Svoboda Road is primarily a mountain biking area with 15 trails, 10 of them black diamond. The main interest for hikers is a moderate hike up to a nice viewpoint above the West Arm of Kootenay Lake.
Location: Just east of Nelson above Kootenay Lake in West Arm Provincial Park
Difficulty: B1/2, moderate
Elevation Gain: 575m
Key Elevations: Trailhead, Bench
Distance: 10.1km round trip
Time: 3-4 hours return
Season: June-October
Access: Good, 2 WD, good parking
Map: 82F/11, Trailforks map and app
Drive: From downtown Nelson, follow the signs east toward Balfour and Hwy 3A. Two blocks before the Orange Bridge at the Husky Service Station, turn right on Elwyn St and travel uphill, passing the 10th Street Campus of Selkirk College on the left just before Elwyn turns to a dirt road.
Continue to a T intersection and turn left onto Svoboda Road to near the Great Northern Trail. Parking copious and easy.
Trail: With many mountain bike trails to choose from, this trip stays off the Black Diamond trails to avoid bikers. Use the Trailforks app that gives all the routes on this trail network.
• From the parking area, walk up Svoboda Road about 1km.
• Turn right on the Squeeler Trail through trees. Ascends a long diagonal to an opening.
• Turn right on the Frog Jam Trail. Switchbacks around a wetland.
• Turn left onto the ‘Svoboda Traverse’ trail, a wide level trail running like a road following Nelson’s waterline. Heading east for about 1km, cross Hermitage Creek over the Bealby Trestle Bridge. Watch for a steep trail angling up through the woods on the right.
• Turn right onto ‘Log Jam’. You’ve gone too far if you’ve met up with Svoboda Road again. Climb steeply out of the woods to an old clearcut until it reaches the final viewpoint and a bench. Across the West Arm is Six Mile.
What to Do: Form a loop by continuing along Log Jam until it ends much higher at the Svoboda Road. Return the same way.
The larches here are a highlight in the fall.
Snowshoeing good especially when improved by fat bikers who break the trail most of the winter.
References:
https://westkootenayhiking.ca/svoboda-road-bike-trails/
https://www.trailforks.com/trails/svoboda-road/
WEST ARM PROVINCIAL PARK
Established in 1995, this 26,199 hectare park extends along the shore of Kootenay Lake from Nelson to Harrop extending up to the summits of Mounts Ferguson and Lasca on the south boundary. The park is mostly wilderness and largely undeveloped with no facilities or designated campsites. The creek fans and pocket beaches are popular with boaters. There is a historic trail (not maintained) up Lasca Creek. A large portion has mountain bike trails for the serious rider accessed from Svoboda Road. Some of the easier trails are used for hiking.
