A series of interconnected trails and roads in Ymir village form a scenic loop to explore this local favourite.
YMIR (pop 230). Ymir was originally known as Quartz Creek. The townsite was laid out in 1897 by railway magnate D.C. Corbin. Today Ymir consists of a store and two hotels, plus an assortment of residential properties. It is located near Whitewater Ski Hill. The Salmo River runs through the centre of the town. Ymir is about 10 km from the town of Salmo.
Origin of name: The name Ymir is originally that of the father of all giants in Scandinavian mythology, whom Odin slew to make the world from his bones, blood and skull (mountains, sea and sky). The local pronunciation of the name is WHY-mirr. The name originally referred to the nearby Ymir Range and was applied by geologist and explorer George Mercer Dawson.
History. Ymir was a booming mining town in the late 1800’s, with many hotels and a very modern hospital.
The earliest miners in the area arrived in the 1860s when mining claims were recorded on Quartz Creek. In 1885, the Hall brothers and their group prospected on Wild Horse Creek. The Nelson and Fort Sheppard Company laid track through the Salmo River Valley in 1893, linking the United States with the Kootenay goldfields. With the completion of the railroad, Ymir blossomed into a major mining community.
The Ymir mine was first staked in 1895 and by 1896, the Dundee, Tamarack, Porto Rico, Wilcox, Blackrock, Howard, Hunter V, Yankee Girl and others were staked as well. In 1897, three Rossland businessmen filed a claim for 620 acres in the area surrounding Quartz Creek. Within two weeks, the land was surveyed, lots were sold and the roots of the town of Ymir were created. Ymir boomed and by 1899, it had 800 residents (with 400 in the immediate area), 11 hotels, a bank, a post office, one church, P Burns butchers, a newspaper, school grades 1-10, a police station, 3 jails, blacksmith, 3 sawmills, physician, plumber, barber, undertaker, 2 hardware stores and a justice of the peace. The water system built in 1897 was the envy of other towns.
The Ymir was the largest and best producer and had two forty-stamp mills, making it the largest in the British Empire. The other mills had 60 stamps. Each stamp could crush and pulverize 2-5 tons of ore per hour. Many other smaller mines shipped crude ore directly to smelters in Trail and Nelson. The Ymir Mine alone used one cord of firewood per hour, 24 hours/day to keep their steam boilers working. All the mining was for gold. While silver and lead were recovered, they played a minor role.
This flourished until the early 1900s when the ore ran out. Despite short revivals in WWI and 1935-6 and a significant decline with and after WWII. In 1945, the population was only 125.
Three large lead, and zinc mines and also one tungsten mine resulted in the population increasing to 550.
Location: Between Nelson and Salmo on Highway 6.
Difficulty: easy
Elevation Gain: +170m
Distance: 8.1 km round trip
Time: 3 hours
Season: Anytime of the year
Access: Good, 2 WD low clearance
Map: 82F/ 6
Drive: Ymir is 29 km south of Nelson and 12.5 km north of Salmo on Highway 6. Park anywhere on the main street (1st Ave) in Ymir. As this is a loop, you can start at any point. Ymir is a historic mining town with several old buildings on the main street.
Route/Trail:
• Up the Rail Trail. Access the Great Northern Rail Trail in Ymir, and walk north towards Nelson with the Salmo River to your right. After about 10 minutes, arrive at the “W” sign, the Ymir Swimming Hole.
• Continue on the rail trail to a road with a bridge over the Salmo River. Cross the bridge and look for a footpath on the far side of the river, heading off into the forest on the left.
• Take the trail to a grove of old-growth cedar trees. Pass more cedars, old stumps with springboard marks, and old fallen giants.
• After about 0.5km through the grove, watch for a trail heading off to the right onto the nearby road. Go to the road and turn right again, heading back along the road towards Ymir again. A field opens up on the left.
• Look for an opening in the field for an old wagon road with several small boulders at the entrance. Cross the field. Pay attention as it’s easy to follow the wrong track: the old track curves around a stand of trees and turns right (S). Keep following it for another minute and then stop as the track curves left (E).
• Look for a junction where a fainter path leaves the track on the right and continues heading South. Follow this fainter path as it angles towards Wildhorse Creek.
• Near a house, turn East on an old road heading up the creek valley. The old road becomes much clearer as it climbs through the woods. Wildhorse Creek with its deep ravine appears on your right.
• After 1km up the old road, fork right at a junction to head up Wildhorse Creek Road. Cross Wildhorse Creek on the bridge.
• Across the bridge, hike into a pull-out on the right of the road and look for a trail heading along the opposite bank of the creek. Follow this trail down through the forest with Wildhorse Creek now visible in the ravine on your right. After about 0.5km from the bridge, cross a flat area where vehicles park in the woods. You’re almost at the waterfall.
• Watch for a log over a junction where a steep trail descends the bank on the right. Use the rope tied up to assist in leading down to Wildhorse Falls
• After visiting the waterfall, double back to that wide parking area and follow the vehicle tracks back onto Wildhorse Creek Road. Walk down the road for about 0.3km.
• Watch for a track leading off the road on the left that crosses a patch of field, enters the forest and starts a steep uphill climb. Cross over the height of land between the Wildhorse Creek valley and the Oscar Creek valley.
• At Oscar Creek Road, turn right and go downhill. As you walk down Oscar Creek Road, the historic Ymir cemetery is hidden in the woods on the left. The tall forest is overgrown.
• Head back down Oscar Creek Road into town. As you descend, pass the Quartz Creek Watershed that supplies Ymir’s water and is threatened with logging. In the fall this watershed is full of golden larches. Pass a wooden statue of Ymir down by the Salmo River.
• For a scenic end to the hike, cross the bridge over the Salmo River and descend a steep path heading down on the right near the river bank. This path follows the river and winds through a stand of massive cottonwood trees before it joins back up with the rail trail.
• Visit the famous The Bakery Ymir. Most villages the size of Ymir don’t have a bakery. This one is housed in a fantastic Gold Rush-style building that also contains the Post Office. The best is the sourdough bread and savoury items like spinach and feta pies. There are few sweet baked goods.
References:
https://westkootenayhiking.ca/ymir-trails/