Open in App
Get this trail on your phone instantly.
more stats
2.3 miles
Distance
1,651 ft
Climb
-40 ft
Descent
1 mile
High Point
1,610 ft
Altitude change
5,503 ft
Altitude min
5,509 ft
Altitude start
7,119 ft
Altitude end
13.1%
Grade
-16.2%
Grade max
68.2%
Grade min
2 miles
Distance climb
892 ft
Distance down
705 ft
Distance flat
Welsh Lakes Details
-
Activities
- Hike
- Trail Running
-
Riding AreaForster Creek
Radium Hot Springs, British Columbia -
Difficulty Rating
-
Local Popularity90 in Hiking [+]
- 80 in Trail Running
-
Global Ranking
-
Hiking SAC ScaleT2 Mountain Hiking
-
Trail TypeWilderness Trail
-
DirectionBoth Directions
-
Physical RatingModerate
-
SeasonJuly - Sept
-
eBike Allowed
-
Land OwnerRec Sites and Trails - BC
The trail starts with a crossing of Welsh Creek on a footbridge and then stays in the forest to the north of the creek for about 2 km. There are several sections where the creek has been blocked by slides leaving pools of water. The trail soon leaves the forest behind to climb rocky, talus slopes of varying colours. The trail is well defined but watch your footing on the rocks as this section of the trail is quite steep. At 3 km there is a great view of Welsh Creek cascading into a canyon from above. The trail then switchbacks up through more rocks and rubble to the right of the creek. After another couple of hundred metres, you have arrived at Lower Welsh Lake. There’s lots to explore around the lake or you can continue on to Middle and Upper Welsh Lakes. The trail to these lakes is not well defined. If you are looking for even more adventure, there is a fourth lake you can visit. Aberystwyth Lake is hard to pronounce and hard to get to. The access is from Lower Welsh Lake, but there isn’t really a marked trail and you should be good at route finding if you plan to visit this lake.
Access Info
High clearance vehicle recommended/watch for logging trucks. Set your odometer to zero at the traffic lights on Highway 93/95 at the Invermere junction. Go west into Invermere. At 2.6 km turn right onto Panorama Drive. At 4.5 km just after the Toby Creek Bridge, turn right toward Wilmer. At 7 km turn right onto Main St and drive through Wilmer onto Westside Road. At 17.8 km turn left onto Horsethief Forest Service Road. At 22 km turn right at the Y-junction onto Horsethief Forster FSR. At 27 km turn right at another Y-junction. The road then passes a reservoir on the left and crosses a bridge, stay to the left. At 28 km turn left to stay on Horsethief Forster FSR. At 45.2 km take the road to the left of the sign for the Welsh Lakes trail. This road is steep and narrow, it ends at 47 km at the trailhead. 1.5 - 2 hour drive from Invermere.
Trail Supporters
Summit Trail Makers SocietySponsor
Local Trail Association
-
-
Please consider joining or donating to the local trail association to supportDonate to earn trail karma!
trail development & maintenance.
Traditionally Indigenous Territory
Recent Activity on Trail
Past Week
- 0 rides
6 Months
- 0 rides
All
- 3 rides
| c1 | c2 | c3 | c4 |
|---|---|---|---|
January | February | March | April |
May | June | July | August |
September | October | November | December |
Welsh Lakes Trail Reports
more »
close
-
Layers w
- Weather Layers
- Pro
- Pro
- Pro
- Pro
- Pro
- Pro
- More Layers
- Pro
- Pro
- Pro
- Pro
-
Upgrade to
3D
Trail Conditions
- Unknown
- Snow Groomed
- Snow Packed
- Snow Covered
- Snow Cover Partial
- Freeze/thaw Cycle
- Icy
- Prevalent Mud
- Wet
- Variable
- Ideal
- Dry
- Very Dry
Trail Flow (Ridden Direction)
Trailforks scans users ridelogs to determine the most popular direction each trail is ridden. A good flowing trail network will have most trails flowing in a single direction according to their intension.
The colour categories are based on what percentage of riders are riding a trail in its intended direction.
The colour categories are based on what percentage of riders are riding a trail in its intended direction.
- > 96%
- > 90%
- > 80%
- > 70%
- > 50%
- < 50%
- bi-directional trail
- no data
Trail Last Ridden
Trailforks scans ridelogs to determine the last time a trail was ridden.
- < 2 days
- < 1 week
- < 2 weeks
- < 1 month
- < 6 months
- > 6 months
Trail Ridden Direction
The intended direction a trail should be ridden.
- Downhill Only
- Downhill Primary
- Both Directions
- Uphill Primary
- Uphill Only
- One Direction
Contribute Details
Colors indicate trail is missing specified detail.
- Description
- Photos
- Description & Photos
- Videos
Trail Popularity ?
Trailforks scans ridelogs to determine which trails are ridden the most in the last 9 months.
Trails are compared with nearby trails in the same city region with a possible 25 colour shades.
Think of this as a heatmap, more rides = more kinetic energy = warmer colors.
- most popular
- popular
- less popular
- not popular
ATV/ORV/OHV Filter
Max Vehicle Width
inches
US Cell Coverage
Legend
Radar Time
Activity Recordings
Trailforks uses anonymized public activity data.
?
Activity Recordings
Trailforks uses anonymized public activity data.
?
Personal Heatmap
▶
Activity Types
all
/
none
▶
Options
2
Date range
month
–
Winter Trails
Warning
A routing network for winter maps does not exist. Selecting trails using the winter trails layer has been disabled.
Missing Trails
Most Popular
Least Popular
Trails are colored based on popularity. The more popular a trail is, the more red. Less popular trails trend towards green.
Jump Magnitude Heatmap
Heatmap of where riders jump on trails. Zoom in to see individual jumps, click circles to view jump details.
BC Backroad Status
![map legend]()
Service Road Atlas is a free to use, community-driven service for viewing and creating reports on the numerous back-country service roads around B.C. and Alberta.
Slope Aspect
Direction the slope faces
Trails Deemphasized
Trails are shown in grey.
Only show trails with no bike usage.
Suggested Layers
Based on selected activity type
Save the current map location and zoom level as your default home location whenever this page is loaded.
Save
Directions to welsh-lakes trailhead
(50.643710, -116.464010)
Photos
4 more »
Videos
no videos have been added for Welsh Lakes yet, add a video.
Reviews / Comments
No reviews yet, be the first to write a review or ask a question.
Use trail reports to comment on trail conditions.
We hope you've been enjoying Trailforks!
Create a FREE account to view trail comments and much more.
Nearby Trails
- Thunderwater Lake Trail 8 miles
- Azure Lake 9 miles
- Septet Pass 9 miles
- Mclean Lake 9 miles
- Templeton Lakes 18 miles
- By TAFlynn
STMS & contributors - #281951 - 4,433 views
- Follow/Subscribe
- login to download gpx or kml files.
Frequently Asked Questions About Welsh Lakes
▼
Where is Welsh Lakes located?
Welsh Lakes is located in Forster Creek, Radium Hot Springs, British Columbia, Canada. It is part of the Forster Creek trail network. The trailhead is located at coordinates 50.64371, -116.46401.
▼
How hard is Welsh Lakes?
Welsh Lakes is rated as Blue difficulty. The physical rating is Moderate. The average grade is 13.1%.
▼
What is the elevation gain for Welsh Lakes?
Welsh Lakes has 1,651 ft of elevation gain. The trail has 40 ft of elevation descent. The elevation ranges from 5,503 ft to 7,135 ft.
▼
Is Welsh Lakes a point to point trail?
Welsh Lakes is not a point to point trail. The direction is Both Directions. The trail type is wilderness trail.
Hit the Trail
Download Trail
Save to wishlist, Garmin & download.
Find Related Routes
Find routes and users activities that include this trail.
You must enter a description before submitting.