Manning Park - Skyline 1 Trail

The Skyline Trail is one of the more popular trails in Manning Park.  It goes from the Spruce Bay parking lot to the Strawberry Flats parking lot, and is about 20 km long.  It follows a ridge above the chain of lakes (Lightning, Flash, Strike, and Thunder), offering some spectacular views of the park.

I've done this hike three times, once starting at Strawberry Flats, and twice starting at Spruce Bay.  From Strawberry Flats the climb is more gradual, but some of the harder parts of the trail are at the end.  Personally, I prefer to start at Spruce Bay.  The ascent is very, very strenuous, but then the rest of the trail is very pleasant.

From Spruce Bay the trail follows Lightning Lake before reaching a junction.  One path will continue down the lake, and the other climbs up the Skyline Ridge.  The switchbacks are very strenuous, but they are in the shade (some of the climbs later on are not).  After a little while the trail comes out of the woods to an open area, offering a teaser of some of the views to come.

From here one of the hardest climbs starts.  The trail goes through a large burned area from a fire that happened many years ago.  I've gotten lucky many times here and found lots of wild strawberries.

Flash Lake from the burned area

There are a couple of other really nasty climbs, but the views they offer make the pain worth it.  I have found that there are some really bad flies on some of the higher parts of the ridge, but fortunately the wind is often strong enough to drive them away.

Gibson Pass Ski Hill

After the worst climbs are over, the trail goes through a nice little meadow.  In the peak season it is very scenic, though the bees can be a bit of a nuisance.

After the meadow the trail reaches the Skyline 1/Skyline 2 junction.  The Skyline 2 trail continues to Mowich Wilderness Campsite, and is better suited as an overnight trip.  This is a really nice place to eat lunch, offering some great views.

The trail descends to Strawberry Flats from the junction.  While there aren't the same amazing views there were before, I do always enjoy the wildflowers in the meadows in this area.

The Skyline Trail isn't necessarily a highly strenuous trail, but parts of it are quite physically taxing.  It is one of the nicest trails I've done though, and I always enjoy returning to it.

You can read more about the hike here.

The Skyline Ridge