Peterson Creek Park is a rugged escape in the heart of Kamloops

Trail Name: Peterson Creek Park

Location: Kamloops. There are several trailheads from different parts of the city, including downtown and Sahali. See a map here. For this hike, I started from downtown entrance at Glenfair Drive.

Distance: There are many trail options. I traveled up to the waterfall and then did an easy hike up called the Tom Moore Trail to one of the first viewpoints, which took me a total of one hour.

Directions: The downtown entrance is at 1440 Glenfair Drive and easily accessible by travelling east towards Sixth Avenue and turning right at the Peterson Creek sign. Travel a few hundred metres up the dirt road to find a large parking area and the trail system entrance.

Things You’ll See

Peterson Creek is a great place to escape the city without having to go far at all, entering in the heart of downtown Kamloops. There are many trail systems with a wide variety of easy, moderate, and difficult hiking levels.

With seven access points into the park, the main one being the downtown entrance, Peterson Creek has over 30 kilometres of trails with very good signage letting you know the difficulty of the trail and if the trail may be closed for any reason. If you're unsure or an inexperienced hiker, play it safe.

My favourite and first thing I do when hiking around Peterson Creek is travel up to the waterfall, which is a short little jaunt to start your hike. It’s a beautiful waterfall to sit and enjoy. On this trip with Scarlett, I ran into a couple of young men that were new to Kamloops and taking in the waterfall.

There are several lookouts and benches that can be nice for a little stop and bite to eat while venturing around the park.

On your travels, you are likely to come across a lot of action, from people on mountain bikes, hikers and a lot of dogs, too!

Trail Tips and Things to Bring

This park is dog friendly, and also has poop bag dispensers at the beginning of the trail. Pick up after your dog!

With some snow still left to melt, it was very icy at the bottom of the trails and was not the safest getting to the waterfall this time of year. Hopefully with this warm weather, it won’t be long before the trails are all safe and dry for everyone to enjoy! Be sure to dress appropriately and bring some snacks and lots of water.

Hope to see you in the hills. Take only photographs and leave only footprints!