Wrinkly Face Provincial Park. Hiking Wrinkly Face Provincial Park takes you along a portion of the High Rim Trail between Vernon and Kelowna, BC.
Hiking Wrinkly Face Provincial Park
Wrinkly Face Provincial Park. What a name. Because of its name, and its strategic location on the 55 km long High Rim Trail (HRT) between Vernon and Kelowna, BC., it sat on our Okanagan hiking bucket list for years.
I mean, who doesn’t want to explore a park called Wrinkly Face? There is very little information about it online, so we knew we’d have to just go and see for ourselves.
When my parents offered to take the kids for a day up to Postill Lake Lodge on Postill Lake Road, which happens to have access to the HRT and is close enough to make a trip to Wrinkly Face viable, we jumped at the chance.
How to Get there
We parked our wee Honda Fit by the HRT trailhead along Postill Lake Road and started the 8km journey on foot to Wrinkly Face. In retrospect, parking on Beaver Lake Road and starting at that HRT trailhead would make it a far more straightforward adventure. But we’ve never been into straightforward now, have we?
So, off we went, down the High Rim Trail, hemmed in by alpine forest. The trail is well marked. However…we did somehow manage to veer off the trail at one point and only found our way back with Steve’s GPS. So, if you’re heading off to Wrinkly Face, do pay attention to the trail markers.
The trail intersects swathes of forestry activity, including huge sections of clear-cut forest. Parts of the trail between Postill Lake Road and Beaver Lake Road are multi-use and off-road vehicles have left their mark.
Just before the intersection with Beaver Lake road, the trail dives steeply down into a valley and crosses a roaring creek at the bottom. The bridge, hewn from a cedar log, and including a handrail, is so fun!
After a steep climb up the other side of the valley, we hit Beaver Lake Road. This section was less remote, and we shared the path with a couple of other hikers. From the Beaver Lake Road HRT access, it’s only about two more kilometres to Wrinkly Face Provincial Park. The park protects fauna found in the park’s meadows, including Cedar-Hemlock and Interior Douglas Fir.
We were delighted with the wildflowers spread across the meadows and the vistas of the Okanagan Valley below.
It may not be the most well-trafficked trail in the Okanagan, but part of exploring a region is adventuring to the popular places and the more obscure things. Hiking Wrinkly Face is off-the-beaten-path, and worth a visit for a romp down the High Rim Trail, and to say you did it.
Good evening,
I write article for BC Magazine’s website, and I’d like to feature Wrinkly Face Provincial Park. Would I be able to use some of your photos in my article?
Thanks!
Sorry for the ridiculously late email. Use whatever pictures you want.
Steve
You should try the whole HRT. So amazing. So many differences between sections. I prefer starting from Kelowna. It is wonderful!