easy to ski.

The trail runs pleasantly straight while beautiful Bonanza Creek meanders in and out of view to the west. The running water gives a zen-like ambience for those who choose to linger and glide. The tracks of coyote, deer, elk, hare and moose are commonly seen, with moose tracks likeliest to be found in the bermed area that runs through the marshy region on both sides of the red house.

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Sandon hydrant