Trail Map: PV-CCH-JP
The Prairie View – Camp Chief Hector – Jewell Pass double loop is one of my favourite weekend rides. It can be done on a weeknight, but you need to ride fast[er than me].
Starting from the Barrier Dam trailhead [off Hwy 40 – if you drove west past Nakiska, you went too far], ride along Barrier Lake and up the very wide Prairie View trail. This trail gets a LOT of hikers, so please be polite and don’t expect everyone to jump out of your way. You’ll pass under some power lines at the top of a short climb, but keep going up. You’ll climb a gravelly trail that leads to a 4-way intersection, which is where PV meets Stoney Trail. Go up! The PV trail is quite wide, allowing you to pass slower moving folks [or be passed yourself]. There are 9 switchbacks on PV, and at the 9th you have a choice between ducking off into the trees on your right to do the Camp Chief Hector descent, or continuing up and to the left to go over the top and on to Jewell Pass. Read more “Trail Map: PV-CCH-JP”