Idaho Peak
Elevation: 7,480 feet (2280 meters)
Distance: 1 mile (1.61km)
Elevation Gain: 506 feet (154 meters)
Access: Good dirt road for most cars
Located just east of Valhalla Provincial Park, north of Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park and towering above Slocan Lake, Idaho Peak offers one of the best and easiest vistas for visitors. The peak can be hiked by an easy one mile trail. There is even a shuttle in summer from New Denver. The mountain is quite popular for mountain biking with several trails dropping from the summit trailheads all the way down to the valley bottom or even back to New Denver. Grizzly Bears are a common site in the large meadows. A fire lookout building is resting on the summit, offering shade and protection from the wind depending on your conditions the day you hike up. The building is not open for the public. Snow lingers on the road well into June so mid and late summer is best for visiting.
Canada Hiking & Climbing
From New Denver, take 31A east for several mile to Sandon Road. Follow the paved Sandon Road to Sandon, an old mining town, now a tourist site. In Sandon, you will cross Carpenter Creek on a bridge. At the far end of town, look for signs for the Idaho Peak Road. The Idaho Peak Road is a dirt road that is rocky in places, but you will find all types of cars driving it. Most of the route up is signed with arrows pointing the way to the Idaho Peak trailhead. Near the top, there are two trailheads, Silver Ridge Trail and the Alamo Trail. Both work, but Silver Ridge is a bit shorter.
Access
Location of Idaho Peak
Red are trails, hiking only trails are the two leading to the summit lookout from the end of the road
Reaching alpine area on the road
Silver Ridge trailhead
Just below the lookout
Idaho Peak fire lookout
Starting the trail
On the trail
Mostly on a ridge
Slocan Lake looking southwest into Valhalla Range
Slocan Lake and New Denver
Views south
Looking east
Looking northeast
Views southeast