All I can discern about Bluehawk mine is that it was open for a year in 1934, some gold and silver was found and then it was abandoned. The opening to the mine is just off a well trodden path of the Bear Creek OHV, passed often by locals in the ATV community. Most who have glimpsed the entrance haven’t gone much further because it has knee high water in the entrance to scare off visitors. If not scared off by the water, then there are plenty of other reasons not to enter. There is jagged metal, questionable stability, potential fumes and an entrance that looks absolutely creepy.
For those that do venture in, the cave dries out substantially after the entrance and there are some geological formations and other gems inside. The mine used to be more substantial but now you can only venture a few hundred meters into the hillside.
Directions To Trailhead:
Go north on Westside Road from West Kelowna. After trader’s cove, turn left onto Bear Creek Main Road. From here it won’t be easy without some maps or GPS. There are a couple access points to the Bear Creek OHV network of trails – the first at 6.2km from the Bear Creek Main Road turn and another at 7.1km. From the first turn it is possible to 4×4 straight to the mine entrance or to just go as far as possible with any vehicle and walk the rest of the way.
Alternate Directions:
There is also access off Westside Road. This route requires a hike of 4km with 400m of elevation gain or less depending on the time of year and 4×4 driving skills. See the below Google Map with route.
Distance from downtown Kelowna to Trailhead: 30 minutes
Walking time: depending on parking location, 1 hour each way or no walking at all.
Trail Length: 4.6km from Bear Creek Main Road
Elevation gain: 140m if walking from Bear Creek Road
GPS: Necessary unless familiar with the Bear Creek OHV trail network
Easy to Keep on Trail: no, there are crisscrossing ATV trails everywhere.
