Hiking Mount Brew & Keg Peak near Whistler
Contents
Mount Brew & Keg Peak Hike Information
Difficulty: Moderate
Distance: 24.70Km
Elevation Gain: 1,365m
Highest Elevation: 1,807m
Average Gradient: 11.05%
Effort/Reward Ratio: Moderate / Moderate
Time Needed:
– Slow: 7 – 8 Hours
– Moderate: 8 – 10 Hours
– Fast: 10 – 12 Hours
Dogs Permitted?: Yes
Season: Summer
4×4 / High Clearance Required? Yes
Scrambling / Exposure: None
Mount Brew & Keg Peak Trail
Trailhead Coordinates: 49°59’27.7″N 123°11’28.3″W
Mount Brew & Keg Peak Overview
Mount Brew and Keg Peak are a duo of peaks located between Squamish and Whistler, slightly east of Cypress Peak and south of Brandywine Mountain. The nearby Brew Lake is a mildly popular summer hike, however fewer people tend to continue on to these summits, especially Keg Peak (despite it being higher than Mount Brew).
There is a small hut situated just south of Mount Brew, known as Brew Hut, that is accessible year-round and maintained by the Varsity Outdoors Club (VOC). Staying in the hut costs $10 (at the time of writing) and has a maximum capacity of 16, though that seems like it would be a squeeze. Thanks to the hut and the high levels of snowfall in the area, Mount Brew and its surroundings make for a popular ski touring destination in the winter, though snowshoeing here is pretty unheard of due to the long approach (especially in winter).
Thanks to an abundance of excellent alpine ridges it is possible to connect Mount Brew with a number of other peaks in the region. Mount Brew is the start (or end) point of a classic traverse known as the Alcoholic Traverse, which connects Brandywine Mountain to Mount Brew (or vice versa) as a one-way hike, typically tackled over a few days but technically possible as a long day hike. You can also fairly easily connect Mount Brew – Keg Peak – Cypress Peak – Seagram Peak – Tricouni Peak for another fantastic multi-day (or one huge day) one-way traverse in the summer.
As a standalone hike, Mount Brew and Keg Peak is a simple outing with no real scrambling and zero exposure. Thanks to the long approach, the elevation gain is broken down to a fairly manageable average gradient, making this an easier outing than you might expect. In terms of seasonality most people will complete this hike in the summer, however spring would also work well once you can park at the trailhead again.
There are actually two approaches to these peaks, one starting from Brew Creek FSR near Brandywine Falls, and the one described here, which is the more typical approach, from Chance Creek FSR. The road has been decommissioned at the Roe Creek Bridge, but most vehicles with a bit of ground clearance should be able to reach here easily enough. If you only drive a low clearance 2WD you can instead start from the beginning of Brew Creek FSR, which begins on a paved road. This hike is pet friendly.
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Is Mount Brew & Keg Peak worthwhile?
Mount Brew and Keg Peak are both relatively low peaks that only just break out of the treeline, however the views from each summit are fairly rewarding, with excellent panoramic views of Mount Fee, Tricouni Peak, Cypress Peak, Mount Garibaldi, Rainbow Mountain, Brandywine Mountain, the Tantalus range and the other usual suspects around Whistler and the S2S. Despite the seemingly sizable stats of this hike, most people will find it straightforward as the gradient is modest throughout. I’m not sure I would dedicate a prime time summer day to Brew / Keg (unless you extend it to include more travel, perhaps to Cypress Peak) as there are certainly better hikes to more scenic areas than this, however it does make for a great shoulder season hike when you’re looking for something simple and scenic for moderate effort. It’s also not a bad option for less than stellar weather days.
If you are able to complete the Alcoholic Traverse you will likely include both of these peaks anyway, and that is a far more adventurous way to knock these two off.
How difficult is the hike to Mount Brew & Keg Peak?
While a fairly long hike at almost 25km, the average gradient of a mere 11% makes for a reasonably quick day. Most of the hike follows an established trail all the way up to Mount Brew, before easily following the ridge over to Keg. Some parties may skip one of these peaks entirely as the views from both are largely similar, so that’s one way to make this a little easier if preferred.
Technically speaking this hike is easy, with no real scrambling or exposure anywhere along the route.
Mount Brew & Keg Peak Route Information
The typical trailhead for most vehicles will be at the bridge over Roe Creek along Roe Creek Road, which is accessed via Chance Creek FSR off of the Sea to Sky Highway. The FSR up to the bridge should be accessible for most vehicles with a bit of clearance for some shallow waterbars. The road beyond the bridge has been decommissioned, with a massive cross ditch immediately before the bridge that will stop most vehicles. For anyone who only has access to low clearance vehicles, you can instead begin the hike from Brew Creek FSR and follow the trail to Brew Lake via the Brew Main route. This route is a bit steeper and starts a little lower down, so expect a tougher day.
Since the majority of cars will park at Roe Creek bridge, this is where we will assume the hike begins. Hikers will cross over Roe Creek and continue along the wide FSR for the first 2.5km, crossing numerous massive cross ditches in the process. After 2.5km you will reach a switchback where the FSR continues, though usually it has been blocked with logs across the road to again prevent drivers going any further. You will notice a faint trail into the foliage continuing straight, this goes to Cypress Peak, but you will want to continue on the FSR.
This FSR used to be driveable for quite a distance, but somebody has really gone about destroying it at this section, with huge logs and massive ruts put in that would make it challenging even for ATV’s and dirt bikes to get around. HIking around isn’t a problem though, so continue along, and you’ll soon get some views of Mount Garibaldi as you reach ~1,000m elevation. There’ll be a few junctions along this stretch, so you may want to refer to your map if in doubt. At around 1,120m you will want to keep an eye out for a cairn on the ground as this marks the point where you depart the FSR and head through a cutblock into the forest. This is easy to miss and you could very well end up hiking a ways up the FSR if you don’t pay attention.
Once in the forest you’ll be on the Roe Creek Trail, which maintains a similar gradient to the FSR, moderate but never really steep. Over the next 3km you’ll gain around 300m elevation as you work your way towards Brew Lake, with little of note along the way. The trees will thin out for the final kilometer, passing through open meadows and marshy terrain that can be quite muddy at times. SOon enough you’ll reach the southern shores of Brew Lake, a nice place to stop for a bite to eat and a rest before continuing on.
Brew Lake is nothing particularly special compared to other lakes in the Squamish Valley, it certainly pales in comparison to Seagram Lake, Blanca Lake, Berg Lake or any of the lakes around Tricouni Meadows.
Going clockwise around the lake you will continue to follow an obvious trail. At this point you’ll want to decide whether to do Mount Brew or Keg Peak first. Assuming you go for Mount Brew first, you’ll simply continue following the trail for around 2km and 250m elevation gain as you work your way towards Brew Hut. The scenery is generally quite nice as you’re now beginning to break out of the treeline and starting to get some nice views. Just before you reach Brew Hut you’ll crest a ridge and the views will really open up. Most parties will take a quick look inside the hut before ascending up Mount Brew.
Mount Brew is only around 60m higher than the hut, and the route is fairly forested. From afar it looks like it’ll be a bit of a bushwhack to get up, but if you stick to the trail there should be a fairly obvious route through with minimal bush to contend with. In no time you’ll be on the summit, with nice panoramic views in most directions. Views to the south will be somewhat tree obstructed, but every other direction will be open. To the east will be the usual peaks around Whistler and Garibaldi, to the north will be Brandywine Mountain and Rainbow Mountain. Mount Fee will be prominent to the west, along with Cypress Peak and Tricouni Peak, and to the south will be the Tantalus range, Sky Pilot and the usual S2S suspects. You’ll also see Keg peak to the west, noting the easy terrain to reach it.
There is a slightly lower bump immediately east of Mount Brew that the more determined peakbaggers will add to their day known as Malt Peak. You can optionally add this to your hike if you really want, but for most people it’s a hard sell as it involves descending down Brew and then navigating your way up to Malt.
Once finished on Brew you simply return back down towards the hut, trying to stick to the trail through the trees. It’s a bit trickier to remain on trail on the descent, and you very well may end up in the trees, but it’s hard to go too wrong as long as you’re going in the right direction. Once you’re back out of the trees you’ll head towards the hut, but before reaching it you’ll begin your traverse towards Keg Peak.
The terrain here will be simple boulder hopping and your goal is to simply traverse across the ridge without gaining (or losing) too much elevation. There will be some sidehilling as you cross beneath the northern slopes of what’s known as Hops Peak, which you will optionally ascend on the way back to the lake from Keg Peak.
Once you’ve traversed to the northwest ridge of Hops you should find a faint trail to follow up to Keg. From here it’s merely a case of following the trail as it climbs ~200m over the next kilometer to the summit. While marginally higher than Brew, Keg offers largely similar views. After resting and having another snack you return down the same way.
As you’re traversing back towards Hops Peak you can optionally go up and over this peak for a direct return to Brew Lake. This will add ~100m elevation gain but will avoid a little bit of sidehilling, and for peakbaggers it will add a third peak to your day (fourth if you added Malt as well). The views from Hops are worse than both Brew and Keg, so don’t expect much. Some parties would rather avoid this unnecessary gain, in which case you can return back via the hut. Once back at the lake it’s merely a matter of following the same route back to your vehicle.
When should I hike Mount Brew & Keg Peak?
Most people will complete this hike without much snow on the ground, likely around July to October. You can certainly go earlier than this, perhaps in late May or June, just expect to be dealing with snow at higher elevations. Come November snow will typically return to the region.
Top Tip
Peakbaggers can fairly easily add Malt and Hops Peaks to Brew and Keg for a four peak day, but these two additional peaks offer little value to anybody other than those looking to tick boxes, especially Malt.
The best way to see these peaks would be to complete the Alcoholic Traverse, beginning at Brandywine Mountain and ending at Mount Brew. That being said, these peaks pale in comparison to Brandywine, so you may be unimpressed with Brew/Keg by the end of that traverse.
