Gibraltar Rock Trail – Kamloops Hikes

Gibraltar Rock Trail – Kamloops Hikes

Gibraltar Rock Trail - Easy hike near KamloopsThe walk up to Gibraltar Rock is a great little hike near Kamloops, (in BC, Canada) which will reward you with fantastic views of Paul Lake. Paul Lake Provincial Park is a pretty place to visit, less than 30 minutes drive from Kamloops. We treated this as a stop-off to eat lunch and stretch our legs on the drive from Revelstoke to Vancouver.

I think this hike would be looovely on a hot day, as you could go for a swim in Paul Lake to cool down after your walk.

Gibraltar Rock Trail Map (Paul Lake)

Gibraltar Rock Trail – the basics

Distance: 3.2 km
Elevation gain
: 182m
Time: Under 1 hour. 30-40 minutes up, only 20 minutes on the way back.
What to bring:
Make sure you have some water as the trail is quite steep near the top.
Facilities:
There is a car park with a pit toilet and park benches.
Dogs:
Dogs are welcome if you keep them on a lead.
How hard is it?
Easy to moderate. Most people will be able to manage this as it’s easy to follow and only gets steep near the end. It’s a great walk for newbie hikers that want fantastic views without having to walk for too long.
Map: There is a simple map of this walk on the Paul Lake Provincial Park website.

Gibraltar Rock Trail – Getting started

The trail starts at the Paul Lake day use area. You’ll have lovely views of the lake, and you can see Gibraltar Rock, where you are about to go. Just follow the path towards those cliffs.

The trail will lead you into a forest, up a not-too-steep trail through the trees. Apparently there are some areas of old growth here, but this area was full of young-ish trees with very little undergrowth. There is pretty, dappled light and you can see Paul Lake the whole way.

The steep section

There is one cross-road on this trail. Take the path to the left and follow the switch-backs up onto Gibraltar Rock. This is the part of the hike that will get your heart pumping. Still, it doesn’t last long, so in no time at all, you can take a break at the first viewpoint.

The last few steps to the top of Gibraltar Rock are pretty steep, with steep cliffs on either side. You can easily do this hike with children, just be careful on this last little section.

Gibraltar Rock Trail – views from the top

The views down to Paul Lake are pretty gorgeous, especially as the hike up will only take about half an hour. It’s a pretty impressive pay-off for so little effort!

There is a bench at the top, so if it’s not busy, this would be a great place for a picnic.

We still had a long way to drive back to Vancouver, so we didn’t spend long at the top of Gibraltar Rock. Still, I think this was a perfect option for a mini hike near Kamloops.

Speedy return

The return to the car park was really fast. The path is not very steep, so we just let gravity do the work and we managed to zoom down the hill in 20 minutes. If you have more time, you can take the other trail and return in a loop via the Paul Lake camp ground.

Paul Lake Provincial Park is a lovely place to visit close to Kamloops. We drove along the Pinantan Pritchard Road (parallel to highway 1) so we didn’t even add much extra time to our road trip. I hope you like the look of it as much as we did.

Do you like to add little stop-offs and mini hikes on your road trips?

Gibraltar Rock Trail - Easy hike near Kamloops - pretty views from the top Gibraltar Rock Trail - Easy hike near Kamloops

 

15 thoughts on “Gibraltar Rock Trail – Kamloops Hikes

    1. Thanks April!
      Yeah, we were all surprised by how speedy it was to get back to the car, after puffing our way *up* the trail way more slowly!

  1. That looks wonderful reward for very little effort. From below, in your first shot, it looks a bit like Castle Crag in the Lake District, which has similarly spectacular views for not too much in the way of exertion. Great finds those!

    1. Thanks George!

      Oooh it’s good to hear there are easy options in the lakes too! I always expect Lake District hikes to be long and epic (but worth it for the pub at the end…)

    1. Thanks Jeremy!

      I like the idea of a swim too…but it was a bit too early in the spring this time. We would have all frozen!

  2. Wow, this is amazing. I have never done a rock trail because I am afraid of climbing and getting down. But the views of the lakes at a distance look really gorgeous. Also impressed by the way you started your blog.

    1. Oooh don’t worry. There was no rock climbing involved in this one. You can walk right to the top of the cliff. 😀

  3. This is exactly the type of hiking I love to do — about an hour with a great view for the reward. Using it as a stop during a road trip is perfect. I’ve pinned it so I’ll remember to do it!

    1. Hehehe yep, I think this is the kind of mini hike that most people can get behind. I’m glad you like the sound of it!!

    1. Thanks Nitin! I was so impressed with those views…especially as it wasn’t hard to reach them. Yay that you like the look of it too!

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