Tranquille River

This easy to follow double-wide trail snakes alongside the Tranquille River to the old Pine Parks waterworks station. Enjoy stellar views of the surrounding bluffs and hoodoos while observing the numerous gold panning options adjacent to the trail. To this day many people still recreationally gold pan here. The trail is incredibly muddy and icy in the early spring and hikers are advised to bring cramp-ons bring cramp-ons. Within the first 100 meters of the trail, a few wooden faces have been carved into the trees for those with a keener sense of discovery!

While the official trail is only about 2 km each way, hikers can add another 2 km to the route by following the trail to the right at Pine Park. This trail snakes across the river a couple times, and hikers should follow signs of usage rather than signage. Stay close to the river and it will be hard to get lost. Numerous abandoned mine shafts and signs of the gold-rush era are present in this area and it makes for a unique cultural experience.

Eventually the cliffs have eroded so much that the valley becomes impassable except in the winter when the river is frozen over. The ice is often very thick and safe to walk across.