Ride: Lumby to Three Valley Gap to Enderby-Mabel Lake Road via Lumby-Mabel Lake Road, Mabel Lake FSR and Three Valley - Mabel FSR

There are three main sections of this ride. The first section is up the east side of Mabel Lake via Lumby-Mabel Lake Road and Mabel Lake FSR. The second section is on the west side of Mabel Lake from Mabel Lake FSR south to Enderby-Mabel Lake Road via Three Valley - Mabel FSR. The third section (actually the middle section) is north along Three Valley - Mabel FSR from where it intersects with Mabel Lake FSR to Three Valley Gap (Hwy 1), a distance of 21 km (one way). There is also an optional side-trip to Noisy Creek located on the west side of Mabel Lake. Sections one and two were in good to excellent condition October 7, 2023.

The portion of the route from the end of the pavement on Lumby-Mabel Lake Road all the way to Three Valley Gap is basically a smooth gravel road that can be driven in a car. It's about 37 km from Lumby to Mabel Lake Provincial Park and about 70 km from the park to Three Valley Gap (Hwy 1). It's about 58 km from Three Valley Gap to Enderby-Mabel Lake Road. As mentioned above, you can subtract about 21 km off each of the last two distances if you skip the entire portion of the route north of the intersection of Mabel Lake FSR and Three Valley - Mabel FSR (you don't ride to Three Valley Gap). I believe that a dust mitigation agent is applied to portions of the road between the end of the paved section of Lumby-Mabel Lake Road and Mabel Lake Provincial Park; you may want to skip riding this section if it's wet (or go slow and avoid wettest parts to limit mud splatter).

The best choice of motorcycle if doing the entire ride would be a dual sport or adventure bike; a scrambler should be fine too. Mabel Lake FSR and the north section of Three Valley - Mabel FSR to Three Valley Gap should be passable (but maybe not enjoyable) on most street bikes, at least if the conditions are dry. Note that the condition of the FSRs can vary quite a bit throughout the year. Some sections of the FSRs may be a bit rough or loose for some street bikes / street riders. It can be dusty or a bit muddy depending on rainfall. There are / were some sections with a loose layer of coarse gravel on a hard base. There can be a bit of sand too.

On our ride on October 7, 2023, it looked like there had been some recent road maintenance along Mabel Lake FSR, and road surface was quite smooth for the most part. There was the occasional pot hole and rock cresting through the road (not enough to be an issue for low clearance bikes). There are some hills along the way, but they are not steep.

Three Valley - Mabel FSR (section two, south of the intersection with Mabel Lake FSR) was a bit rougher / bumpier, but still in pretty good condition. There is a greater elevation change along this section with some hills, but they are not real steep. There is a long hill at the northern end, and it has been rutted with some loose rocks in the past, but there has been some recent road work here making it easy to ride (Oct 7, 2023). You should still be able to ride a V-Strom on this road as long as you take it easy along some stretches. The road has a hard base, so on a previous ride, even though it had recently rained, mud was not an issue. Please note once again that the condition of FSRs can vary greatly over time.

The northern section (section three) to Three Valley Gap is a pretty level, good gravel road. It passes by a provincial park and a few recreation sites (Wap Lake, Frog Falls). It's an easy and enjoyable ride with some nice scenery. It's been a few years since I've ridden this stretch.

The Noisy Creek recreation site is located on the west shore of Mabel Lake near the north end. There is a beach, day-use area and camping. It's a pretty spot. The road in is about 5 km and descends from Three Valley - Mabel FSR. It's a bit rough in places, with some small loose rocks, but it is in good enough condition for people to haul their travel trailers in.

In the summer there can be a fair amount of traffic (maybe 20-30 cars, pickups, SUVs on one ride) along Mabel Lake FSR, so be careful on blind corners. There has been a lot of logging activity in the region, so watch for logging trucks especially on weekdays. Also note, there was a major wildfire in 2021 above (east of) Mabel Lake FSR north of Mabel Lake Provincial Park that burned right down to the road. Some of the area impacted by the fire was (is still?) off-limits to the public.

It’s a nice street bike ride from Lumby to Mabel Lake Provincial Park (paved except the last 2.6 km) and also along Enderby-Mabel Lake Road (paved).

Trinity Valley Road connects Lumby-Mabel Lake Road with Enderby-Mabel Lake Road and is easily ridden on most street bikes. The road is paved part way on both ends and then become mostly smooth, hard packed gravel (it's almost like pavement in some sections). Avoid Trinity Valley Road if it's wet because of the dust mitigation agent (calcium chloride?) they use; it's very difficult to remove.

Below are some references from a previous ride (few years ago) where I skipped the section to Three Valley Gap

The distances above include the side trip into Cottonwood Beach Recreation Site (about 7.8 km).

All Photos

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