Kimberley BC: Magic Line – Moe’s Canyon

There’s a huge number of trails in the Kimberley BC area and for the outdoor adventurers it means unlimited possibilities. There’s big variety and the interconnected networks are curated by various clubs/organizations. If you’re a hiker, biker, XC skier or snowshoer (have we missed anyone?), or some combo therein, you’ll find lots to keep you happy. In this post we take Magic Line on the up and Moe’s Canyon on the down, in the Kimberley Nordic Club section. It was a very pleasant hike.

It begins at the Nordic Club parking lot off North Star Drive on North Star Hill and just south of the Kimberley Alpine Resort Ski Hill. There’s a big map you can reference at the trailhead. With so many routes and junctions, however, you might want to download them to your phone or bring a paper copy so you don’t get lost. From what we observed, all junctions are marked or signed in some way.

Head south briefly on the Spruce XC trail and intercept Magic Line to your right at Trickle Creek. Climb up at a moderate grade, on single track and zig-zagging as you go. At an opening in the trees, we stop and watch orienteering classes taking place below, at the Nordic Club Clubhouse.

This section of Magic Line was no doubt designed with the downhill biker in mind, with banked curves and humps, and this is a reminder that one should keep alert. Bikes can descend at high speeds and you don’t want a collision. Interestingly, we saw none this hike and only two other groups on foot. This network is so large that I guess you can often have the trail to yourself and we like that.

We noticed a new parallel downhill route was being put in nearby, along on this section, for the exclusive use of bikers, and it’s more extreme and winding in nature. Magic Line is a full loop, but we’ll only use the western leg on this hike.

At this point you’re within a short distance of some downhill runs on the ski hill. Trees along here are young and small for the most part, which means they don’t always block the view of Kimberley below and big peaks off in the east.

There’s more switchbacks and soon after, on entering a more mature section of forest, the grade levels off. The hard work is behind you now and you can mostly coast.

You’re on the eastern lip of Moe’s Canyon at this point, below and to your right. It’s a steep-walled V-shaped gorge and shaded for most of the day. The two sections of trail used are often within shouting distance of each other, but well separated in height.

There’s a viewpoint along here that allows one to look roughly south-ish and down the Rocky Mountain Trench. Mount Baker is that treed bump off to the right and unseen between you and it (due to hills) lies the city of Cranbrook.

Drop down and there’s switchbacks on the steepest slopes to help ease the grade. Intercept a couple XC trails and then turn right at Moe’s Canyon. Trees down here are huge in comparison to those up higher on dryer slopes, and they tower far above. The forest has been a varied mix of coniferous species, and Pine and Larch seemed most common overall. Some of the latter grow to be giants in moister areas like down here and in other sheltered spots. We also noted Fir and Spruce.

Enter Moe’s Canyon. It’s listed as a hiking/snowshoeing trail, depending in the season of course, but your author remembers XC skiing it in 1980s. At times it’s so narrow there’s only room for the trail and nothing else. Scree crowds the path in places and in others it’s almost overgrown with vegetation.

A strange cabin is seen on the west canyon rim and if we look on maps that puts it right off the Moe’s downhill run on the ski hill. A homemade party place or home for a hermit? A lost ski is found soon after and this confirms how close the runs are to this present location. They just above you here, to the west, but unseen from this angle. This one had to fly off, I guess, and at high speeds too, in order for it to end up here.

Moe’s Canyon is part of North Star Hill and in years past it was not a recreation mecca but home to a number of producing and prospect (test) mines. Kimberley was built on Lead, Zinc and Silver (along with a smattering of other metals), and home to one of the most storied mines in all Canada, the legendary Sullivan. It was located a bit to the north and in production for almost a century (unheard of), but North Star Hill was also once a beehive of activity in the past, just not on such scale and not nearly as long lasting.

Every once in a while you can find evidence of old workings and such. At one point a tunnel can be seen above the trail and while it only goes back a few metres, it still takes us back to another time. Some prospector saw potential in the rock here, long ago and did some digging, but the discovery soon petered out I guess. A good stream of water, and it was ice cold, flows out from a crack in the wall of this prospect adit.

It seems that any evidence of mining we saw was associated with bands of orange rock and not those of darker shades.

A connector trail ties Moe’s Canyon with Magic Line and while it’s not shown on maps we referenced, it’s seemed like a good way to go. It’s an official trail, but must be quite new, and branches off eastward only to cross a bog before reconnecting with Magic Line. Now it’s a simple stroll down to the parking lot and after a couple switchbacks, you’re done.

This was our first encounter with this network of hiking trails, but we went back during another visit to the area two months later. We’ll post about this adventure down the road a bit and look forward to sharing it with you.

On the way out we take time to view an old tramway tower associated with a mine on North Star Hill and it’s located on a ski slope in the Owl Learning Area. It dates back over a hundred years and after examining it, we realize a mine aerial tramway is not all that different from the ski lifts located nearby. One takes ore down from a mine and the other, almost identical in form and function, takes people up to the top a ski run.

Know more (new window): Kimberley BC Hiking.

They’re saying…

(The website’s) A true “Rare Hidden Gem!” Ian Thomas McAlpine Paterson.

More BC hikes….
Devil’s Hole (East Kootenay BC).
Hike to Payne Bluff.

If you wish more information about this route or if you love to chat don’t hesitate to contact us!

Date of adventure: July, 2022.
Location: Kimberley BC.
Distance: 6km loop.
Height gain maximum: 200m.
Height gain cumulative: 300m-ish.
NOTE: all distances and heights are approximate and may differ slightly from other trip reports (including our own).

An orienteer class being taught below.

Magic Line climbs at a moderate rate.

There were lots of Lilies along this section.

Kimberley BC below.

Standing at the viewpoint seen in the previous photo.

Close to the top.

A wall of mountains in back.

Magic Line is one of a huge number of trails in the area.

Moe’s Canyon is down there and not far away.

It’s an easy going kind of day.

Looking South-ish here – Mt Baker right.

About to drop down.

Sap.

Switchbacks help ease the grade.

A solitary Paintbrush.

Some giant trees along this section.

About to enter Moe’s Canyon.

A sign announces your arrival.

The canyon is steep-walled and narrow.

Vegetation is markedly different than Magic Line.

The Moe’s Canyon section is delightful.

Lost: one ski.

What’s this?

Kimberley was a mining town.

A view down to the trail.

The short prospect adit just visited.

A new bike descent trail.

It begins and ends at Kimberley Nordic Club parking lot.

Nearby on the ski-hill, this old mine tram tower.

Magic Line on the up and Moe’s Canyon on the down.