Silver King Basin - Babine Mountain Provincial Park

This hike is pretty much just following an old mine road up to some old claims and Joe Lorsa Cabin. You can access this trail on horseback as well and there is stabling available behind the cabin. The grade of the trail is easy its a 17km round trip can be done as a day hike but there are lots of day hikes you can do once your in the basin. There’s silver king lake to explore that has petroglyphs. There’s old mine caves to explore and you could hike through Hyland pass and come down Cronin Creek road and end up on babine lake road. There’s so many possibilities in this basin. To reach the trail head turn off Highway 16 onto Old Babine Lake Road. This is three km east of Smithers or 300 meters east of the Bulkley River Bridge on Hwy 16. Follow BC Parks signs leading to “Driftwood Canyon Provincial Park” where you can stop for a picnic lunch and explore fossil beds. Continue past that park another 5 km to the trailhead parking and information kiosk. The road is gated at that point, with no motorized use beyond. Note that there are several other excellent trails starting in the same area. The Joe Lorsa cabin got built in 1999 by my Dad ( Driftwood Creek Log homes) This happened the year before I graduated from high school and I remember watching them move that cabin log by log by helicopter. 2 crews on in the basin and one where my Dad put it together. For more info on these see the BC Parks website http://wlapwww.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/parkpgs/babmtn.htm For more info on log homes http://www.driftwoodcreekloghomes.com