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northward.NORTHERN BRITISH COLUMBIA
Hikes · Upper Fraser & Sugarbowl · Highway 16 East

West Driscoll Ridge

West and East Driscoll approaches join on ridge; summit return and crossover need separate distances.

Sources reviewed . This is a research date, not a trail inspection.

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The locations GPX contains sourced points with their recorded roles. It contains no trail track or connecting route.

Distance
15 kmRound trip
Elevation gain
1,065 mPublished route measurement
Walking time
6 - 8 hoursto summit
Difficulty
HardThere and Back

Map & elevation

Opening the map…

Elevation profile

A full-route elevation profile is not available yet.

A reusable trail line has not yet been verified for this outing. Any location pin shows the published location described above; it does not draw the hike or establish a navigable approach.

Original map 1 (opens original source)

Getting there & parking

Use the signed western Driscoll trail access off the south side of Highway 16, about 110 km east of Prince George. It is separate from the Ancient Forest visitor parking farther east. The older local guide describes limited parking near the highway and an initial old-road approach; confirm the present signed trail start rather than driving farther up a deteriorated track.

Estimated drive from Prince George: 1 hr 25 min · 106.1 km. Modeled one-way driving time from Prince George City Hall, using mapped road speeds. Forest-road sections can take substantially longer: surface, clearance, radio procedures, gates, washouts, plowing, and legal access are not verified by the router. No live traffic or invented forest-road multiplier is included. Allow extra time and check the dated access notes. Seasonal access notes apply; this estimate does not establish plowing or winter road access.

Open driving directions →

Map position: 53.80281, -121.31373 · trailhead. Official KMZ waypoint named Driscoll West Trailhead: -121.3137254971201,53.80280860627549. Western access point. Replaces inconsistent 2010 tourism-guide point. Crossover needs transport planning at both ends.

On the trail

The lower ascent passes from cedar forest into spruce and subalpine fir before reaching a ridge with open glades and mountain views. Continue along the western route toward the summit, about 7.5 km from the trailhead in the club description, then return by the same approach. A continuation along the ridge to the eastern trail creates a different outing of roughly 16 km between trailheads and needs a transport plan. Although marked in places, the crossover has been unmaintained in recent years and requires confident navigation.

Terrain: steep ascent · ridge route · route finding.

Distance and elevation source notes

7.5 km to the Summit via the West End trail. 16 km for trailhead to trailhead crossover (allow 10 hrs).

1065 m

Source comparison: West End summit; 7.5 km; to summit; return basis not explicit scope. This is another description of the main outing, a duplicate endpoint, an unscoped source claim, or a related facility.

Source comparison: Trailhead crossover; 16 km; point-to-point scope. This is another description of the main outing, a duplicate endpoint, an unscoped source claim, or a related facility.

Source comparison: West end to summit; 15 km; 1065 m ascent; 6–8 hours duration; return; 7.5 km one way scope. This is another description of the main outing, a duplicate endpoint, an unscoped source claim, or a related facility.

Conditions & seasons

The high ridge has a different snow season from the low forest boardwalks. BC Parks provides avalanche-terrain information for Driscoll; a summer loop description should not be treated as a verified winter route.

These are dated research notes. Open the trip planner for current available weather and advisory feeds; no alert found does not establish that a trail or road is open.

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Camping & overnight plans

Neither the western Driscoll parking area nor Ancient Forest parking allows overnight camping. Purden Lake is the nearby established campground identified by BC Parks. No serviced tent site was verified on the ridge itself.

Photos of West Driscoll Ridge

A photograph with confirmed reuse permission has not yet been added to this guide.

Original photo galleries

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Sources, dates & research notes

Descriptions are written for this guide from the linked evidence. Source review dates, published reports and field observations can differ. Photographs and route lines retain their own attribution and reuse terms.

  1. https://caledoniaramblers.ca/trails/west-driscoll-ridge (opens original source)
  2. https://hiking.princegeorge.tech/hiking-prince-george-east/ (opens original source)
  3. https://bcparks.ca/ancient-forest-chun-toh-whudujut-park/ (opens original source)
  4. https://nrs.objectstore.gov.bc.ca/kuwyyf/driscoll_trail_d2260c3fd0.kmz (opens original source)
  5. https://routing.openstreetmap.de/about.html (opens original source)
  6. https://caledoniaramblers.ca/trails/east-driscoll-trail (opens original source)

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