Horsebarn Valley

Horsebarn Valley is not in the Kimberley Nature Park. (With luck, someday it will be.) The Nature Park's current boundary is the City Limit line which runs through Dipper Lake. Horsebarn Valley starts at Dipper Lake and runs west toward Matthew Creek between North Star Mountain and a small ridge that extends westward from Bear Mountain. The Kimberley Nature Park Society is currently negotiating an Interpretive Forest License with the Ministry of Forest that would allow the area to be stewarded for recreational and conservation values. Some logging has occurred at the west end of the valley and along the Mountain Trail. 

Because Horsebarn Valley is sheltered by this ridge and has a small stream flowing through it, it contains some of the largest spruce and cedar trees in the area. There are two trails running down the valley, one on the North Star mountain side stays higher and drier and crosses talus slopes as well as winding through the old growth. The southern trail is takes you right through the heart of the Wet Belt forest and there are a few spots where you might get your feet wet. If you plan to hike or bike down the valley the southern trail is probably your best bet, as the rocky sections on the north trail are difficult to navigate.

The trails divide just past the Dipper Lake cabin, which has been restored in recent years by volunteers from Kimberley and makes an interesting if rustic spot to spend the night when out hiking. Watch for the southern trail turning off to the left about 120 metres past the cabin.

Stands of large cedar and Engelman spruce make Horsebarn Valley a delightful place to visit.

In the middle of Horsebarn Valley a small wetland marks the height of land
between the Dipper Lake and Matthew Creek drainages. From this marsh,
streams flow both east and west along the valley bottom.

The Dipper Lake cabin is a couple of
hundred metres past the lake beside the Horsebarn Valley trail. It has been
restored in recent years by volunteers
from Kimberley who patched the roof,
fixed up the woodstove and bunk beds and generally made it usable again.

The Dipper Lake cabin is used by
x-country skiers and snowshoers
in the winter as a place to
warm up and have a lunch
as well as an overnight destination.
A small stream flows behind the
cabin and down into Dipper Lake.

(Thanks to David McKenzie for these two pictures.)


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