33. Keremeos Columns

Category: Return

Distance: 11.8 km round trip

Height gain: 660 m

High point: 1178 m

Time: 3–4 hrs. round trip

Difficulty: Moderately strenuous

Seasons: Spring, summer, fall

Trailhead coordinates: N49 13.752 W119 48.920

Directions to trailhead: Drive east on Keremeos’s main street, 7th Ave., until you reach the flashing amber light where 7th Ave. intersects Highway 3 East. Turn left on Highway 3 East and drive 3.7 km to Liddicoat Rd. on the right side of the highway. Once on Liddicoat Rd., drive for 1 km, looking for a paved parking lot on the left side of the road. Somewhere within this kilometre, Liddicoat Rd. becomes Pincushion Trail (still a paved road), which then intersects with Liddicoat Rd. at the 1-km mark. It seems the residential developers in the area laid down pavement on pre-existing trails, hence the erratic street-naming system. Regardless, the paved parking lot is on the left side, 1 km from Highway 3 East.

The Keremeos Columns are tall, vertical, hexagonal pillars of lava that cooled slowly about 30 million years ago. Standing approximately 30 m high, these basalt columns are a sight that is worth the effort of a long upward hike.

  1. Like many trails in this region, this one is actually a 4×4 road instead of a traditional trail. The route begins as a short-lived paved road that starts to climb right away. This moderate climb continues for about 40 minutes (2.7 km), before levelling off for a few moments.
  2. The road is highly visible from the trailhead as it switchbacks its way up a mountainside toward two separate communication towers, the first of which is 1.6 km from the trailhead.
  3. About 25 minutes from trailhead, you will go through a gate, the first of two on this trek. If either one is closed, please close it behind you. At this first gate, the communication towers come into view. The lower one is on your right, and the upper one is farther up to your left.
  4. Ten minutes later, the road goes under a power line just before levelling off for a few minutes.
  5. Minor roads enter and exit the main road, but the way is apparent, as the main road is obvious by being the most travelled.
  6. There are two forks where it is difficult to distinguish which branch to follow. The first of these is encountered 50 minutes into the hike, the second just 5–10 minutes later. At the first fork, it makes no difference which branch you take, since they rejoin a short distance beyond the fork. The second junction, however, is rather important. Make sure you take the left fork, which will take you upward through open sagebrush. Taking the right-hand one will send you toward a forested gully and an uncertain destination. This second junction is 3.7 km from the trailhead.
  7. You will go through the second gate at the 5-km mark. This translates roughly to 1.5 hours from the trailhead, with 56-year-old legs on a steady uphill grade.
  8. The remaining 900 m takes about 15–20 minutes to complete, as the uphill grade continues without the distraction of any divergent side roads.
  9. As you emerge through a sparse forest at the end of the trail, the columns of basalt tower above you.

Land of sage and sun. The parched landscape of the semi-arid South Okanagan is home to the resilient sagebrush and knapweed.

The destination Keremeos Columns have eroded over several million years, leaving a pile of rubble at your feet.