RED MOUNTAIN (Rossland)

A well-built trail to the top of the ski hill. Grand views of Red Mountain Ski Resort.

Difficulty: moderate
Elevation: 428 m
Distance: 9 km round trip
Time: 3-4 hours
Season: Mid-May to Late October
Access: 2WD Low Clearance

Drive to Red Mountain Ski Resort and park in one of the large gravel parking lots. Walk to the base of Red Mountain at the bright red ski lift.

Trail:
0.0. Centennial Trail, an old road at the bottom of the ski lift that heads left into the woods.
.3 km. Junction with Red Top that continues all the way to the summit. All junctions are marked.
2 km. The trees space out as the trail continues on the south-facing side of Red Mountain. This is where all the old mine activity was.
4 km. Poochy’s Inn. An old private cabin. Locked but has a good view from the deck.
4.5 km. Summit with a bench.
Return the same way.

Wander the area on the south side of Red Mountain.
Trail. Start at the Rossland Museum and proceed north through this old industrial site – the old mine sites with evidence of their old compressor, steam engines and ore load-out bins. A rusted streetlight and road sign base still attached to a tree show that a network of roads existed at one time. Wander up the now forested hillside, following rail grades and old mine roads, past the Center Star, Le Roi, Josie, No. 1 and Gertrude Mine sites. Old mine cars and hoist skips are left on waste rock piles, and the blacksmith’s forge is still beside the Josie mine site.
Climb Red Mountain for lunch
Descent. head down to the Red Mountain Mine near the top of the T-Bar hill. It had extracted molybdenum from the large open pits on the west side of the mountain. 1971 was the last year the mine operated. Various mining, milling, flotation and drying processes were used to extract the moly.
Continue down the road,  pass the Jumbo compressor site with a nearby adit (tunnel). If you ever ski down the Jumbo run on Granite Mountain and miss the out-of-bound ropes at the bottom, you will likely end up here. Cap off the day with a bit of art with the large beautifully carved stone boulder. Descend to the gas line, check out the Sasquatch cabin, the old clay tennis court, and Center Star load-out bins and follow the rail grade back to the Museum.