Okanagan. 
Know before you go
Advisories
Safety information
- Swimmer’s Itch: Symptoms will be an irritating rash and persistent itch. Calamine lotion is an effective treatment.
- Poison Ivy: A low plant with three glossy, bright green leaves and white berries. Wear shoes when hiking, especially in underbrush. Calamine lotion is an effective treatment.
- Trail maintenance has been reduced on all trails in Gladstone Park. Although these trails remain open, users may encounter fallen trees or trail wash-outs. Extra caution is advised.
Special notes
- All trails are closed to motor vehicles including ATVs.
- Texas Creek Campground is fully reservable.
- There is no long-term trailer storage permitted at the Texas Creek boat launch. Any trailers left in the parking lot for more than 14 days per calendar year are subject to removal and fines.
- Xenia Lake Campground access: Xenia Lake Campground, can be reached by road via the Miller Creek Forest Service Road, located at km 23 on the North Fork Road, north of Grand Forks. The forest service road reaches the provincial park boundary at km 8.3. Make a right turn on a rough road for another 1km east and you will arrive at the campground on the lake. This last kilometre is very rough and in poor condition. There are three campsites on the lake. Please keep the sites clean and carry out all garbage.
Review the detailed guides under visit responsibly for more information on staying safe and preserving our natural spaces.
Visit responsibly
Follow these guides to ensure your activities are safe, respectful, and ecologically friendly:
Maps and location
Getting there
Gladstone Park is located approximately 20 km northeast of Grand Forks on Hwy 3 at the north end of Christina Lake in the Monashee Mountains. The most common accesses to the park are via the Texas Creek campground and by boat from Christina Lake.
The campground is 5 km east of Christina Lake on Hwy 3; turn onto East Lake Drive and follow 4 km to the 63 site campground at the end of the road.
There is rough 4WD access to Xenia Lake, 22 km up the North Fork Rd from Grand Forks to Miller Creek Rd. Turn right and go about 4 km. Look for a small road on the left marked with a white deactivated road sign that leads to the lake.
There is also access to the Mt. Gladstone trailhead from Hwy 3 and the abandoned CPR railway at Paulson, the Mt. Faith trailhead from the Burrell Forest Service Road, and Peter Lake from Dog Creek Road.
Things to do
There are more than 48 km of trails in the park. Trails in the backcountry areas of the park are unmarked and unmaintained. They may not meet BC Parks standards. Most are suitable for hiking and horseback riding. All trails are closed to motor vehicles including ATVs.
For your own safety and the preservation of the park, obey posted signs and keep to designated trails. Shortcutting trails destroys plant life and soil structure.
| Deer Point Trail to Troy Creek | 11.3 km | Easy with some steep sections |
The trail starts out steep to traverse semi-open forest high above Christina Lake but levels off, rolling gently up and down along the shoreline to Deer Point. Huge cedar trees and a sandy beach await at the north end of the lake. At 8 km, take the Troy Creek Trail to get to the head of the lake or descent to Deer Point camping area on the lake.
| Xenia Lake Trail | 4 km | Difficult (steep descent) |
The Forest Service maintained a recreation site at the lake at one time making this a good weekend trip. The trail comes out at the north end of Christina Lake and joins up with Troy Creek Trail for a longer loop. A 4WD vehicle is required to access Xenia Lake. From Xenia Lake, the trail goes east and descends to Christina Lake.
| Sandner Creek Trail | 9 km |
A historic trail extends along Sandner Creek up past the Benninger property.
| Mt. Faith Trail | 18.4 km | Difficult |
This moderately steep, difficult route extends from the Lynch Creek trailhead, up Morrell Creek to Mt. Faith.
| Mt. Gladstone Trail | 6 km | Difficult |
This steep trail ascends Mt. Gladstone from the abandoned CPR railway north of Paulson.
| Peter Lake Trail |
This trail is currently inaccessible.
Visitors will find a safe swimming area in the warm waters of Christina Lake.
The campground is situated well above the lake but several pocket beaches are accessible. The beaches of coarse sand are separated by shrubs and some cottonwood trees that provide shade.
A roughly 100 m long, two metre wide gravel trail with a gentle slope leaves the campground between sites 2 and 3. This is the easiest trail to the beach. A variety of other narrow dirt trails cut straight down the bank in a series of stairs and switchbacks. On the main trail just above the beach are a rescue station, garbage can and two pit toilets.
There are no lifeguards on duty in BC Parks.
Fishing for Kokanee, rainbow trout and smallmouth bass is popular. There is no fishing north of a line between Bald Point and Knob Point between April 1 and May 31. Ice fishing is possible on Christina Lake depending on winter conditions.
Anyone fishing in British Columbia must have an appropriate licence. To learn more, see the fishing and hunting guide.
Pets and domestic animals must be on a leash at all times and are not allowed in beach areas or park buildings. You are responsible for their behaviour and must dispose of their excrement. Backcountry areas are not suitable for dogs or other pets due to the potential for problems with bears and other wildlife.
Bicycles must keep to roadways. Bicycle helmets are mandatory in British Columbia.
For details on e-biking within Gladstone Park, see the e-biking section below.
Please note that bicycles with electric assist motors (e-bikes) are permitted on signed or designated trails within Gladstone Park, provided they meet the definitions and criteria for e-bike use as outlined in the BC Parks cycling guidelines.
The discharge and carrying of firearms is permitted in this park for the purposes of hunting during open season. Please consult the BC Government Hunting and Trapping Regulations Synopsis for more information. Contact BC Parks at parkinfo@gov.bc.ca with any specific questions.
Anyone hunting in British Columbia must comply with BC hunting regulations. To learn more, see the fishing and hunting guide.
About this park
The park contains nationally significant cultural values which include three shoreline pictograph sites and other evidence of First Nations habitation. There are historic home sites, a semi-permanent village, historic trails used by the First Nations, and a resource utilization site where fish may have been caught, stored and processed. The Dewdney Trail passed through the park as did an old section of CPR which was important history related to Doukhobor ethnicity and settlement. There is also a historic cabin on Benniger Creek and an old gold mine.
Gladstone Park was identified for protection in the West Kootenay-Boundary Land-Use Plan. It includes the former Ole Johnson and Texas Creek parks.
The park contains the elevational gradient from lakeshore to alpine, capturing a diversity of habitats in the Selkirk Foothills ecosection which are captured nowhere else. It also protects low elevation dry interior cedar-hemlock forest communities with some old growth, important winter ranges for deer and elk, and high-value spawning areas for kokanee. With the exception of the privately owned D.L. 1188, the park protects the entire drainage of Sandner Creek which provides critical spawning habitat for kokanee and rainbow trout. Seventy percent of the stream-spawning kokanee from Christina Lake use Sandner Creek.
The park protects blue-listed California bighorn sheep and grizzly bear and the red-listed Northern leopard frog.
Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples
BC Parks honours Indigenous Peoples’ connection to the land and respects the importance of their diverse teachings, traditions, and practices within these territories. This park webpage may not adequately represent the full history of this park and the connection of Indigenous Peoples to this land. We are working in partnership with Indigenous Peoples to update our websites so that they better reflect the history and cultures of these special places.
Contact
| Reservations, changes, and cancellations | Our call centre is open from 7 am to 7 pm Pacific Time. There is a $5 fee for reservations, changes, or cancellations made by phone.
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| Texas Creek Campground and marine areas | This park is operated by Quality Recreation Ltd. |
| General questions and feedback for BC Parks | We answer emails weekdays from 9 am to 5 pm Pacific Time. |
