The Idaho Peak Forest Service Road sign shown below says:
12 km of steep narrow road to parking lots
limited pullouts for vehicles to pass
no motor homes or trailers allowed
1.4 km of hiking trails from parking lots to peaks
No water at Idaho Peak
Sandon to Idaho Peak and return – allow 4 hours
Drive Slowly and Carefully
Idaho Peak Lookout Trail Head in Sandon BC
To get there, go to Sandon near New Denver and look for the sign in the heart of Sandon and follow the road up the hill. Best to go in August (or at least check with someone in the area for snow levels) as when I was there in July there was still snow at the top and I was not prepared for the snow.
Here is great comment emailed to me by Greg,
I LOVE THE KOOTENAY VALLEY! We were in Kaslo a few months ago. There was a black bear in someone’s front lawn eating apples. The locals said be careful and to walk in the middle of the road! That’s it! Walking an extra 5 feet away will save my life! Obviously, they’re used to living with bears.
Since you’re going to be in the Kootenay region, consider going to Sandon on just off of 31A. It’s a ghost town with some preserved buildings and a museum. The highlight for me was DRIVING up Idaho Peak, just outside of town. You drive up 95% of this mountain, on a rough road with steep drop-offs. At the top there’s a short walk to the peak where you look down on New Denver & the Slocan Valley. Beautiful.
You’ll have no problem doing the drive in a truck. I was in a small station wagon and had no problems inching along at 5 kms per hour! Hopefully the weather will be clear for you. I was going to write about this drive/hike onhttps://www.tracksandtrails.ca, but you may beat me to it!