Hiking Hollyburn Peak in Cypress Provincial Park
Contents
Hollyburn Peak Hike Information
Difficulty: Moderate
Distance: 7Km
Elevation Gain: 460m
Highest Elevation: 1,326m
Average Gradient: 13.14%
Effort/Reward Ratio: Moderate / Moderate
Time Needed:
– Slow: 3.5 – 5 Hours
– Moderate: 2.5 – 3.5 Hours
– Fast: 1.5 – 2.5 Hours
Dogs Permitted?: Yes
Season: Year-Round (Winter Preferred)
4×4 / High Clearance Required? No
Scrambling / Exposure: None
Hollyburn Peak Trail
Trailhead Coordinates: 49°22’45.5″N 123°11’30.1″W
Disclaimer: Winter hiking (snowshoeing) involves significantly more risk than summer hiking. Hikers should be prepared with appropriate education, training and equipment for all possibilities, including but not limited to avalanches. A mistake such as going off trail, getting lost or injured can be far more dangerous in winter than summer. You are responsible for your own safety, and while I am happy to give my opinion on this website as to the avalanche risk of a specific hike, do not take this as fact and please do your own research. Everybody has different risk tolerances and mine might be different to yours.
Hollyburn Peak Overview
Hollyburn Peak is one of the many summits in Cypress Provincial Park and is a very popular winter hike, likely because it is a well maintained, safe, accessible, easy to follow route near Vancouver with beautiful views from the top.
Like many hikes on the North Shore, Hollyburn Peak is not as popular of a summer option, though it certainly does still attract visitors at that time of year. This is largely because the trail is difficult to follow and poorly maintained in the summer, and there are frankly far better options around than Hollyburn Peak at that time of year. The route described below is the winter route, the summer route is different and can be found here.
In the winter though, Hollyburn Peak is a great hike close to the city. It’s short, safe, quick to complete and offers some nice views for relatively little effort. Unfortunately this also means Hollyburn Peak is a very popular option in the winter for all kinds of recreationalists, especially families and even dog walkers. We don’t have that many winter options that are family friendly near Vancouver, so the few we do have are always busy.
With that said you will likely want to get to the Nordic Ski area of Cypress Mountain pretty early if you want to secure parking. There is not a whole lot of parking here and it fills up very quickly on a weekend, especially if it’s sunny. I strongly advise getting there as soon as the gates open.
As a note, Hollyburn Peak is not a part of the paid snowshoeing area on Cypress Mountain. This trail is free to use and is maintained by BC Parks.
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Is Hollyburn Peak worthwhile?
Hollyburn Peak is basically a shoe in for anybody looking to get outside during the winter. It’s one of the best trails a newcomer to winter hiking (snowshoeing) can begin on in order to gain experience in the snow. It’s safe, short, challenging and offers great views from the summit. Even an experienced hiker will likely hit up Hollyburn Peak most winter seasons at some point because it’s so close to Vancouver and makes a good option during high avalanche likelihood periods. Are there better snowshoeing options out there? Sure, but there aren’t many that are this accessible and safe.
How difficult is the hike to Hollyburn Peak?
At over 13% gradient Hollyburn Peak is actually a pretty steep hike. Even though it is only 7km you climb quite a bit at 460m. The hike starts off fairly mellow but by the end it is extremely steep. I wouldn’t say it was difficult as it’s pretty short but there will be stretches that you find very tiring. It’s a good, short, steep challenge.
Technically the hike is straightforward and very easy to follow. There is one way to go and you just follow it. You do need to take microspikes, especially for the steep icy section at the end, but snowshoes are usually overkill. If all you have is snowshoes, like many do, then they are fine too, they’re just a little more cumbersome.
Hollyburn Peak Route Information
Parking for Hollyburn Peak is not in the downhill ski area of Cypress Mountain, it’s in the Nordic Ski area, check the coordinates above for reference. This parking is limited, so if it is full you can also park in the overflow parking areas further along Cypress Bowl road, but this will mean a bit of a walk back to the trailhead.
The trailhead itself isn’t super obvious, it is actually a little bit before all of the Nordic Ski area buildings on the left hand side of the road. There will likely be many snowshoers coming/going from the trailhead so keep an eye out or check your map.
The trail starts off wide, at a gentle gradient as it leads up through the trees. As you approach the 500m mark it begins to get steeper and steeper as it turns to the right, before you drop down and reach a nice flat section of the trail for a couple of hundred meters. There aren’t any views here other than the admittedly nice winter scenery.
Passing a couple of (snowed over) lakes the gentle climb will continue with some open areas dotted around, but it’s much the same as the start, only now the trail narrows.
The trail will remain largely undulating terrain until around the 2km mark where the climb begins again and doesn’t stop until the summit. Thankfully in just a couple of hundred meters you’ll break out of the forest and begin to get nice views of Vancouver behind you.
As you climb up the trail opens out into a wide, open trail. Usually there are a couple of route options as people just decide whatever way is easiest for them. Many people opt to slide on their butts when descending so you may notice these areas and likely want to avoid them on the ascent as they’re usually very slippery.
As you climb higher the views behind you will keep getting better and better. This is fortunate, as it gives you an excellent excuse to stop for a breather and take some photos, which trust me, you will need. From around the 3km mark the trail just keeps getting steeper and steeper and your progress will feel like a snail’s pace. It certainly felt like this for me when I was rushing to the top to try and catch the incredible sunrise that was taking place over Vancouver.
Unfortunately the very end of this trail is also the steepest, with the final couple of hundred meters exceedingly steep at around a 30% gradient. Thankfully it is brief and in no time you should be at the summit.
The summit is quite a spacious area and you have to walk around a bit to get the views, but you do have 360 degree views from the top. To the south is obviously Vancouver and also Mount Baker, to the west is Black Mountain, Bowen Island and the Howe Sound, to the north you’ll see Mount Strachan and the Lions and to the east you will see Crown Mountain and Grouse Mountain.
When I hiked this I was attempting to do it for sunrise, which is tricky when gates only open at 7am in the winter. I basically ran up the mountain and was at the top by 8am, so at this stage I was running around trying to take photos of the amazing sunrise that day.
After spending some time at the top you simply head back the way you came. Many people choose to bring something to slide on for the way down as it is very steep and makes for some good fun. The AllTrails link provided above says this is a loop, but from what I saw it was a one way. I may have missed something but the easiest option is to just head back the way you came.
When should I hike Hollyburn Peak?
Simple, go in the winter on a nice clear day. You could also go in the summer if you want, but there are much better summer hikes than Hollyburn Peak so I wouldn’t suggest it. This also isn’t a bad option on a cloudy day if you just want to get outside for some fresh air and exercise, or just to spend some time in the snow.
Top Tip
Personally I found this a great sunrise or sunset hike in the winter. With the late sunrise and short trail it wasn’t too hard to be at the top at around 8am at a fast pace. It only took me 45 minutes to summit, which is admittedly very fast. Sunset might be better if you want to avoid having to rush up the mountain.
Snowshoes are rarely necessary unless there has been a major dumping of snow recently. This trail is so popular the snow is compacted constantly to the point microspikes are plenty. Don’t try this in just hiking boots in the winter though, it’s too steep and icy for that.
