Hiking Crystal and Elliott Peak near D'Arcy
Contents
Crystal and Elliott Peak Hike Information
Difficulty: Difficult
Distance: 20.00Km
Elevation Gain: 1,550m
Highest Elevation: 2,471m
Average Gradient: 15.50%
Effort/Reward Ratio: High / Very High
Time Needed:
– Slow: 9 – 10 Hours
– Moderate: 8 – 9 Hours
– Fast: 7 – 8 Hours
Dogs Permitted?: Yes
Season: ~July to October
4×4 / High Clearance Required? No
Scrambling / Exposure: Elliott is Class 3
Crystal and Elliott Peak Trail
Trailhead Coordinates: 50°29’04.8″N 122°22’24.9″W
Crystal and Elliott Peak Overview
Crystal and Elliott Peak are a pair of summits accessed via the Barkley Valley trail near the small community of D’Arcy, northeast of Pemberton. Both of these peaks feature prominently in Scrambles in SWBC (named Twin Lakes Northwest / Southeast in the book), and as such they see plenty of visitors each year.
Set within the traditional territories of the N’Quatqua and St’at’imc First Nations, there is a long history of settlement in the Barkley Valley going back centuries. The region also has a more recent history of prospecting, with a rough mining road developed in the 1960’s, and to this day you can find signs of old vehicles, dwellings and other mine workings in the area. An old cabin still remains in the zone, which you will hike past on the way to the lakes. A sign explaining the history is included in the photo gallery at the bottom of this page.
These peaks are an extension to the Twin Lakes that you pass by on the way. The lakes themselves are fairly popular in the summer, though the significant drive out tends to keep away the masses. Still, plenty of parties come up to recreate in the region.
Thanks to a wide, double track trail for much of the route, many parties will take up dirt bikes, ATV’s and mountain bikes into the zone, so don’t be surprised to encounter some on your visit. These will not be able to reach the lower lake, however, with most stopping either before or on the switchbacks up to the lake. Grizzlies and black bears are common in the area, so ideally you will travel in a group and be prepared for possible encounters.
In terms of difficulty, Crystal Peak is a simple talus hike to the top, while Elliott requires Class 3 scrambling with fairly mild exposure.
Access to the zone requires driving almost 15km along Haylmore FSR. This road is often in excellent shape and suitable for all vehicles, however during our visit (2026) some parts of the road towards the end were scattered with rockfall, making the last few kilometers suitable for only higher clearance vehicles with AT tires. That said, this may well be cleared up in due course.
In terms of seasonality, given the high elevation of these peaks this is best left for peak summer, so mid-July to early October. If you visit earlier there could be snow blocking the standard route up Elliott in particular, in which case you would need the necessary winter gear to get up.
Dogs are welcome in the area, though of course with the potential for grizzly encounters you may want to keep them on leash, at least in the lower parts of the valley near the cabin. Camping is allowed in the zone,
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Are Crystal and Elliott Peak worthwhile?
The Barkley Valley is a stunning region that you should absolutely try and get to. While Twin Lakes is a nice hike in itself, summiting one (or both) of the nearby peaks makes for a full outing. The views from these peaks are exceptional and it’s obvious why they are rated highly in the Scrambles book. Elliott offers the better views, but the more technical climb up.
How difficult is the hike to Crystal and Elliott Peak?
The whole hike to Upper Twin Lake is very straightforward, mostly following a well established track. From the upper lake you will need to self navigate to each summit. Crystal Peak is a simple talus hop to the summit, with no scrambling of note required. Elliott Peak is a lot more involved, with a steep scree climb up to the summit block, before a Class 3 scramble up. It looks quite imposing when you first see it, and I wasn’t sure whether I would manage. However, there is a fairly protected gully that gets you most of the way up, with mild exposure. Beyond the gully you traverse a ridge, with one short step that is more exposed, but over in a couple of moves. Beyond this, the remainder of the route is just hiking along a ridge to the top.
Physically speaking this is obviously a fairly sizable day, especially after a long drive to the trailhead, but thanks to a well groomed trail for the majority it’s not too challenging. If you can source a dirt bike / ATV / mountain bike it will be much easier.
Crystal and Elliott Peak Route Information
The hike begins from a trailhead approximately 15km down Haylmore Creek FSR. The road is typically in good condition and suitable for most vehicles, however that may not always be the case. When we visited (2026), the last couple of kilometers we scattered with rockfall from the embankments overhead, and only higher clearance vehicles were making it all the way to the trailhead. With that said, you may choose to park earlier than the trailhead and hike in, obviously adding a bit of distance and time to the day.
The linked GPX actually includes a shortcut, whereby we parked past the official trailhead and bushwhacked up to the trail through the forest. This was steep but mostly open forest and saved a couple of kilometers of hiking and maybe half an hour or so to the round trip.
I won’t go into great detail as to the trail to the upper lake, if you want a detailed summary, read the Twin Lakes route here.
On a high level, you’ll follow the Barkley Valley trail to 1,750m, passing by the old cabin on the way. You’ll now turn off the trail and begin a series of switchbacks that lead up to the lower Twin Lake. You’ll then traverse steep slopes around the lower lake before continuing on to the upper lake.
Crystal Peak
Most groups start with the easier Crystal Peak, though that’s entirely your call. From the upper lake Crystal Peak lies to the west. There’s a couple of ways to reach the peak, either hiking through the talus slopes and gaining the south ridge just before the peak (as described here), or gaining a ridge system climbers left of the talus slopes and following it along.
There is no reason to take the ridge unless you want more scrambling and slower travel. The talus field may not be pretty or particularly nice, but it’s efficient, non-technical and fast.
There is no real route through the talus field, just work your way through however you see fit, using the GPX as a loose reference. You’ll gain the ridge at around 2,400m, before a simple plod over to the summit. The views from the top are very nice, particularly of Mount Nraiteskel and Downton Peak.
When finished on the summit, return back to the lake the way you came. Round trip time from the lake shouldn’t be more than 1.5 hours depending on how long you linger on the summit.
Elliott Peak
Elliott Peak lies southeast of the lake, and the climb begins on a steep scree slope to the base of the summit block. You’ll likely traverse a snow patch leading into the lake before beginning the steep scree climb. This is actually quite a simple and pleasant ascent, and on the way down the scree is easy to plunge through.
At around 2,400m you’ll reach the summit block and might initially think it looks imposing. Initially I doubted whether I would get up as it looked like a huge wall to climb, but if you inspect the route you can see a sort of gully feature to the right of the wall that weaves up. There is mild exposure for the first few steps, but as you climb you soon realize it’s not too bad and any fall would likely be stopped. The majority is Class 2.
Once out of the gully feature you hike along the ridge a little before reaching a narrow section. Here there are a couple of steps of scrambling with moderate exposure where you need to take care, but it’s over in seconds, after which you’re on the other side. From here on the remainder of the route to the summit is just hiking along the ridge.
The views from the summit are arguably better than Crystal, with several lakes visible from the top, namely the Twin Lakes and Melvin Lake. There’s plenty of space on the top to move around and take photos.
Once finished, retrace your steps back to the lake. The scree section will now be quite pleasant as you can rapidly plunge down. Once back at the lake, you return to the trailhead the same way you came.
When should I hike Crystal and Elliott Peak?
Most visitors to Twin Lakes and these peaks will go during peak summer when the snow is melted at these elevations. That realistically means July to October. If you plan to summit Elliott you may want to leave it until August to be sure the snow has melted off the scramble. Some parties have gone earlier in the summer and found the gully to still be holding snow, which makes the scrambling much more difficult as they then have to climb directly up the rocky face.
Top Tip
If you have access to a dirt bike / ATV / e-mountain bike you can make this day far easier by using them. You can easily get to the switchbacks at 1,750m, and potentially to the top of the switchbacks if you’re happy with rougher terrain.
If you aren’t a super confident scrambler, you should at least go up and check out the Elliott summit block, and particularly inspect the gully. It looks difficult and exposed initially, but upon close review it’s actually not too bad.
Grizzlies are common in this region, so prepared accordingly.
