[scar420]

Hello all, I'm new to the forum here. I'm just from Kimberley BC, over the past few years I have been getting out exploring nearby ruins and such for a while now, I'm looking for some new places to check out that are local~ish.
I know of the Estella mine already, was up there last year. Only other ones i know of are Victor and Dibble up Mause Creek and then Mineral King out by panorama (I have heard this one is sweet, i will be going there in the next months) and well the Monarch Mine (Field).
But I'm looking for anything nearby Kimberley/Cranbrook pretty much, Moyie area, Fort Steele area. If anyone would happen to have some locations they could share with me please that would be much appreciated. I love checking out old mines and going over tailing piles and that sorta stuff.

 

[Lone Ranger]

There's one along the highway just west of Moyie Lake, you can't miss it as its on your right side as you drive by. Not a huge amount to see anymore cause its all locked up now (at least it was 2 years ago the last time I was through there). There's also some up in your area around what used to be called N*gger Lake I believe, obviously its been renamed and I don't know what its called now. There's a hard rock mine under a waterfall, but that was 25 years ago now. Sorry I can't give you any more precise directions. LR

 

[scar420]

Thanks for the response.
I looked up the lake you mentioned on google, I found a government website listing the names of creeks/lakes with their lat/long and what map they are on and the correct name of the lakes etc... Seems the lake is called "***** Lake", my map book shows it just a bit before Moyie, up a side road and passed a town called "Lumberton".
What you mentioned sounds pretty neat, now i want to find that place. Thanks for the info.

 

[ballywall]

Hey there, i moved up to fernie from the sunshine coast 2 years ago, ive done a little exploring around moyie, salmo from what i hear theres alot of old mines and towns up in those hills, if your going on a day trip let me know id be interested as well, if your interested in heading out this way to fernie and the crows nest pass, i can take you to a bunch of mines, and old town sites, theres coal creek just outside of fernie, the old no 9 mine which is pretty cool, there is a road to it, its pretty rough, as well as bellevue, hillcrest, i just found the old town site yesterday, back in the day there was the hillcrest mine disaster, 180 men died in a massive explosion its kind of erie walking around in there, theres the old frank mine as well, just at the bottom of the frank slide, not many people know were it is but my dog found it the mine is still wide open you just have to be careful theres lots of un marked ventalation shafts in the area, and then theres burmis, and lille as well, ive been exploring for the last few weeks and i still havent found everything so if your interested let me know and we will head out for the day i have a done out cj-7 so i can go most places - jeff at 1-250-910-0722 later man.

 

[whitetrash96]

Hey guys, I'm newly located in Kimberley as well. I've explored around Lille and a few of the pass sites, but being new in the Easy Kootenays I've only explored Estella and a few other places. Are most of the mentioned sites accessible right now or snowed in? Send me a PM when you guys want to head out.

 

[scar420]

The ones that are close by to Kimberley that i do know of (which i have not been to yet, other than Estella..which i plan to go back to this summer) are up Mause Creek road over by Fisher Peak and require hiking up Mause creek trail a little ways (thats just to get to the Victor mine) and then Dibble mine you have to continue to hike up Horseshoe basin trail to get to the Dibble mine, both have accesible shafts dug into hardrock though. I have only seen pictures though of those 2. You can't take a quads up those trails either, they are posted BC forest service hiking trails.
Here is a trail map of where victor and dibble mines are .. http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/drm/recreation/RecreationTrails/HorseshoeBasinTrail.pdf .. my guess is that it is still a bit snowed in further up Mause Creek as it does go back into that valley quite a ways.
Here is a map of the Estella Mine also :

ballywall thanks for the offer dude, next time im heading out that direction ill be sure to let you know because checking out some of those old sites would be pretty awesome. For a while now i have been meaning to check out some caves up in crowsnest, I have this book called "Caves of the Canadian Rockies and Columbia Mountains" that lists dozens of caves in that area, some are massive tunnel networks to, full maps and everything.

 

[Spedley]

I will be out in the Fernie area a few times this summer/fall for sure. I'm looking to move to Cranbrook within the next 6 months, and will be looking for interesting places like these to explore.

 

[scar420]

I recently found out about 2 more mines just out St Marys up Alki Creek. They are called Mystery Mine and Blue Peter Mine, they are up a small 4x4 road with a lot of switchbacks, and then a 4km hike up a trail. Tried to make it up there this passed weekend, but ended up in knee deep snow and had no snow shoes, had to turn back.

 

[FonzFode]

if anyone is lookin to go out to some mines, let me kno, ive got quite the fetish with the little buggers, im in cranbrook