Merry Creek Trails

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Merry Creek Trails

On 17 July 2025, Zosia Zgolak and I hiked a loop in the Merry Creek Trails located on the western outskirts of Castlegar, British Columbia. We got the idea for this trip from Bob Spirko, and since we had spent half the day getting my car serviced at a garage in the city, the Merry Creek Trails were a good option as a half-day hike. The trails are part of a larger network of mountain biking trails, and although most of the Merry Creek Trails are forested, we actually welcomed the shade of the trees under a hot afternoon sun.

From Highway 3, turn north onto Merry Creek Forest Service Road (2WD gravel) about 2.9 kilometres west and south of the interchange with Columbia Avenue in Castlegar or 23.0 kilometres east of the junction with Highway 3B. Drive 3.6 kilometres and turn right to reach the trailhead parking lot. Although there is no toilet at the trailhead, there are a couple of outhouses conveniently situated within the trail network (consult the trailhead map for locations; BYOTP).

Starting at the signed trailhead, Zosia and I basically did a clockwise lollipop loop along "Big Cedar Trail", "Columbia View Trail", and "Merry Valley Trail". Points of interest included a rustic hut, a viewpoint next to a big antenna, and a trailside balanced rock. We even indulged in picking some ripe huckleberries. The entire trip took less than two hours which suited us just fine since we still had some driving ahead of us for the remainder of the day.

	Sonny points out what he will be doing for the next two hours. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	At a split, Zosia takes the left-hand "Big Cedar Trail".
	This rustic hut is located about halfway along Big Cedar Trail.
	Ripe huckleberries can be found in the forest here.
	This rock outcrop is seemingly the high point (878 metres) of the hike.
	The views from this bench are somewhat disappointing.
	A convenient outhouse is situated at the base of another large rock outcrop.
	The rock outcrop above the outhouse has a big antenna with a solar panel.

Best view of the day.

Parts of Castlegar and Columbia River can be seen from this viewpoint beside the antenna.

	Sonny emulates Sisyphus as he tries to "unbalance" this balanced rock. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Total Distance: 5.9 kilometres Round-Trip Time: 1 hour 52 minutes Cumulative Elevation Gain: 87 metres GPX Data