Cartwright Mountain’s trail network came to my attention in 2000 during Summerland’s annual ‘Action-Quest’ festival, which once hosted cross-country mountain bike racing on its slopes. The event varied over the years, but generally employed looping trails running north to south along the area described in this text. While often referred to as ‘Cartwright Mountain’, the region actually consists of three independent peaks surrounding the Thompson Plateau. This trio is ringed by many single and two-track access trails, including the three loops discussed in this publication. The routes appear to have been created years ago by wildlife, loggers, miners, dirt bikers and other activities.
My experience in the area has shown me that there exists at least two dozen trails on-mountain. I have elected to describe only the three most obvious loops, all of which may be of interest to outdoor recreationalists. The largest and most southerly of the three is known as Cartwright Loop (CL) named after Col. Robert Cartwright, who is 1907 purchased 90 acres of area land.
The smaller middle loop is referred to as ‘T.J. Loop’ (TJL) after the name of the height of land it circumnavigates; T.J. Smith Mountain. T.J. Smith was a well-known ranching name in town and the area’s first wharf carried his name. The smallest, most northerly Meadow Valley Loop (MVL) caps the trails highlighted here.
Here, the loops are described separately, though one could - with enough time and energy, follow them all in one day. It is not just the length that would exhaust one, it is the pitches; many sections are ‘push-bike’ or steep hiking if on foot. I suspect that experienced equestrians could handle most of it.
Meadow Valley Loop: the smallest of the three, is comprised of nearly 13k of interconnected single and dual track trail systems. One begins exploration of the area via a steep, right hand junctioning two-track which departs Fish Lake Rd. at the second cattle guard.
This cattle-guard is located approximately 3.6 kilometers from the Fish Lake / Princeton-Summerland road junction. See ‘getting there’ at the end of this chapter for details. This entrance is the only spot that I know of on Fish Lake Rd which allows Crown land right of way to the trail system. In a nutshell; what this route does is ascend a valley, circumnavigate a height of land, follow another valley, crest a second height of land, and then return to the parking area.
I suggest that you refrain from driving up this forest service road (FSR) due to its heavily eroded, boulder-strewn surface.
The Trout Lake Rd. parking area offers nearly immediate entry to the MVL and areas beyond. Due to the morass of roads and trails in the area, I suggest that you carry a GPS enabled device while exploring it. Download and install GPS files of the area’s trails at sweetsingletrack.ca.
From the parking area, travel 1km along the two-track trail, sticking with the main route until you arrive at a road which climbs to your left. Head up this left hand two-track road, following it for a distance of 400m. Soon it arrives at a junction; one route continues to ascend and the other splits off to the right; paralleling, and ascending the first route. Take the left hand junction if on foot; the right hand if on bike. Both run perhaps 500m before merging. If you take the low road, bear gently left as you move along. At the meeting of the roads, the newly merged route begins a gentle arc to the east (right) and levels out. Three hundred meters beyond this, another road enters from the right and merges with your route. Ignore it and continue along the route you are on for a further 650m where you will arrive at a shallow pond.
The road splits at the head of the pond, with one route heading north along its top, and the other arcing to the right, heading northeast. The left hand, northbound two-track drops steeply to Garnet Valley Rd., avoid it, instead head along the right hand junction where travelling 265m finds you at another ‘Y’ junction; stay right. 285m beyond this you meet a ‘T’ junction; go right. 250m along this south-bound route you will see a swampy area appear on your left, skirt it’s shore and continue south on the main two-track. A small road may be noticeable joining on your right, continue due south on the main path.
At this point you will find yourself climbing over a ridge and gently arcing southeast. You will soon drop steeply on an old service road. 650m along it you will happen upon a 4-way intersection and cattle gate. Hang a right at this intersection and begin climbing again. At this point you will be heading southwest. 100m later, a trail splits off to the right; this is an ‘easy-out’ back to the valley you came from. If you were to travel it and stay its course for 1.6 km, you would find yourself on the two-track road that you originally ascended from the parking area.
Those determined to face the challenge ahead; ignore the right junctioning trail and forge on to the left. 340m along you face another intersection. Ignore the left hand trail and continue forward 400m where you intersect with a road and begin a southern ascent. About 500m along you will pass a pond; 1000 meters further the route meets your next intersection choices. Ignore the left and right trails at the first intersection.
Here you gain a temporary reprieve in climbing and meander back down into a gentle depression in the land. At the bottom of this lowland area, approximately 500m beyond the last intersection, you find a small motorcycle dirt track shaped like an oval folded back onto itself on one end. To your left (the south end of the dirt-track) a trail leads off south-southwest. This route bears special mention as it is a connection to the T.J. Loop described later in this chapter.
If your journey takes you there, here is your intersection, if not, then continue around to the north end of the dirt bike track.
The quad track that you are following now begins an undulating series of ascents until you reach the summit and its final descent; a dangerously steep, loose quad track trail which drops to the valley floor and the parking area you originated from. Stay on this quad track only long enough to locate a small rock cairn on its right hand side, 720 meters along. There, divert right and follow the switch-back roadway 1200m to the road originally used to access the area. This alternate exit adds to the overall length of the route, but avoids the most dangerous pitches on the quad track.
The entire area is ripe for exploration, as the many trail junctions alluded to in this chapter attest to. I suggest that it is best explored on horseback, hiking or as a snow-shoe route, as many sections are too steep for all but the most skilled cyclists. Those interested in trail building should secure permission from the appropriate ministry branch, and focus on constructing switchbacks on adjacent slopes. Much of the area lends itself to such endeavors.
Getting there: From Penticton, travel north on Highway 97 toward the town of Summerland, a drive of approximately 15 minutes. Turn left on Prairie Valley Rd. and stay on it all the way to Doherty Ave., where you make a right turn. It soon turns left and becomes Princeton-Summerland Rd. Ignore the Bathville (AKA Bald Range) and Henry Rd. turnoffs, continuing along the Princeton-Summerland Rd. to the Fish Lake junction. There make a right onto Fish Lake Rd. Drive approximately 3.5 kilometers until you arrive at the second cattle-guard and a small clearing on your right. Park here and go up the rough road on the east side of Fish Lake Rd.
Low: 720m | High: 972m | Length: 12.7km | Water: Non-potable | Cell Access: Spotty
T.J. Loop is an approximately ten kilometer long circular route tucked away mid-mountain between the Cartwright Loop and Meadow Valley Loop. The T.J. Loop makes its way through some challenging terrain as it circumnavigates a height of land locally known as T.J. Smith Mt. In doing so, it connects CL and MVL.
In this chapter I will describe the TJL as accessed from a small plateau which hosts an old dirt bike track. I view the TJL as a connector between the MVL and CL, though I am sure that many will be entertained by travelling it as a stand-alone trek.
The quickest, though not the easiest, method of accessing the TJL is by entering via the same Fish Lake Rd. parking lot used to access the MVL in the previous sub-chapter. This allows the choice of ascending the regular MVL on mountain bike, snowshoe or mounted on horseback. If hiking, you have the quicker option of making your way up the steep quad trail used as an egress at the end of the MV loop. This trailhead is located approximately 500m from the Fish Lake Rd. parking area, appearing on your right hand side as you make your way along the two-track road from the parking area (ignore the faint singletrack trail at 325m on the right).
The quad trail is relentlessly steep for the first 1500m, where it crests a height of land, then descends to the dirt bike track. The distance between trailhead and track is approximately 2km.
At the dirt track, walk south and locate a singletrack heading southwest from the open track area. This trail skirts T.J. Smith Mt’s west face and offers an enjoyable mid-mountain route with decent trail consistency. 2.4km along this trail finds a singletrack junctioning on your right; it drops down to Fish Lake Rd. and private property below so ignore it.
270m beyond the last junction you will arrive at another; this one a four-way with trails leading up to your left, straight ahead and down on your right. Left is your destination; with its steep, challenging terrain and connections to the Cartwright Loop, reconnection with the TJL and eventual return to dirt the bike track. Straight ahead also connects with the Cartwright Loop and TJL, but via a longer, mellower path. The right hand junctioning route is a sub-trail of the one that you saw on your right some 270m previous. Head left and up for nearly a kilometer. Hiking is easy; there may be push-bike involved for riders. You will soon find yourself on a small plateau beneath the south face of T.J. Smith Mt. Here you may also find a small pond; though it is evaporated in all but the wettest years.
Had you chosen to go straight at the last intersection - where you turned left and ascended toward the pond; a 1.4km journey along a mellower, albeit longer route, would meet a left hand junctioning road heading northeast. 250m along this NE junctioning road, it would connect with the CL trail. At that point one would be on the same road (CL trail) but 500m southeast of the eventual connection point of the ‘pond route’ described here. If you look closely, you will see it shown faintly on the map included with this chapter. This route is a better choice for cyclists.
For those who ascended to the pond; 150m east of this pond a trail junctions on the right. Ignore it, as it simply drops back down to the west again. The slope beyond this intersection marks the beginning of a rather loose and aggressive descent into a valley and the CL trail. I suggest that most riders will wish to dismount prior to the final descent, as the trail becomes steep and treacherous at numerous points before meeting the CL trail. The distance between the dirt bike track and this connection with the CL is five kilometers. At this point you are at the southernmost reach of the TJL; ready to head east, and then north in order to complete the loop.
Head northeast, sharing the same space as the CL trail for a distance of two kilometers. At that point you head off to the left and begin ascending the east face of T.J. Smith Mt. on a rising two-track road. The next 1.5 kilometers will find you climbing fairly steeply. Strong riders will be able to pedal much of it, but it exhibits brief pitches which might be construed as hike-a-bike.
At several points along the way you will be faced with roads connecting from above and below, ignore all of them and continue to make your way up the side-slope, bearing north, northwest. At the two kilometer mark your path ‘T’s’ into a road, allowing you a choice of left or right (up or down) progress. Choose the left hand option and begin to ascend. 350m later you arrive at a second intersection, joining on your right. Ignore it and continue west for a distance of approximately 500 meters, placing you back at the dirt bike track.
I realize that I begin to sound like a broken record on this point; but I strongly encourage you to pack a GPS enabled device, along with the freely available tracks from sweetsingletrack.ca if you are interested in exploring this area. The quantity of tracks and trails here is astounding!
Low: 721m | High: 1005m | Length: 10km | Water: Rare | Cell access: Spotty
Cartwright Loop is the longest and easiest to navigate of the three loops presented in this chapter, it is also the easiest to access from a named roadway. The map accompanying this chapter highlights just one of the many trails on Cartwright Mt. itself. There exist many additional routes, linking to trails which lead toward Peachland, Falder and beyond. The 18.4 kilometer loop I have highlighted here is more or less evenly split between dual-track and singletrack surface. To begin; park west of Summerland, at a point located 1.4 kilometers from the intersection of Doherty Ave. and Prairie Valley Rd. The clockwise entry to the loop suggested here will find you climbing numerous challenging though brief dual-track routes.
Head west on a trail which parallels the Princeton-Summerland Rd. Follow it until it meets Henry Rd. (also known as Three Lakes Valley Rd.). Follow Henry Rd. north for approximately 350 meters, to a point where you will see a cattle-guard and a trail exiting it to the left (southwest). Access this trail and navigate it for approximately 215 meters, at which point it will intersect with a more established two-track road. Head up (north) on this road for approximately 240 meters where it meets yet another road. Hang a right (north) and continue to climb. Ignore the road which splits off at 300 meters and continue, now in a generally westerly direction.
This route soon shifts to a northern bearing and stays that way all the way to your next junction of importance at approximately 5.7km. Many trails intersect with this road, but stay the course on the main route. The T.J. Smith trail junctions on your left with the route you are on at kilometers 3.2, 3.7kms (all km’s described are measured from the parking area).
At kilometer 5.7 the T.J. Smith loop’s final exit appears on your left and your destination continues straight ahead. Continue along this route for the next 275 meters, at which point you will see a singletrack trail leading down to your right (bearing east).
The singletrack shadows a small road leading to a pond. As with most in the area; this pond may or may not contain water, depending on the time of year. Continue past the pond on its east face and begin to climb, heading north-east. The trail makes its way around the north, and onto the east face of Cartwright Mt. Resist the temptation to drop down any of the numerous intersecting roads rising from the valley below.
From this point forward the route continues as quality trail all the way to Summergate Drive. Along the way you will enjoy some impressive views. Take your time, lots of pictures and enjoy yourself. There are several steep, loose descents along the trip back to Summergate Dr. You may wish to walk them if on Mt. bike as they are quite loose and sandy.
At approximately km13 you will be able to enjoy riding within the remnants of an abandoned concrete flume. This part of the flume system was known as the North Main; the main line from the reservoir further up Prairie Valley. The original wooden irrigation flumes from the early 1900s were later replaced by metal ones and then concrete precast flumes (c. 1940). The flume offers a 1.25 kilometer ride that is sure to bring a smile to your face and a wonderment of local history to mind.
You will soon find yourself rounding a horn of land, at which point you can choose to drop down to Denike St. and finish off by riding the pavement down to Morrow Ave, then west on Prairie Valley Rd. in order to return to your vehicle. Alternately, you may wish to squeeze a little more dirt riding into the trip by following a dual-track trail due north, ascending gently into the forest. This will soon pop you out at the end of Summergate Dr. Continue heading west on Summergate Dr. Within 100m it will intersect with Morrow Ave. Ride Morrow Ave. northwest for approximately 500m to a point at which it meets Hermiston Drive.
When you junction with Hermiston Dr., hang a left and it’s only a few dozen meters to the dead-end. Upon reaching said dead-end, cut sharp right (west) up and along the edge of the lawn on the last house (please stay off their lawn). This will connect you with a singletrack which you stay on more or less straight ahead all the way back to your parked vehicle (assuming you entered the trail from the same starting point as I suggested at the outset of this trek). The route is best ridden in cooler weather as the area is quite hot and dry most of the summer.
Getting there: Travel north from Penticton on Highway 97 to Summerland; a drive of approximately 15 minutes. Turn left on Prairie Valley Rd. and stay on it all the way to Doherty Ave., where you make a right turn. It turns left and soon becomes Princeton-Summerland Rd. at a junction with Bathville Rd. The parking spot is approximately 850m west of the Bathville Rd. / Princeton-Summerland Rd. junction.
Low: 663m | High: 887m | Length: 18.4km | Water: Not potable | Cell access: Spotty