How to get to Blue Hawk Mine: from Kelowna, take the bridge towards West Kelowna & Westbank continue for 1.7km turn right onto Westside Road continue for 7.0km; keep straight at Bear Creak Park continue for 1.7km turn left onto Bear Creak Main continue for 2.1km; keep straight at Blue Grouse summit trail continue for 5.0km past the lumber yard turn right towards the motorcross lower pits continue for 0.6km towards the parking area turn right onto the logging road continue for 1.2km; this road gains quickly in elevation turn right at the bend continue for 1.7km; the road should be smoother now keep straight at the intersection continue for 0.9km past the swamp on your right keep straight at the old cabin continue for 0.5km into the clearcut area keep straight at the intersection continue for 0.2km past the clearcut area turn right down a small trail (you may need to park here and walk) continue for 0.2km down the hill the Blue Hawk mine is on your left going into the hillside: 49° 59' 02" N 119° 30' 59" W 965 meters

It took me many months to find Blue Hawk Mine, and when I finally found it last December, there was too much snow, ice, and trapped water at the entrance to go into the mine. However, this past weekend I made the trip back to the mine, and it is definitely worth the trip!

At the top of the hill above the entrance is evidence of the core drilling which took place in 1993.
The entrace to the mine is quite plain. A single hole in the side of the mountain that can easily be missed since it is 0.2km off the main trail. There once was a gate preventing entry, but it has been tampered with and now allows easy entry into the mine.

There was 6 or 7 feet at the start of the mine where water had accumulated to a depth of several inches, but once past that area the mine was relatively dry.
Pretty bat. The only one we saw in the mine. We also found several small bones scattered on the floor in one area of the mine. Nothing large, maybe a rabbit or a fox.
The mine has been abandonned since the late 1930's, so already 60+ years of sitting idle have allowed small mineral formations to begin growing.


It is difficult to judge distance; I cannot tell how far we travelled into the mine. When inside, we were moving slowly and carefully, and our flashlights emit a relatively small amount of light. According to the timestamps on our digital images, we were inside the mine just under 1 hour. In that time, we explored all 3 corridors, each of which ends at an obvious cul-de-sac. There are no signs of cave-in or closed off corridors, and the floor is actually very clean and largely free of rubble.
The floor of the entire length of the mine contains remnants of wooden ties that at one point in time were likely used to support small guage tracks. There is only one location remaining near the end of the 2nd corridor where pieces of the old tracks can be seen.