Photo Credit: Rebecca Bollwit
Trail rating: Moderate with short steep sections
Get your heart pumping as you zigzag up the trail and stairs to an open native grassland hillside that straddles Vernon and Coldstream.
Middleton's sweeping, open grasslands summit offers uninterrupted 360° views from various vantage points along the undulating hilltop trails. These looping trails have a number of neighbourhood accesses. The Mt. Ida Drive access greets you with a steep stairway.
Watch out for the Prickly Pear cactus that bloom in June!
Birdwatchers look for: Mountain Bluebird, Swainson's Thrush, Western Meadowlarks, swallows, hawks, eagles, vultures and quail. You might also spot a Mule or White-tail Deer and Yellow-bellied Marmots scurrying around or sunning themselves.
When you return downhill to the road consider crossing and carry on a little further down to McKergow Meadows Park. The marshy Mud Lake is a great little oasis for ducks, geese, toads and salamanders.
You can view the Middleton Mountain Trail map here.