Mayo-Ailsa Lakes Trail

Both Mayo Lake and Ailsa Lake can be visited in one day. The lower elevation Mayo Lakeis reached by following a well defined trail along the creek. The impressive 750 m headwall of Mount McKay, with cascading waterfalls, makes a dramatic backdrop for this subalpine tarn. Ailsa Lake is for skilled route finders and strong hikers, as it gains another 270 m in 1 km. The beginning of this route is 100 m from the shore of Mayo Lake, on the trail that you walked up. From here, a sketchy trail scramblesup through alders and crosses a talus slope, roughly following the stream that flows out of Ailsa Lake. Ailsa Lake is a classic cirque lake tucked into a narrow basin in the Mount McKay massif.

Addr.: Access: Commencing at the junction of Hwy 3/95 and Hwy 95A, follow Hwy 95A for 23.4 km to the north end of Marysville. Take a sharp left (south) onto the St. Mary Lake Road. Set your odometer at ?0?. Follow this road for 16 km to the junction with the St. Mary River Road. Turn left, onto the St. Mary River Road and cross over the bridge. Within 0.6 km, cross a cattleguard and turn right onto the HellroaringCreek Forest Service Road. Follow this road for 1 km, then turn right onto the Meachen Creek Forest Service Road. Reset your odometer to ?0?. Follow this good, 2 wheel drive, gravel road for 17.8 km. Fork left up a narrow, switchback, 4 wheel drive road for 2.3 km to the last landing. Park at the trailhead sign. KIMBERLEY, BC

Number of Sites:

Operating season: The Meachen Creek FSR is closed at 2 km due to a large washout and closed again from 3-5 km due to four avalanches.

Rates:

Phone:

Fax:

Mail:

Lat: 49.5552501

Lon: -116.3748704

_