Pineview is a system of trails on the western side of Kamloops based on roads from former coal mines in the area.  Bikers used the doubletrack from these roads and added several windy singletracks for MTB use.  These also make great running trails.

The East trailhead is found at the end of Hugh Allan Road.  The North trailhead is on the Lac le Jeune Road on the left near the junction with Sugarloaf Road.

 

Pineview Recreational Trails Map at Hugh Allan Trail Head

 

Iron Mask is the name of a former mine, and now is the name of a hill and a meandering trail loop that climbs and circumnavigates it.  The west side trails in Pineview including Iron Mask Loop along with a few of the other great trails on that side like Dragonfly, Wally World, and Yogi make great 10 – 15 km routes.

For a 17 km run using the Iron Mask Hills Loop, connect to the loop using the Smelly Richard trail (named after a person or body part?) from the Hugh Allan trailhead and the Low Iron trail.  For some variance, use the Spin Cycle trail instead of Smelly Richard to access the Low Iron trail.

Around the Low Iron and Iron Mask junction, trail runners may be greeted by several cows grazing or lounging in the area.  As the trail climbs to the top of the hill, Kamloops Lake and the Dewdrop Range come into view.  The summit offers a 360-degree view of the Kamloops Region.

 

Kamloops Lake and Dewdrop Range from the Iron Mask summit

 

Several of the trailheads are marked with skulls and other bones assumed to be found by ancient miners.  The trail signs can be found hanging from trees, not usually at the junctions, so it can be easy to get off track.

 

Cows surrounding the Low Iron Trail