Synopsis: A short, steep hike along the edge of an impressive canyon.
Access: From the junction of Highway 1 and Highway 95, drive 24.0 km west on the Trans Canada Highway to the turnoff for Donald Road. (If you cross the Columbia River bridge, you have gone too far.) Turn right on Donald Road and drive 0.7 km on the paved section, to where a large yellow crane sits. Continue onto the gravel section of road, and in 200 metres you will see the yellow "O km" sign for the Bush River FSR. Set you odometer to zero here.
Drive 67.8 km on the B Road (or Bush River FSR). Note that while the road as far as Bush Harbour (at 40 km) is wide and well built (it used to be the Big Bend Highway), the road past Bush Harbour is narrow and windy. Exercise extreme care. There will be industrial traffic.
At 67.8 km, you will drive on a bridge over Valenciennes Creek. Turn right just after the bridge into the (former) Valenciennes Creek Recreation Site. The outhouse, picnic tables and fire rings are still in place.
Trailhead: At the upstream end of the camping area, near the creek's edge, is a post indicating the Valenciennes Canyon trail.
Trail: The trail follows the creek's edge for the first part, then climbs the hill at the first section of canyon. It then drops back down to the creek level before climbing in earnest. There are a number of spots where you can get a good look at the increasingly deep canyon, but bear in mind it's a long drop. Stay clear of the edge and keep a hand on children.
The top part of the trail moves through a pine forest and there is quite a bit of windfall. As well, the bush is growing and so you have to hunt in spots to figure out where the trail is.
When you reach a sort of peninsula, where the ground drops off on three sides, you are at the end of the trail. You can head back down, or find a trail that heads to the left. This trail reaches the Valenciennes Creek FSR in 100 metres. If you want, you can walk back down the road to your car. (It's about 1.5 km this way.)
The mountains around you include Mt. Corsair, with its fantastic rock folds, to the south; and Bush Mountain, with its rock slopes, to the north. Bush Mountain has three peaks, from north to south: Icefall Peak, Bush Peak, and Rostrum Peak. As well, if it is a clear day you can see Mount Sir Sanford to the west, way across Kinbasket Lake.
This is a long drive for such a short hike, so you are probably exploring. Think about heading up Valenciennes Creek FSR. Turn right 0.3 km past the Rec site. It is a rough road (and will be even rougher every spring). Follow it to 14 km, and stay straight on Mons Creek FSR. If you follow it to 24 km, where it turns and heads up Mons Creek, you get a view of the box canyon at the end of Icefall Brook. If you drive further up Mons Creek, the view gets even better.
Cautions: