Desoto Ridge Biking & Hiking Route

Desoto Ridge is a beautiful area to hike and bike to in the West Sechelt/Big Tree area. Hiking time is about 2 to 2 1/2 hours and biking will be somewhat less. Excellent trails take you through the Big Tree Recreation area, up Skullduggery and then across Overeasy to the Ridge and Rock and then back down again.

These trails are all in excellent condition and are rated More Difficult (Intermediate), but I would say they are on the easy side of this rating. The hardest part is the uphill climb to Desoto. Beautiful hike and fun bike.

The image below is actually interactive. It is a Google Earth gadget that embeds the image of the trail route that you can zoom in and out of with the zoom bar on the right. You can also use the slider bar to back up through the route. It's pretty cool. Oh, you can close the bubble to get it out of your way if you like.

Same route as above, but using Mapsource.

1. Approximately 9 kms northwest from Sechelt, about 400 metres before Trout Lake, take a right on the Halfmoon Carlson Forest Service Road and go 2.4 kms up to the Big Tree parking lot.
2. From that parking lot head back out and up the same logging road you came in on and take the first left you come to.
3. Follow this trail/old logging road and take the first right onto a single track. If you were to keep going straight you come to a ravine with a creek running through it. This trail will take you around the ravine and out the other side.
4. Follow along for about a kilometre until you come to another single track on your right.
5. This trail is called Baby Beaver. Follow it down and across a bridge that crosses at the back of the beaver pond.



6. Just past the bridge you come to a fork in the trail with a signpost. To the right is the trail Beaver Pond which will take you back out to the main logging road you came in on. Go left here and follow the trail out to another gravel logging road.
7. Turn right and follow this road along for a couple of kilometres until you come to another single track on your left (just before another main logging road goes off to the right). (Don't take the first trail you come to on your left as that is Skullduggery and you will be exiting at that point later.)
8. This single track trail is Desoto Ridge and you will follow it along and up to Desoto Rock. The trail comes out and along above a clear cut area with the rock on your right. This rock was bolted for climbing in 2009.
9. You will see a trail that goes off to the left and cuts down through the clearcut. Don't take this trail, but keep going straight. There is a sign that juts out onto the trail and right at the sign is a deer trail that heads up to the actual rock. Stop here and enjoy the views before moving on.



10. At the sign the trail actually turns into Over Easy (it's magic). Keep heading along this trail and back into the trees.
11. You'll pass a trail that goes off on the right (Brat). Keep going past Brat and down to the next trail off to the left. This is now Easy Street.
12. Turn left here (don't keep going straight) and follow along continuing downhill til you get to the first trail on the right called Skullduggery. Take this trail back down to the logging road.
13. Turn right at the logging road (you're backtracking now)and then back into the Big Tree Recreation Area via the next trail on your left which is Baby Beaver .
14. Backtrack to your car - go right at the signpost and over the bridge out to the wide trail and turn left. Follow it down and left back onto the single track, out again and left down to the main logging road you came in on. Turn right here and back to your car.

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