Hiking Mount St. Benedict near Mission
Contents
Mount St. Benedict Hike Information
Difficulty: Difficult
Distance: 11Km
Elevation Gain: 962m
Highest Elevation: 1,275m
Average Gradient: 17.49%
Effort/Reward Ratio: High / Moderate
Time Needed:
– Slow: 5 – 6 Hours
– Moderate: 4 – 5 Hours
– Fast: 3 – 4 Hours
Dogs Permitted?: Yes
Season: Year-Round (Summer Preferred)
4×4 / High Clearance Required? No – But it would make it easier
Scrambling / Exposure: None
Mount St. Benedict Trail
Trailhead Coordinates: 49°17’48.7″N 122°13’58.9″W
Mount St. Benedict Overview
Mount St. Benedict is a modest summit accessed from Mission. Slightly east of the always scenic Stave Lake, the hike offers some pleasant views from the summit, notably of Mount Robie Reed, Mount Judge Howay, Stave Lake and the Golden Ears range. You’ll also have some distant views to the south of the prominent peaks of the Chilliwack River Valley and the US border.
Mount St. Benedict is a year-round option, but due to some challenging creek crossings in snow, and some very steep terrain beyond McKay Lake, most people tend to complete this hike in the summer as it is far easier to do so then.
Another benefit of hiking this in summer is the ability to drive high up the Munro Creek FSR, reducing the distance and elevation gain of this hike to approximately 7.3km and 560m. The Munro Creek FSR is a rugged, sometimes steep road, with mild cross ditches and jagged rocks. A vehicle with good clearance is suggested to attempt it.
For those driving a lower clearance vehicle, parking is near Davis Lake along the Lost Creek FSR, which is fine for all vehicles. Unfortunately you will have to contend with a rather boring beginning of this hike from down here, with a steep plod along the FSR that others will have driven.
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Is Mount St. Benedict worthwhile?
The worthiness of Mount St. Benedict somewhat depends on where you can park. If you’re able to park at the trailhead high up the Munro Creek FSR, the hike is a short and sweet forest grind past a scenic lake to the top of a mountain with some pleasing views. If you are parking down at the bottom, the first half of the hike is a rather boring and pretty steep FSR slog, before joining the trail. It’s still worth it either way, but it’s preferred if you can drive higher up to reduce the dull FSR plod. You don’t really get any views anywhere other than the summit.
How difficult is the hike to Mount St. Benedict?
Mount St. Benedict is a pretty short and steep hike wherever you park. With an average gradient of 17.50% this is a pretty steep slog for the majority of the hike. The whole FSR plod is consistently steep, before entering the forest where the gradient eases until McKay Lake. Beyond the lake the gradient increases significantly, becoming a very steep forest grind to the saddle between the north and south summit. From here you follow the ridge, looping around the back of the peak before another steep climb to the top.
Technically the hike is fairly straightforward. The trail is often rough and ready, with some tricky route finding, especially if there is snow on the ground covering the trail. Snow makes this hike considerably more challenging in general, with a few creek crossings becoming extremely challenging with high snow banks, and the steep grind beyond McKay Lake being very difficult with any significant amount of snow on the ground.
Mount St. Benedict Route Information
Depending on where you park your car, the hike will begin either near Davis Lake (where the coordinates above are), or high up the Murdo Creek FSR, where the trail enters the forest. As noted you will need a high clearance vehicle to drive up the Murdo Creek FSR. I will be describing the hike from the lower parking lot where all vehicles will be able to park.
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.
In around 1.5km or so you’ll reach the point you leave the FSR and enter the forest. Keep your eyes peeled as it can be easy to miss, especially if you’re going in winter. This is also where those with a capable vehicle will park to begin their hike.
The gradient now eases as the trail meanders through the forest. It’s not a super obvious trail to follow at times, but it should be trafficked enough that you can see where to go relatively easily without the need for markers, assuming you’re not going in winter. After around 1.5km you will reach the scenic McKay Lake, with Mount St. Benedict looming high above.
You briefly hop over some logs around the shore of the lake, before delving back into the forest. After a few hundred meters you will drop down and cross over a creek, which is the one that will cause issues if going in the depths of winter. In the summer though it’s a non-event. Immediately after crossing this creek the steep grind begins. Over the next 500m or so you will climb 200m to the saddle between the north and south summit of Mount St. Benedict. The trail here is rough and the footing isn’t always ideal, but it’s pretty simple nonetheless. Once you reach the saddle the trail becomes a little less obvious, at least it was when I went and snow was on the ground. It’s not that well marked either, so a map is useful. You’ll now weave between trees, working your way along the ridge for a few hundred meters, until you find yourself beneath the summit at a small lake.
The trail continues along the ridge to the south side of the summit, where it soon re-enters the forest, with the last 500m climbing another 100m or so. Again, the trail wasn’t always very obvious here and I ended up bushwhacking up at times, but the general direction is very evident.
You might be thinking as you approach the summit that there aren’t going to be any views, since it is fairly heavily forested throughout. Just keep following the trail though and eventually you’ll reach an outcrop where the views fully open up. You’ll actually have decent views in most directions, but the best view is to the north, looking out towards Mount Robie Reed, Mount Judge Howay, the Golden Ears range and Stave Lake. To the south you’ll be able to see all sorts of peaks off in the distance, notably Mount Baker, the Border Peaks, Slesse Mountain and the Cheam range.
After enjoying the views you simply head back the way you came, taking care on the steep section with your footing.
When should I hike Mount St. Benedict?
People do complete this hike year-round, but when we tried in winter we were stopped by the creek after McKay Lake. I would personally suggest sticking to summer for this hike, it’s just a much easier, albeit steep grind. The ability to drive high up the FSR in the summer also makes this hike considerably easier, though obviously not everyone will have that luxury.
Mount St. Benedict is a fairly low summit though, so the season will be a bit longer than most peaks. June to November will be the best time to go.
Top Tip
I ran into a bear on this hike so do be prepared with the necessary bear deterrent.
If you are going towards the start/end of the peak season you should be prepared with microspikes at least, as the steep section beyond McKay Lake could be challenging if there is snow on the ground.
