Hiking Brothers Creek, Blue Gentian Lake & Lost Lake Loop in West Vancouver
Contents
Brothers Creek Hike Information
Difficulty: Moderate
Distance: 10.2Km
Elevation Gain: 475m
Highest Elevation: 828m
Average Gradient: 9.30%
Effort/Reward Ratio: Moderate / Moderate
Time Needed:
– Slow: 4.5 – 5.5 Hours
– Moderate: 3.5 – 4.5 Hours
– Fast: 2.5 – 3.5 Hours
Dogs Permitted?: Yes
Season: Year-Round
4×4 / High Clearance Required? No
Scrambling / Exposure: None
Brothers Creek Trail
Trailhead Coordinates: 49°21’27.7″N 123°08’28.8″W
Brothers Creek Overview
Brothers Creek is a creek flowing from a lake up in Cypress Provincial Park and ending way down at the Capilano River in West Vancouver. This hike follows a portion of the creek somewhere in the middle of its journey.
The hike begins at a trailhead just off Millstream Road in West Vancouver and climbs at a fairly moderate but consistent gradient along Brothers Creek. You used to be able to cross Brothers Creek over a bridge around half way through this hike, but that bridge has recently been removed, though there are apparently plans to rebuild it. For now, the only option is to either continue beyond this bridge and complete the longer hike as described here, or simply return back to the trailhead once you reach the destroyed bridge.
A hike to Brothers Creek offers some beautiful forest views of massive Western Red Cedar trees, as well as the creek itself with many small waterfalls along its route. The two lakes also offer some scenic views, though since I went in the winter the lake views were muted, though the incredible winter scenery made up for that and more.
This hike is a year-round option, though snow is to be expected near the highest elevations and navigation can be particularly difficult if so. I completed this hike after a weekend of heavy snow at low elevations and I wouldn’t advise doing this unless you are particularly experienced in backcountry winter travel, as the trail is difficult to navigate and rarely traveled beyond the destroyed Brothers Creek bridge.
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Is Brothers Creek worthwhile?
I was pleasantly surprised at this hike to be honest. I wasn’t expecting a lot, it was a miserable day in the city and I just wanted something nearby to get me outside. The winter scenes here were breathtaking and I’m sure in all other conditions it would be nice as well. This would be a great rainy/cloudy day hike since there are no viewpoints and you are well protected by the forest canopy. Overall this is definitely worth it, though I wouldn’t dedicate a sunny summer day to it myself.
How difficult is the hike to Brothers Creek?
While officially this a moderately difficult hike at around 10km and 475m elevation gain, I found it fairly easy physically speaking. It’s a pretty consistent gradient throughout the entire hike, never getting very steep at any moment but rarely being flat either. I don’t recall ever being particularly out of breath, though I was admittedly slowed down significantly by the amount of snow so I couldn’t keep a fast pace.
Technically speaking this hike was a lot more rugged than I was anticipating, especially in snow but also likely without. The west side of the trail was a pretty typical BC forest hike up until the destroyed Brothers Creek bridge, lots of rocks and roots, but after that I found it became much more rough and ready with a lot of narrow, twisting trails, tricky creek crossings and some difficult navigation despite the trail being well marked. The section between Blue Gentian Lake and Lost Lake is particularly rough. After Lost Lake, the east side of the loop is a lot more simple and is mostly a wide rocky path the entire way back to the trailhead, this part is simple.
Brothers Creek Route Information
The hike begins at a trailhead just off of Millstream Road in West Vancouver, check the coordinates for specifics. There isn’t a whole lot of parking here that I saw, but I believe you can also park on the residential streets around the area.
You’ll immediately pass through a gate at the trailhead, before climbing on a wide gravel path and up to a junction, we’ll be doing this loop clockwise, so go left at this junction onto the wide open trail beneath the power lines. The first 1.5km or so of this hike will follow this clearing in the forest, at times ducking into the forest itself and going up/down some staircases. Careful on the areas inside the forest as the stairs have seen better days and you get pretty close to some cliffs at times.
Eventually you will reach a bridge that crosses over the lower end of Brothers Creek and shortly after that you will come to another junction, taking a right to join the Brothers Creek trail. Up until now the gradient has been mellow, but the consistent climbing is about the begin.
The next 500m will hug Brothers Creek, though you will be well above the creek and not able to see a lot of it due to cliffs. The trail will be pretty well groomed here and easy to navigate. After 500m or so you’ll come to a junction called the Crossover trail which you’ll want to ignore.
The next 1km or so will be much of the same, remaining consistently close to Brothers Creek though not really able to see a lot of it due to the surrounding vegetation. It was so incredibly snowy when I was there it was impossible to tell what was the creek and what was just snowy terrain.
It was only really when I reached the Brothers Creek bridge that I could get a good view as to the creek itself, though obviously the bridge was destroyed and inaccessible. Still, you get a good view of Brothers Creek here and honestly, it was so snowy I could have just walked across the creek if I wanted to, though I wouldn’t suggest that. Anyway, I was hiking much further than the typical loop so I didn’t need to cross the bridge.
Beyond the bridge the terrain becomes much more complex. The trail narrows significantly, weaving in and out of overhanging trees, crossing small streams and twisting and turning relentlessly. Thankfully the trail is well marked with consistent orange tree markers, but there were times I needed to check my map as the snow completely buried the trail.
A little over 1km past the Brothers Creek bridge you will cross the Cypress Provincial Park boundary and soon reach Blue Gentian Lake. Keep going to the north end of the lake where you get some nice views of the whole area. For me, that meant an absolute snowfest, something I don’t think many people get to experience.
Beyond the lake there are a few different trails if you wanted to extend this hike even further, you’re actually not that far from Hollyburn Lodge believe it or not, but we’ll be sticking to the Brothers Creek trail and you’ll want to follow any markers pointing towards Lost Lake. I advise checking oyur map frequently here as this section is the most tricky part of the hike for navigation.
Over the next couple of hundred meters you will cross a couple of creeks, one small creek and then the northern end of Brothers Creek. There is no bridge here, you have to make your own way across which involves dropping quite steeply into the creek then climbing out the other side. In deep snow this was very tricky but I suspect it’s not so bad in typical weather.
On the other side of this creek crossing the trail remains complex until you reach Lost Lake, around 1km further along the trail. You’ll cross over another creek two more times, which this time has a bridge over it, before reaching the lake. Again, total snow fest for me but cool to see nonetheless.
After leaving Lost Lake you’ll soon leave Cypress Provincial Park. The trail will thankfully become a lot easier shortly as you’ll end up on a very wide gravel path basically for the rest of this hike. I was pretty thankful for this as up to now, in deep snow with no tracks, navigation had been challenging to say the least.
Soon you will pass by the other side of the destroyed Brothers Creek bridge, though you can easily get into the creek itself if you want. I went in and took some cool snow creek photos. Anyway, back on the trail it continues much the same for the next several kilometers. You’ll pass through some really enormous, straight as an arrow Western Red Cedar trees as you continue your descent.
Soon you’ll come to a junction where you want to turn right onto the Brothers Creek Fire Road before turning left when you reach the Incline Railway Trail. Honestly check your map as there are several different ways to return to the trailhead and it can get confusing with the amount of junctions. You’ll reach another junction with a picnic area where the Crossover Trail intersects the Brothers Creek Fire Road, and you can feasibly take either, but we’ll turn left and stay on the same trail. At the next junction you’ll take a right, with this trail leading down to the Baden Powell trail you began this hike on. You should know where to go to return to the trailhead now, simply left and then back to the car.
When should I hike Brothers Creek?
Personally I’d save Brothers Creek for one of those days you just want something nearby that won’t take too long. I’d opt for this on a rainy/cloudy/snowy day since there are no viewpoints that require good visibility. With that in mind this is a good hike to save for the shoulder season or winter, though do be careful as you may be surprised how much snow there could be at the upper elevations of this hike.
Top Tip
Definitely bring an offline map as navigation is not so simple on this hike once you pass the bridge. Poles might be welcome for some people as the terrain is pretty rugged. If going in the winter like me, prepare to encounter snow at the upper elevations. It’s crazy how different the conditions change in just a few hundred meters elevation.
