The Wakefield Trail offers an interesting alternative route to Idaho Peak. The Idaho Peak road is on a shady, northeast slope. It remains impassably snowbound well into summer. To get to the lookout before then and now with no road, you have to do it the hard way, up the sunny SW face of Selkirk Peak. To add to this the Idaho Peak road has been washed out since 2018, so the Wakefield Trail is now the only reasonable way to Idaho.
As it is south-facing, it is one of the earliest trails to become snow-free. Switchbacking up from the Wakefield Mine site in Silverton Creek to the Idaho Peak parking lot, one is walking in the footsteps of the old miners who used this pack trail to get to their mines on Silver Ridge. A sharp eye will find old shoes, tools, bottles and other remnants from miners who toiled their way up and down this trail in search of fortunes.
Beware crossing the avalanche chutes as they can have very hard-packed snow and be dangerous to cross. An ice axe would make it some safer small instep crampons would be reassuring.
Idaho Peak offers the best view in the West Kootenay – 360 degrees of wilderness. Views are almost 6,000 feet down to Slocan Lake, the villages of New Denver and Silverton and the remains of mine workings from years ago. In the distance, there are excellent views of the Slocan, Goat, Kokanee, and Valhalla mountain ranges. The summer wildflower display is world-renowned. It usually peaks for a few weeks around the July/August long weekend.
Usually accessed by an 18 km drive from Three Forks on Highway 31A, the Wakefield Trail offers a more vigorous approach to Idaho Peak.
Rating: ♦♦♦♦◊
Difficulty: B1 moderate
Elevation gain: 804m (2636′)
Key elevations: Slocan Lake 542m (1,778′); TH 1220m (4000); Parking lot for Idaho Lookout 2134m (7000′); Summit Idaho Lookout 2,280m (7,480′)
Distance: 5km one-way to the parking lot. !.4km more to the lookout.
Time: 7 hours return (including a visit to Idaho Lookout)
Season: July through September. Best end of July/early August for wildflowers.
Access: difficult 4WD at the end of the road
Map: 82F/14 Slocan. Valhalla Society Guide to Valhalla Provincial Park (1:125,000)
Drive: Silverton Creek FSR. Begins in the town of Silverton at the Silverton Creek bridge.
*Access was impossible for most of the 2020 hiking season. The trail was completely cleared in August. As the Idaho Road has been washed out since 2018, the Wakefield Trail offers access to Idaho Peak.
0.0 One hundred meters south of the bridge, turn east on Fourth Street. At 200 meters, go left (north) on Alpha Street. Where the pavement ends (0.3 km), curve right on Four Mile Creek road above Silverton Creek.
2km Cross bridge to the north bank of Silverton Creek.
5.1km Turn left onto Wakefield Creek Road. 5.8km bear left.
7km Pullout at 960m (3150′) with room for one vehicle. The road steepens and is brushier from here. 8.2km another pullout.
9km TH 1220m (4000)
Trail: The lower portions of the trail climb through semi-open forests of cedar, hemlock, white and lodgepole pine, fir and birch which offer the promise of good mushrooming in the fall. As the trail climbs, it emerges from the forest, crossing steep avalanche paths richly coloured with wildflowers. These avalanche paths tend to hold a lot of snow late into July. They often freeze overnight and present very dangerous crossings. If good boot steps can’t be kicked in, the only safe way to cross is with crampons (in-step probably satisfactory) and an ice-axe. Old mine tailings and ruins of mine buildings are passed as the trail winds its way steeply upwards. As you cross the upper slopes, panoramic views of the Valhallas and the peaks of Kokanee Glacier Park dominate the landscape.
A shuttle is usually arranged for the down trip. It is 18 km via Sandon down to Hwy 31A at Three Forks. And then 8.4 km to New Denver or 38.1 km to Kaslo.
Parking Lot: 2134m (7000′). On the ridge crest between Idaho and Selkirk Peaks.
Idaho Lookout Trail: This well-used trail ascends gently 1.4 km to the 7479-foot summit of Idaho Peak and the usually locked lookout tower. Visible mountains are Kokanee Glacier, Mt Cooper to the NE and Valhalla PP. New Denver Glacier is directly across the lake. Big Sister is NW of New Denver.
What to do?
1. Walk back down to Silverton the way you came on the Wakefield Trail or walk down the washed-out road – arrange a shuttle or have two groups, one an early group that hikes up the Wakefield Trail, and meet at the parking lot and exchange car keys.
2. Walk the 1.4kms to the Lookout on the Idaho Peak Trail
3. Climb Selkirk Peak.