Hike to Illal Meadows & Illal Peak

To access Illal Meadows, you have to take a little spur road off of the Tulameen Forest Service Road. This spur road is described as being accessible with high clearance 2WD before turning into a 4WD road.

The first part follows an old, overgrown, flat logging road to the south branch of Illal Creek. Next, you'll see an obvious junction leaving the road, where the trail continues up a set of switchbacks through some second growth forest. And last but not least, you'll traverses a scree slope. At the end of the slope, you can make a sharp left, continue uphill, and voila! You're in the stunning lower section of Illal Meadows. It’s worth mentioning that the trail is well marked until you reach the meadows, after which point it seems to be a free for all. Remember to make note of where you enter the meadows for your hike out.

Pass through the lower and middle meadows, to a large tarn towards you left. You'll pick up a faint trail at on the left and this will take you to several different destinations, stay right for Illal Peak.

Follow the ridge to the large tarn at the base of Illal Peak. A few old fire rings reveal a frequent camp spot. Continue along the tarn, and pick up a distinct trail at the NW corner of the lake, follow as it flanks around the western side of Illal through meadowy slopes. Before the trail drops into the next valley to the north, swing right and start the steep but non-technical ascent up Illal Peak. When you're ready to head back (it will take a while because you wont want to leave the views), retrace your steps back to your vehicle.

Illal Peak is an easy to moderate (depending on your fitness level) day trip objective. Illal Meadows is so stunning, you'll be tempted to spend a few days. There is plenty of information online about the surrounding peaks; Illal meadows offers a great base camp for further hiking and scrambling goals.