The Smallwood viewpoint is possibly the best in the West Kootenay – situated on a bend in the Kootenay River, almost the entire river between Nelson and Castlegar is visible. The view is as big as the bench.
Part of a mountain bike network, there are three options to access the viewpoint: Loop or Out and Back.
Rating: ♦♦♦♦◊
Location: In Beasley, 10 km west of Nelson on the north side of the Kootenay River.
Difficulty: A1 easy / B1 moderate
Elevation Gain: +153m / +370m
Key Elevations: Trailheads: Loop. Out-and-back Smallwood Lookout:
Distance: Round trip – 4.1kms / 4.6kms
Time: 2-3 hours
Season: June to October
Access: Good. 2WD low clearance gravel.
Map: 82F/6, F/11
Drive. From Nelson, head west on Highway 3A and turn right onto Beasley Road before you reach the Beasley Fire Department. Drive 0.25km up and turn right on Queen Victoria Road which turns into Smallwood Creek FSR.
2 km. Junction with a trailhead on the right and Garrity Creek FSR spur road spurring off to the left. There is limited parking.
Trail. There are a few options: 1. hike up Smallwood and down Bigwood (the route described here) for a tough ascent and gentle descent. 2. Go up and down Bigwood for an easy option, or 3. Drive up the left fork and walk out and back on the Smallwood Lookout trail. Continuing up the right fork in the road, reach Vallelujah trail way up high.
Use the Trailforks App.
Start up the right fork of Smallwood FSR for .2 km and turn left on an unsigned trail.
0.2 km. Junction – right is Bigwood and left is Smallwood which is also a black diamond mountain biking trail. Smallwood is a hard, steep climb – the shortest distance between the bottom of the hill and the scenic lookout – 370m over 1km.
Crest onto a rocky plateau with a view of the Bonnington Range peaks to the south. Follow the trail a little further to the scenic bench.
The view of the Kootenay River Valley is amazing. Looking across, see (from left to right) the peaks of Toad Mountain, Red Mountain, Copper Mountain, and Siwash Mountain. At the far right is South Slocan leading to Mount Sentinel above the Kootenay/Columbia junction.
Return on the moderate Bigwood Trail.
References:
https://westkootenayhiking.ca/smallwood-lookout/
https://westkootenayhiking.ca/smallwood-bigwood-trails/
https://www.trailforks.com/region/smallwood-creek/