Part of the Selkirk Mountains, the Bonnington Range runs roughly north-south and is bounded by the Salmo, Kootenay and Columbia Rivers. Within the Bonnington range are 12 peaks in the 7,000 foot range, a half dozen or so lakes, numerous rivers, countless valleys, and much pleasant alpine and sub-alpine terrain. Together with the Arrow Lakes region of the Ministry of Forests (MOF), the Kootenay Mountaineering Club (KMC) maintains four cabins (Grassy, Copper, Huckleberry and Steed) in the range, each separated by a distance of about 10 kilometres making summer and winter traverses of the higher peaks of the range a pleasant and worthwhile undertaking.

The cabins in the Bonnington Range are rustic, wilderness cabins. There are no official trails or routes to the cabins. Access is either via ski/snowshoe in winter or logging roads in summer, and, regardless of season, requires good route-finding skills and avalanche awareness. You can find some details as to the most common access to each of the cabins on this webpage, but, this is wilderness terrain and you are responsible for finding your own route in.

Hikers Taking in the View of Kootenay Lake from Toad Mountain

Fees and Reservations
Routes and Trips
Huckleberry Hut
Copper Mountain Cabin
Steed Cabin
Grassy Hut
Cabin Rules
Book a Cabin

Reservations are required for all Bonnington cabins. Reservation fees go toward maintaining and improving the cabins, and supplying firewood. Please be responsible about paying your hut fees. Reservations and fee payment can be made through this website. The fee for all four cabins is $10 per person per night. If you arrive at one of the cabins and you have not made a reservation be prepared to vacate the cabin should people with a reservation arrive. Please print out your payment receipt and take it along to the cabin(s) with you as proof of payment/reservation.

Choose your reservation date carefully – there are NO refunds once a cabin is booked.

Make a reservation here.

The premier route through the range is a ski traverse around the headwaters of Erie Creek from Bombi Summit in the south to Porto Rico in the west. The route follows the height of land throughout and passes over the summits of several Bonnington Range peaks and through outstanding ski touring terrain. Most parties allow four days for this route and overnight at the Grassy, Steed and Copper Huts. A detailed route description can be found in Chic Scott’s “Ski Tours in the Columbia Mountains” and “Ski Touring the West Kootenays” by Trevor Holsworth.

Valley Fog in the Bonnington Range

Good skiing can also be found around the Huckleberry Hut. Tours to the summits of Cabin and Midday Peaks and Dominion Mountain are popular as is making turns on the slopes around the cabin. In summer, it is possible to traverse from the Copper Mountain Hut to the Huckleberry Hut passing over the summits of Copper and Dominion Mountains, and Territory, Colony Empire and Cabin Peaks.

Skier on the Bonnington Traverse

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Built early last century to work a mining claim on Spotted Horse Creek, the Huckleberry Cabin was restored by the Kootenay Section of the Alpine Club of Canada in 1963, with further restoration work done in 1985 and 1986. Today, the Huckleberry Hut is a cosy log cabin situated at around 1600 metres in the valley below Midday and Cabin Peaks. The Huckleberry Hut is very small. There are two bunks (no foam mattresses) which will each sleep two, top to tail. There is also a fold-down table, wood stove and outhouse. Basic cooking utensils (pots, pans, cups, bowls, plates, cutlery, etc.) are stored in a plastic bin. There is also a two burner white gas Coleman Stove and Coleman Lantern (take spare mantels). You will need to bring your own white gas for the stove and lantern.

Summer and winter access to the Huckleberry Hut is via Porto Rico Road, 15 km south of Nelson off Highway 6. In summer, with a high clearance four wheel drive vehicle you can drive for six kilometres to a junction where an old road leads off to the left. Park here, and walk the remaining two kilometres to the cabin. Allow one to two hours hiking time.

In winter, ski up Porto Rico Road from the highway and take the junction as noted above. Allow three to six hours.

Water is available from a stream that crosses the road about one hundred metres beyond the cabin.

Map: 82F/6. GPS Co-ordinates: 768-636, NAD83

Skier at the Huckleberry Hut in Winter

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Lying in a copse of large trees near 2000 metres in a basin on the southwest side of Copper Mountain, the cabin was built by the KMC in 1985 and is surrounded by a two hectare area for non-motorized use only. The Copper Mountain cabin is equipped with two bunks (can sleep two each top to tail, no foam mattresses), a wood stove, seating bench and table.

Basic cooking utensils (pots, pans, cups, bowls, plates, cutlery, etc.) are stored in a plastic bin. There is also a two burner white gas Coleman Stove and Coleman Lantern (take spare mantels). You will need to bring your own white gas for the stove and lantern.

In summer, the normal access is via an old logging road in 49 Creek. This road leaves the small community of Blewett west of Nelson and is signed “May and Jenny Road” off Blewett Road (exits to your left as you head west). A high clearance four wheel drive is necessary. Follow May and Jenny Road (becomes Copper Mountain Road) for about 12 km to a pass betweeen Red Mountain and Copper Mountain. Either park at the pass (limited) or continue a further 150 metres along the road to a slightly larger parking area. There are no signs. Follow the old road on foot to reach the ridge south of Copper Mountain. An ATV track leads down to the cabin. Allow one to three hours walking time. There is NO water at the Copper Mountain Cabin in either summer or winter.

Winter access is more difficult as the summer route crosses extensive avalanche paths and is unsafe for most of the winter. It is possible to access the Copper Mountain Cabin from roads in the Snowwater Creek drainage. Route finding skill is necessary. Most winter visitors to the cabin are staying at the cabin as part of the Bonnington Range traverse and will have skied across from the Steed Cabin.

Map: 82F/6. GPS Co-ordinates: 720-705, NAD83

Copper Mt Hut in Summer

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At 2320 metres, Siwash Mountain is the highest peak in the Bonnington Range, and the Steed Cabin, a snug wood cabin built by the KMC in 1995, lies due south of the summit of Siwash Mountain by a small tarn at 2100 metres. A loft in the cabin can sleep four (no foam mattresses), while the downstairs is equipped with table, bench seats and a wood stove. Basic cooking utensils (pots, pans, cups, bowls, plates, cutlery, etc.) are stored in a plastic bin. There is also a two burner white gas Coleman Stove and Coleman Lantern (take spare mantels). You will need to bring your own white gas for the stove and lantern. There is NO water at the Steed Cabin in either summer or winter.

The area around the Steed Cabin is popular with snowmobilers, so expect to see snowmobilers when you are staying at the cabin.

In summer, access is via roads out of Bombi Summit. A four wheel drive vehicle is not necessary. It is possible to drive to a the head of Glade Creek, from here, it is between one and three hours of bushwhacking (thick bush with many black and grizzly bears in the area) to reach the cabin. Follow the following driving directions for summer access. Set your odometre to 0 on Highway 3 at Bombi Summit.

0 km = Munson Road and Highway 3
2.6 km = powerline spur to (R)
3.7 km = Lower Munson to (L), stay (R)
3.9 km = West Munson to (L), stay (R)
5.4 km = East Munson to (R), stay (L)
6.3 km = spur to R, stay on mainline
6.4 km = spur to (R) is Grassy access
10.8 km = small pass, road enters from behind and (L), stay straight down the hill
11.0 km = road forks, go (R) to stay on Munson Road, (L) fork is North Munson
15.1 km = pass below Twin Peaks
18.9 km = fork in road, go (L)
22.6 km, = park here and walk the rest of the way.

Map: 82F/6. Grid reference: 674-660, NAD83

In winter, it takes two days to reach the cabin via the Bonnington Traverse Route.

The Steed Cabin in Winter

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Grassy Mountain is a horseshoe shaped peak, with a sub-summit (known locally as south Grassy) forming the southern arm of the horseshoe. At 1900 metres, Grassy Hut lies in the middle of the horseshoe just below the pass between Grassy and south Grassy Mountains. The cabin was built by the KMC in 1985, has four bunks (no foam mattresses), a bench table and seating, and a wood stove. Basic cooking utensils (pots, pans, cups, bowls, plates, cutlery, etc.) are stored in a plastic bin. There is also a two burner white gas Coleman Stove and Coleman Lantern (take spare mantels). You will need to bring your own white gas for the stove and lantern. There is NO water at the Grassy Cabin in either summer or winter.

A two hectare area around the cabin is designated for non-motorized use only.

Access in summer and winter is via logging roads out of Bombi Summit. Follow the following driving directions for summer access. Set your odometre to 0 on Highway 3 at Bombi Summit.
0 km = Munson Road and Highway 3
2.6 km = powerline spur to (R)
3.7 km = Lower Munson to (L), stay (R)
3.9 km = West Munson to (L), stay (R)
5.4 km = East Munson to (R), stay (L)
6.3 km = spur to R, stay on mainline
6.4 km = spur to (R) is Grassy access. Drive a short distance up this road (about 100 metres) and then park. If you have a two wheel drive vehicle, you will have to park off the main road and walk from there. On foot, follow the old road that leads up to the ridge south of Grassy Mountain. Hike downhill (sketchy trail) to find the cabin. Allow one to three hours hiking time.

In winter, follow the same directions but ski directly from the highway. Allow four to six hours.

Map: 82F/6. GPS Co-ordinates: 642-598, NAD83

Skier Arriving at the Grassy Hut in Winter

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• The cabins are user maintained,
• All four cabins are maintained by hard-working, un-paid volunteers; we appreciate your respectful use of our cabins and the surrounding area.
• There is no motorized access to Copper or Grassy Cabins or in a two-hectare area around the cabins.
• Day users should respect overnight parties by using the cabins for emergency purposes only or when the cabins are unoccupied.
• Volunteers haul chainsaws in by hand once every three years to provide firewood. Therefore, you should use wood sparingly for overnight stays only, only in the winter, and only in the wood stoves.
• Keep the cabins clean, pack out all your garbage, and don’t leave food behind in the cabins.
• A reservation is required to stay at any of the Bonnington Cabins. A $10 per person per night fee will be collected.
• There are NO REFUNDS on unused reservations.
• Make it a practice to leave the cabins in better condition than you found them.

Make a reservation here.

Want to know more? cabins@kootenaymountaineering.bc.ca

Volunteers Working on the Outhouse at Copper Mt Hut

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