BOU AVENUE
South Star Trails
Kicking off our Christmas road trip, Zosia Zgolak and I stopped in Cranbrook, British Columbia on 24 December 2021 to do some cross-country skiing at South Star Trails.  This is a network of multi-use trails used primarily by skiers and dog-walkers in winter and mountain bikers in summer.  The layout is well-designed with generally good signage and even some conveniences like picnic tables and outhouses.  Although Zosia and I did not ski every trail in the network, we got a pretty good sense of the quality of skiing here from the loop that we did which included such trails as "Wapiti Way", "Freefall", "Moose Creek", "Gooseneck", "High Road", and "Easy Street".  While snow conditions were generally very good throughout the trail network on this day, we noticed a significant difference between the lower trails near the trailhead and the higher trails to the south.  Not surprisingly, the snow was fluffier and more abundant at higher elevations.  Overall, we both really enjoyed skiing here, and my only lamentation would be the lack of any scenic viewpoints.  There is, however, an abundance of larches in the area, and I imagine that the South Star Trails would be a wonderful place to visit in autumn perhaps with a mountain bike.
The recommended donation is $2 per person.

Zosia donates some cash at the trailhead kiosk to help support maintenance of the ski trail network.
Yep, we're not here for the scenic views; that's for sure!

On this day, this is about as scenic as it gets on the trail network.
Not a popular trail it seems! "Freefall" is one of the few difficult-rated trails in the ski trail network.
Limbo lower! Sonny tries to duck under this bent-over tree.

Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
Zosia is always up for a good challenge! Looking for more challenge, Zosia takes the "Rocky Road to Dublin" which is a narrower multi-use trail.
Not my finest hour! The "Rocky Road to Dublin" is apparently too rocky for Sonny.

Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
With ease, of course! Zosia herringbones up a short but steep hill.
Charming even without views! Zosia passes over the high point (1337 metres) of the ski trail network somewhere along "Gooseneck".
One of the best cross-country skiing downhill runs I can recall. Zosia enjoys a long downhill cruise along "High Road".
No scenic views, but the trail layout is well-designed for excellent skiing when snow conditions are good. Total Distance:  9.4 kilometres
Round-Trip Time:  2 hours 41 minutes
Cumulative Elevation Gain:  249 metres

GPX Data