Hiking De Pencier Bluffs in Mount Seymour Provincial Park
Contents
De Pencier Bluffs Hike Information
Difficulty: Easy
Distance: 4.80Km
Elevation Gain: 276m
Highest Elevation: 1,230m
Average Gradient: 11.50%
Effort/Reward Ratio: Low / Low
Time Needed:
– Slow: 2 – 3 Hours
– Moderate: 1.50 – 2 Hours
– Fast: 1 – 1.50 Hours
Dogs Permitted?: Yes
Season: Summer
4×4 / High Clearance Required? No
Scrambling / Exposure: None
De Pencier Bluffs Trail
Trailhead Coordinates: 49°21’58.1″N 122°56’53.4″W
De Pencier Bluffs Overview
De Pencier Bluffs is one of the lesser traveled hikes in Mount Seymour Provincial Park, with some route finding necessary as the trail is not well marked beyond Mystery Lake. There are a couple of routes to summit De Pencier Bluffs, but the most common is a looped route that passes by the popular Mystery Lake, before returning via the ski runs from Mystery Peak. The other, slightly less travelled route is a bit longer and with more elevation following the Perimeter Trail.
Due to this hike crossing over ski runs, De Pencier Bluffs is only accessible when the ski resort is closed for the season. Ideally you will also want all snow to be melted out, which may only happen in July. It is certainly possible to hike this with snow on the ground, but navigation will be tricky as there are no signs and few markers guiding the way, so hikers will need to be adept at route finding in the disorienting North Shore mountains. Most people will want to hike De Pencier Bluffs between July and October to make life easier.
From the bluffs the views will be quite nice, with good views of Pump Peak, Mystery Peak, Mount Bishop, the Indian Arm, as well as reasonably nice views of the summits in Belcarra Regional Park and Mount Judge Howay / Robie Reid behind. On a clear day you’ll see all the way to Mount Baker.
De Pencier Bluffs is a pet friendly hike. Black bears are not uncommon in Mount Seymour Provincial Park, especially in the fall when they seem to be around in greater volumes. Most of the bears keep to themselves, but you should be aware and ready for a possible encounter, especially if you’re traveling with dogs.
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Is De Pencier Bluffs worthwhile?
De Pencier Bluffs is a short hike that most parties will complete in around 2 hours. As such the effort is fairly low and the views are actually nicer than you might expect for such a modest elevation. This hike is far quieter than other hikes in the park, such as Pump Peak or Dog Mountain, so parties will want to be comfortable potentially traveling alone. The trail is not that well marked and there may be times you have to navigate yourself to the bluff, so an offline map may be useful.
Generally speaking De Pencier Bluffs is a nice objective if you are looking for some fairly rewarding views for little effort, though it’s certainly not as nice as Pump Peak or Dog Mountain.
How difficult is the hike to De Pencier Bluffs?
At just 4.80km and ~276m elevation gain this is a fairly easy hike that never gets particularly steep. The only real challenge you might face is route finding beyond Mystery Lake, though even that should be fairly straightforward.
Technically there is nothing difficult about this hike. Some people have noted “scrambling” up De Pencier Bluffs, but at no point should you be required to use your hands to get up, nor should there be any exposure to a fall. Poles might come in handy though.
De Pencier Bluffs Route Information
Parking for this route to De Pencier Bluffs is from the main Mount Seymour Resort parking lot at the end of Mount Seymour Road. There is typically ample parking here outside of the ski season, which is all that matters as you cannot complete this hike while ski operations are ongoing.
You’ll want to head to the end of the parking lot where the trail begins from the information board. Following the trail as it descends, most parties will either turn left towards Dog Mountain or head straight towards Pump Peak, but you will want to follow the faint trail to the right, passing by a small lake and into the forest. This will be the Mystery Lake trail.
The trail now begins to climb at a modest gradient, remaining much the same most of the way to the lake. The trail is wide, spacious and mostly rocky under foot. You’ll be in and out of trees much of the way. After around 1km of hiking you’ll reach a small lake with a little boardwalk along its edge, where the next couple of hundred meters will be mostly flat.
Soon you will enter the treeline where the gradient picks up fairly markedly, climbing somewhat steeply for the last few hundred meters towards Mystery Lake. You’ll now be at the south side of the lake, a little over a kilometer or so from the trailhead.
Many parties will stop at Mystery Lake as this is their destination, but continuing to De Pencier Bluffs means navigating counter clockwise around the lake following a narrow, and at times bushy, trail. After continuing along the trail for a couple of hundred meters you’ll want to keep an eye out for a faint trail descending to your right. Following this trail will lead you over a creek, and here navigation can become tricky.
Markers will be few and far between so if in doubt refer to your map. On the other side of the creek you’ll soon reach a junction where you will want to turn left. Continue climbing up this trail as it follows a creek bed, then you should see a short trail leading up to a rocky outcropping to your right, this is the base of the bluff.
Once on the bluff you can largely pick your own path up as the route is very obvious. You’ll get some nice views of Pump Peak and Mysterk Peak initially, but as you crest the top of the bluff the views will gradually become more panoramic. At the top you may need to walk around to the different viewpoints, but in general you can get some pretty nice views in most directions.
After enjoying the views you return back down the bluff the same way you came. Once you reach the bottom of the bluff, rather than going left back the way you came, you turn right to continue on the loop. The trail will now traverse around another bluff before eventually reaching the base of the Brockton Chairlift.
From here the trail changes dramatically, becoming a wide gravel trail. Turning right, you’ll follow this trail as it arcs around Mystery Peak. If you’re in the mood you can easily tag on Mystery Peak, otherwise simply continue to follow this gravel trail as it descends back down towards the parking lot. The route now is very obvious, just follow the wide, ugly gravel trail down towards the parking lot. This isn’t a particularly pleasant descent, but it’s very efficient, and in no time you’ll be back at the parking lot.
When should I hike De Pencier Bluffs?
As noted this hike is only feasible once the ski operations for the resort cease, which is usually mid-spring, and even then most people won’t go. Ideal timing would usually be July – October, though some people do go earlier if they are happy navigating in snow.
Top Tip
You may want to bring an offline map for this hike as the navigation beyond Mystery Lake can be a bit confusing, especially if you go with snow on the ground.
Bears are fairly common in the fall, so being bear prepared is important.
