Located about 28.8KM (17.9 miles) south of Penticton, British Columbia. Hiking time round trip- 6 to 7 hrs allowing for stops. Round trip roughly 6.4KM (4 miles), elevation gain-635M (2076 feet) to the peak. Best time is usually late July to September.
Directions: From Penticton drive south on Highway 97. Turn right onto Highway 3A which is just past Kalden heading west. Follow Highway 3A to Yellow Lake and park at the west end of the lake. This requires a left turn across the highway into the parking lot. There is a fence with an unlocked gate in front of a swampy area. This area is generally dry later in the summer depending on the weather. Too early in the summer and it is impassible unless one is prepared to get very wet and muddy. See the photographs below. Once across the swampy area a trail running alongside the lake becomes visible. Follow the trail a short distance along the lake watching for a trail on the right that will climb steeply. Take this trail which will climb away from the lake. Initially the trail is fairly easy to follow although in some spots one must scramble around fallen trees. Look for flags and rock cairns marking the trail. The trail climbs through a series of ridges and grassy meadows with some nice views of Yellow Lake. Eventually the trail passes through a large very grassy meadow and comes to a narrow bush road. The trail can be hard to follow in this grassy meadow. Turn right onto this road and follow it. Beyond this point finding the rest of the way to the peak without having to do some backtracking is difficult. There a lot of paths in this area. There are occasional markings, some of which are confusing. It would be easy to get lost, especially on the return trip, one could end up in very difficult terrain. Strongly recommend a GPS is used going in and out. On a sunny day the views from the peak are very impressive.
The route described here with its GPS way-points was cobbled together after backtracking several times on trails that didn't work out. It is probably not the most optimum route. The photos below show only parts of the trail, the views from the peak and provide a limited description.
GPS Data: Right click on link to bring up the menu to download(save)the file.
Yellow Lake Trail 2014/09 |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |