The Thompson Rotary Trail is a short, yet scenic trail that was developed by the Creston Rotary Club in 2012. The trail was located and laid out by Bob Griffith with the whole club involved in the building of the trail over weekend work bees throughout the summer of 2012. Another Rotarian, Werner Allmeritter built the beach that is anchored to solid rock at a major view point. This trail takes you through beautiful Douglas Fir–Ponderosa Pine forests with several viewpoints overlooking the Creston Valley. Red-tailed hawks, Arrow-leaved Balsalm Root and many other features are present that make this trail a great afternoon hike. The bench and best viewpoint is .5 km from the upper trailhead off of the Mt Thompson FSR or .8 km from the lower trailhead off of the Pack Trail.

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Access:

From the Creston Valley Visitor Center, head southeast on Highway 3 towards Cranbrook. At roughly 5.8 km, turn right at Canyon-Lister Road. Continue on this road, and turn left onto Whimster Road after about 1 km. Follow Whimster Road until it’s end – keep left to continue onto Mount Thompson FSR.

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For access to the lower trailhead, park at 1.7 km on the Thompson FSR at the access point for the Sullivan Creek Trail. Go right or uphill on the Pack Trail immediately in front of the kiosk. Continue on the Pack Trail to about 2.5 km (or about 1 km from the kiosk) to the intersection with the Rotary Trail.

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For access to the upper trail head, follow the Thompson FSR to the large parking area at about 3.5 km marked with a large sign “Thompson Rotary”. 

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• Trailhead access from town: 20-30 minutes

• Hiking Time (Return): 1.5 hours

• Elevation Gain: 310 meters

• Distance (Return): 2.6 km