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South Star Trails
South Star Recreation Area, Cranbrook, B.C.
October 17, 2025
Distance: 7.7 km (4.8 mi)
Cumulative Elevation Gain: 194 m (636 ft)
With the forecast threatening afternoon rain, Dinah and I decided on a morning hike ten minutes southeast of Cranbrook. Choosing from the network of trails in South Star Recreation Area, we planned to complete a loop and reach the second highest point in the park. We didn’t expect to find a viewpoint in the forested park, but the colourful larches on an autumn day would keep us engaged.
We started on Kinnikinnick Trail. Although it makes a nice loop that passes near our objective, it was too long for us because of the pending rain. We soon left Kinnikinnick and turned onto Arnica. We continued choosing trails that led directly to Kinnikinnick where it crosses high on a ridge. As we hiked, we enjoyed the sight of bright yellow larches lining the paths.
We reached Kinnikinnick and continued up the ridge. We came to small clearings but none with views. We were far from the highest point in the park, but Kinnikinnick passes within 100 m of the second highest point. After a brief bushwhack, we reached the top and returned to Kinnikinnick. We continued down the trail until it intersected Easy Street. We turned left and followed the road-like trail back to the parking lot.
We returned to our car and started stowing our gear, when it began to rain. As we drove off, it turned into sleet. We were glad we weren’t still hiking!
We started on Kinnikinnick Trail
We soon started seeing larches
We passed through a powerline right-of-way
Dinah gazes up at a tall larch
We got on Larch Loop
We crossed Haggis Hill Trail thinking it went over a hill. But there was no hill; it's just
a connector trail.
High Road leads to the ridge and Kinnikinnick
Looking back at one of the densest larch stands we passed
On the ridge and back on Kinnikinnick
We hiked 100 m from the trail to reach a high point
We continued down Kinnikinnick
We continued down Kinnikinnick to Easy Street
We followed Easy Street back to the car
Back at the powerline right-of-way. Mount Baker
appears in the background.
