Silver Star Provincial Park Disappears!
Silver Star Provincial Park has disappeared off of Silver Star Mountain Resort's 2008-2009 Nordic Trail Map! This appears to be a deliberate attempt by the resort to create the impression among destination skiers that there is no Provincial park at Silver Star Mountain. The transition from Class A Provincial Park to private resort is almost complete! Click the icon below to see a photo of Silver Star Mountain Resort's new nordic trail map.
How much longer before the Provincial Park sign along Silver Star Road (shown at the top of each page on this website) is dismantled, and people will forget there ever was a Provincial Park here? Will the entire Sovereign Lake area become part of the resort's Controlled Recreation Area? The tiny BC Parks logo to the left of the Sovereign Lake trail system makes BC Parks look like just another corporate sponsor, like Pepsi, Toyota, and Telus. The Sovereign Lake lodge appears to be just another warming hut along the private resort's cross country trail system.
For comparison, click the icon below to see the 2007-2008 Sovereign Lake Trail Map which shows where the border of the Provincial Park actually is.
If you look closely at the Gold Mountain Parkway trail, you'll notice that it is actually showing the Pople Pass snowmobile trail (except for the last 100 metres near Sovereign Lake, which still needs to be cleared) not the current Gold Mountain dog trail. It also shows the trail passing to the north of the resort's groomer maintenance facility, when in reality it passes to the south, close to Silver Star Road, ending at the waste transfer station.
Getting to the resort from here requires removing your skis and making your way across the access road, through a gate, along a snowmobile trail, then across a bridge and down an alpine ski run. Many skiers become confused on the resort side of the waste transfer station, erroneously opting to ski thru the snowmobile tunnel underneath Silver Star Road.
