Hiking McKay Lake near Mission
Contents
McKay Lake Hike Information
Difficulty: Moderate
Distance: 7.20Km
Elevation Gain: 580m
Highest Elevation: 837m
Average Gradient: 16.11%
Effort/Reward Ratio: Moderate / Moderate
Time Needed:
– Slow: 3 – 4 Hours
– Moderate: 2 – 3 Hours
– Fast: 1.5 – 2 Hours
Dogs Permitted?: Yes
Season: Year-Round
4×4 / High Clearance Required? No – But it would make it easier
Scrambling / Exposure: None
McKay Lake Trail
Trailhead Coordinates: 49°17’49.0″N 122°13’58.7″W
McKay Lake Overview
McKay Lake is a small but picturesque lake north of Mission, found along the Mount St. Benedict trail just before the steep climb to the top of the mountain. This is a relatively quiet hike when compared to many, and a lot of people will typically pass by McKay Lake on the way to the more interesting Mount St. Benedict itself.
The nice thing about McKay Lake though, is that it’s a year-round option and it makes for a fun winter adventure while covering zero avalanche terrain. Continuing past the lake to Mount St. Benedict, however, is increasingly steep and covers some avalanche terrain, and therefore should only be left to experienced and prepared hikers.
Even so, as a standalone summer objective McKay Lake is a worthwhile pursuit if you’re looking for a quiet, swimmable lake to visit in a scenic area. The backdrop to McKay Lake is quite nice, and even if you choose not to continue any further the views will be decent from the lake shore with Mount St. Benedict looming large behind.
If you intend to go during the summer you are actually able to drive a long way up the FSR in a capable vehicle. An SUV will likely make it to the trailhead up Munro Forest Service Road. This will make the hike considerably easier.
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Is McKay Lake worthwhile?
As a winter option McKay Lake makes for a fun adventure in safe avalanche terrain. While the lake is of course frozen over and covered in snow in the winter, the views are still quite nice and overall this was worth it. In the summer the lake is also scenic, but I would always choose to continue forward and hike to the top of Mount St. Benedict, it’s not a lot further and you’ll have considerably better views.
How difficult is the hike to McKay Lake?
Physically speaking this hike isn’t too difficult. The gradient is moderate throughout and at times will be challenging. It never gets exceedingly steep though and is fairly consistent.
Technically a lot of the hike is just a plod along a forest service road. Eventually you’ll cut into the forest where the terrain becomes more adventurous and the trail harder to follow, especially in winter if you don’t have any tracks. Still, if you take your time getting to the lake shouldn’t be an issue.
McKay Lake Route Information
There are a few different places you can start this hike from depending on your vehicle. The AllTrails route above begins near Davis Lake on Lost Creek FSR, climbing up next to Murdo Creek before joining up to Murdo Creek FSR. If you have a 2WD, you’ll start where the coordinates above suggest on Lost Creek FSR. If you have a high clearance vehicle and if the gate to Murdo Creek FSR is open you can actually drive up Murdo Creek FSR and cut out a significant portion of elevation gain and distance to this hike. You can feasibly drive all the way up Murdo Creek FSR to where the trail leaves the FSR and enters the forest. In the winter though you will be stopped by snow at a lower elevation, as we were.
Assuming you are starting at the bottom all that really means is you have a bit of climbing to do at the beginning. The trailhead isn’t super obvious but you should be able to find it just before the bridge over Murdo Creek, which is where you should park as well. Over the next kilometer you’ll climb around 150m over a few switchbacks before hitting the Murdo Creek FSR, which others would have driven up if they have that option.
Continuing along the Murdo Creek FSR you’ll soon reach a junction where the trail splits, going right will be the back end loop returning from the summit of Mount St. Benedict, so make sure to go left and continue along Murdo Creek FSR.
Much like most FSR’s, the grade will be consistently steep but never extreme, so just keep working it on your way up. Around 500m after the junction you’ll reach a waterfall coming down from a creek that you’ll be crossing. This was pretty small in winter but I suspect a lot faster flowing at other times of the year.
After a quick stop you’ll just keep plodding up the FSR. You won’t get a whole host of views along the way but you will come out to a large cut block area at one stage, with some nice views of an unnamed peak blocking the views of Mount St. Benedict itself.
In around 500m or so you’ll reach the point you leave the FSR and enter the forest. This is not obvious whatsoever, we walked right past it, so keep an eye out for some markers on the tree and it would be helpful to have an offline map.
Once in the forest you’ll have to be cognizant to look out for orange markers, they are there but not always easy to see, especially in the winter when snow is covering everything. The trail is narrow, often weaving in and out of trees and along creeks. The creeks prove a constant menace in the snow and we tried to avoid them as best we could, but you’re constantly in and out of them, which slows you down.
Thankfully the trail in the forest is a pretty mellow gradient so even though route finding could be tricky, you shouldn’t really be that physically challenged. There’s one short, steep hill you’ll need to get up which proved difficult in snow, but otherwise it’s pretty straightforward. There’s also one creek crossing that you need to pay attention to but again, even in deep snow it was manageable.
Around 2km after leaving the FSR you’ll reach McKay Lake and if the weather is favourable you should have a beautiful view of Mount St. Benedict behind. When we were there I saw my first ever fogbow, perfectly aligned with the summit of the mountain. If you’re going in the summer the lake is fine for swimming in but it’s definitely cold.
After finishing up at the lake you simply head back the way you came. The trail continues to the top of Mount St. Benedict, and this was our intention when we went, but unfortunately the snow became very deep past the lake and one creek crossing proved extremely difficult with massive snow walls either side and no way over. We walked up and down the creek looking for a suitable crossing, but we never found one. Since we were hiking on a time limit, we turned back.
When should I hike McKay Lake?
If you are just intending to go to McKay Lake I liked this as a winter option, making for a fun adventure in avalanche safe terrain. While route finding is difficult and you should be appropriately prepared and leave early, it’s a nice quiet winter trip.
If you are wanting to swim though, obviously stick to the summer.
Top Tip
I’d always try and combine this with Mount St. Benedict since it’s only slightly further though very steep. While continuing to Mount St. Benedict in winter is possible it is steep, challenging and does cover avalanche terrain, so it’s best to save it for summer if you want to do both.
If you’re doing this in snow like us you definitely need to bring an offline map. Navigation in the forest is not at all easy and you will want a map to refer to frequently. Even in the summer I’d suggest a map for this hike.
