Day Hikes in Southwest BC

Mt. Mercer

Januray 16, 2026 -- Chilliwack Stats: 11.3 km / 920m gain / 1592m high / 5:15 hours MT What a gorgeous day! Can't believe I've never done this one before. And so close to home. It is an eastern neighbor to Thurston and then Elk Mountains. The best views of the three to be had are on this one. David Graham was our guide, while I coordinated the group. Him and Kyle were quite familiar with this route. There are several ways to approach Mt. Mercer. We hiked/snowshoed in from th

Jocelyn Timmermans

14 hours ago2 min read

Raven's Bluffs

January 8, 2025 -- Mission Sats: 8 km / 564m gain / 3 hours MT We were supposed to go with the club to China Ridge in Princeton this day. But the day before I was thinking how we'd be driving at least 4 hours in winter conditions, and then hiking on a cloudy day that would have limited views. When Brigitte emailed the day before, I found out that all four of us were on the same page. So we decided to do a local hike instead. It was a fun day! Sheri is very familiar with this

Jocelyn Timmermans

7 days ago2 min read

Cultus Lake Horse Trail

January 3, 2026 -- Chilliwack Stats: 13.8 km / 670m gain / 378m high / 3:40 hours MT We did this hike as a crossover, starting at the Watt Creek trailhead and heading east to the Edmeston Rd. trailhead. What better way to enjoy the rain forest than in the rain? We certainly did not let it dampen our spirits. The first 1.5 km of the Watt Creek trail were new to me. Usually we do this hike as an out and back from Edmeston Rd. At the intersection we decided to turn right, towar

Jocelyn Timmermans

Jan 42 min read

Kelly Mt

December 30, 2025 -- Manning Park, Allison Pass Stats: 9.3 km / 650m gain . 1955m high / 3:15 hours MT This was a picture perfect day. My first snowshoe of the season. Thanks to the New Adventure group, we did not have to break trail. Brian helped me tighten the straps on my snowshoes, after crossing Hwy. 3. My fingers had gone numb. But it wasn't even half an hour later and we were stopped to peel off a layer of clothing. We regrouped at the first viewpoint where the tips o

Jocelyn Timmermans

Dec 31, 20252 min read

79 Grind

Dec. 23, 2025 -- Mission Stats: 6.6 km / 638m gain / 750m high / 2:45 hours MT What to do on a not-as-nice-weather day? We opted for this shorter but heart-pumping hike west of Stave Lake. We were still rewarded with some partial peak views. We parked at the wall of informative signs on Florence FSR, across from a wooden stairway. A steep side-trail led to this viewpoint of the Fiddlehead Falls. We ran into snow about halfway up (400m). In less than two hours we arrived at o

Jocelyn Timmermans

Dec 28, 20251 min read

Kennedy Falls

Dec. 26, 2025 -- Lynn Headwaters Regional Park, north Vancouver Stats: 11.7 km / 527m gain / 475m high / 4 hours MT Although the stats for this hike look moderate, I'd rate it as a more challenging hike. Most of us took dry footwear along for the drive home because this trail was VERY wet. In fact significant sections looked more like a creek than a trail. This meant cautiously picking our steps on slippery rocks and roots. As we left Abbotsford & Chilliwack, we were all thi

Jocelyn Timmermans

Dec 27, 20252 min read

Chadsey Lake Loop

November 25, 2025 - Abbotsford Stats: 12.8 km / 727m gain / 690m high point / 4:35 hours MT This was a slower solo hike on Sumas Mt. I've been nursing a bad back for the past 3 weeks and tomorrow I fly to Chili to hike the world reknown W-trek + Fitz Roy. So I thought I'll stay more mindful of my body as I hiked alone, so as not to strain my spine. It can be too tempting to keep up with the rest of the gang when I'm out with them. Although I missed the camaraderie. This was

Jocelyn Timmermans

Nov 26, 20251 min read

Bear Mt.

November 4, 2025 -- Harrison Hot Springs Stats: 18 km / 1049m gain / 1082m high / 5:10 hours MT A record-breaking group of 30 came out for this not-too-strenuous but longer hike on a beautiful autumn day. Charlotte used her whistling skills to get the groups' attention at the parking lot. A head count, walkie talkies given to the sweep and one of the faster hikers, and we were good to go. Over the little boardwalk we went. Most of this hike is on a deactivated FSR. The avera

Jocelyn Timmermans

Nov 5, 20252 min read

Elk-Thurston-Gloria Crossover

October 30, 2025 -- Chilliwack Stats: 19.9 km / 1607m gain / 1875m loss / 1590m highest point / 8 hours MT This hike was a true test of endurance. Therefore I opted to go with the more relaxed paced group of 5 that started at the Elk Mt. trailhead. The other group of 7 started at the Gloria Mt trailhead which is 255m lower than Elk's trailhead. We ended up meeting eachother in the middle of the Thurston - Gloria connecting trail which is where we swapped keys. Brigitte's sta

Jocelyn Timmermans

Oct 31, 20253 min read

Nicomen Peak

October 21, 2025 -- Mission Stats: 17 km / 1348m gain / 1243m high / 6:15 hours MT I changed my mind. I had posted this hike as challenging. I think it's actually very challenging. I rarely get sore leg muscles but I did after this one. Why? Because it's very steep, going almost straight up with very little in the way of switchbacks. Add to that the fact that it was wet and slippery. But it was nice to see the trail was more trampled and defined. Last time I did it was in Ap

Jocelyn Timmermans

Oct 24, 20253 min read