- Watershed: Bulkley
- Difficulty: Easy
- Trail Length: 2.9 km
- Round Trip: 1-1.5 hours
- Distance from Houston: 0-10km
- Cell Coverage: Yes
Amenities
- Picnic Table
- Cell Service
Links and Downloads
Description:
The Barrett Hat Trail has great views of the Telkwa Range and the Morice-Bulkley Valley. Its suitable for all ages and is close to Houston. This is a good trail for mountain bikes, skiing, snowshoes or that quick run in the evening.
Barrett Hat is an ideal place for an afternoon picnic, but please be sure to pack all garbage back out. Several Houston area schools have used this hike as a field trip, including the grade two and three Twain Elementary classes
Once you get to the top of the hill, you’ll see the concrete foundation for an old fire lookout, a convenient spot to sit and enjoy the view.
You may notice that Barrett Hat is made up of rock that is standing vertically. The entire hill is volcanic basalt. You are standing on the neck of a large ancient volcano of 60 million years ago, just after the dinosaurs died out. All of the massive cinder cone of the volcano has been eroded away. 12,000 years ago, the last of the glaciers swept away any remnants of loose ash or lava flows, so all that remains is the hardest part –“ the plug” which was way down deep in the neck of the volcano.
SKIING: If you plan on skiing the Barrett Hat trail, DO NOT go up the last 200m. It is extremely steep and not suitable for skiing.
Some content provided by: Jim Easterday, Hiway16 Magazine
Directions (approx 8.5 km from Houston)
- Starting from the Houston Tourist Information building drive West of Houston on Highway 16 for 14.5km.
- Turn left (west) onto Barrett Hat Road (not Barrett Stn Road) and travel 1.4 km to the junction with Parish Road.
- The trail starts on the west side of the intersection, across from Barrett Hat Road.
