French Mine - Hedley Nickel Plate Road

Summary of Route

Type: Out and back; Historic Site

Rating: 3/5

Season: Summer

Length: 10 km one-way

Vehicle suitability: Stock 4x4

The Route

The French Mine - Hedley Nickel Plate Road is likely too short to be considered an overland route of its own; however, it is an excellent detour to add into a trip to British Columbia’s interior and there are a decent number of acceptable campsites in the vicinity.

Access is had off of Crowsnest Highway, approximately 3.15 km south of Hedley, British Columbia at GPS coordinates 49.33703, -120.05368 on Hedley Nickel Plate Road.

Hedley Nickel Plate Road provides access to Hedley Mascot Mine, and likely Apex Mountain, and as such is generally in fantastic condition. That said, elevation is gained quickly and there are a number of tight switchbacks in the first few km. During our short visit, recovery teams were present attempting to retrieve one vehicle that had gone off the road.

Once on Hedley Nickel Plate Road, there are no intersecting roads until you reach Lower French mine, approximately 6 km, at GPS coordinates: 49.33586, -120.03046. While the road to Lower French mine begins as a lovely FSR, it quickly turns into a narrow shelf road and is not recommended for anything other than very short wheelbase vehicles. The below photos do not do justice to the steepness of the drop off, nor the width of the track

The main route, and the one we recommend, is another 1.5 km up Hedley Nickel Plate Road at GPS coordinates: 49.34016, -120.02394. This is the access point for upper French Mine and while it follows the same contour lines as lower French Mine, it is considerably easier. In early June, wildflowers were in bloom.

The first 2.15 km of upper French Mine are a lovely drive that are likely manageable in an AWD vehicle. Shortly thereafter, the road becomes slightly more challenging, but very much stock 4x4 suitable until you reach the below turnaround.

We recommend that everyone park here and walk the remaining hundred meters before attempting to drive it. Road conditions deteriorate significantly and there is limited room to turnaround thereafter.

Whether you walk or drive the final portion, you are now at French Mine. Reportedly, if you remembered to bring a headlamp, the tunnels at the back of French Mine connect to entrances slightly lower on the mountain side.

Once you’ve explored this area fully, consider heading to the Ashnola River FSR to spend the night as there are 4 maintained recreation sites within a 8 km drive (Red Bridge Recreation Site, Tunnel Recreation Site, Horseshoe Canyon Recreation Site, and Ashnola River Recreation Site). None of these are amazing but all are along the Ashnola River and not bad for a single evening. When we visited in early June, there was plenty of available spots at each of these recreation sites.

If you’re looking for nearby overland routes, consider Thynne Mountain.