Hiking Mount Thurston in the Fraser Valley
Contents
Mount Thurston Hike Information
Difficulty: Moderate
Distance: 17Km
Elevation Gain: 1,175m
Highest Elevation: 1,630m
Average Gradient: 13.82%
Effort/Reward Ratio: High / High
Time Needed:
– Slow: 7 – 8 Hours
– Moderate: 6 – 7 Hours
– Fast: 5 – 6 Hours
Dogs Permitted?: Yes
Season: Year-Round
4×4 / High Clearance Required? No
Scrambling / Exposure: None
Mount Thurston Trail
Trailhead Coordinates: 49°06’17.8″N 121°49’14.1″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.
Mount Thurston Overview
Mount Thurston is a summit in the Cascade mountain range further along from the very popular Elk Mountain. While many people hike to Elk Mountain pretty much year round, fewer people continue their journey to Mount Thurston. It’s possible to continue hiking beyond Mount Thurston to Mount Mercer for a trio of peaks, but few people do this and it’s only really possible in the summer when there is no snow to slow you down.
Continuing past Elk Mountain requires an additional 425m of cumulative elevation gain, as well as 9km more distance covered. This makes the continuation to Mount Thurston a mere 9.45% average gradient, which is pretty much half as steep as the hike to Elk Mountain alone.
Unfortunately the summit of Mount Thurston leaves much to be desired, offering absolutely no views in its dense forest crescendo, however the views along the way are pretty decent, and if you follow my tip below you can actually get a really great payoff at the end.
My mentality is often that I’m unlikely to be in the area again anytime soon, so if I’m going to hike Elk Mountain I may as well take the extra few hours and also throw in Mount Thurston, even if the views aren’t breathtaking. It’s hardly a massive effort to do an extra 9km and 425m elevation.
If you’re like me and you tend to combine peaks into one hike, you can even continue further to Mount Mercer or the Gloria Lookout should you be inclined. I went the day after a snow dump and getting to Thurston alone was exhausting breaking trail (alone) in deep snow, so I chose to leave Mount Mercer for another trip from its eastern ridge.
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Is Mount Thurston worthwhile?
The question here is really “Is it worthwhile continuing past Elk Mountain?”
When I hiked (or should I say snowshoed) to Mount Thurston, the views were beautiful as I was breaking trail through untouched snowy forests and ridgelines the entire time. Snow tends to make dull places a lot more picturesque and this was no different, it was a winter wonderland up there. Based on what I saw, the trail to Mount Thurston would be largely uneventful without the snow, with occasional ridgeline views over the Fraser River Valley (which you get from Elk Mountain anyway) and some really nice views of the Cheam range that you don’t get from Elk Mountain.
I can certainly see why many people stop at Elk Mountain though, and some people I know who have done this hike in summer have said Mount Thurston leaves much to be desired. That being said, I enjoyed it a lot in the winter and as mentioned earlier, you might as well add it to Elk Mountain as that’s such a short hike (2-3 hours) you might as well extend it a little further for minimal effort.
How difficult is the hike to Mount Thurston?
At 17km and 1,175m elevation gained this is a fairly difficult hike with an average gradient of 13.82%. Most of the climb is up to Elk Mountain though, with moderate elevation gained thereafter, so continuing to Thurston from Elk in itself isn’t a difficult extension.
Technically speaking the trail up to Elk Mountain is straightforward though steep. From Elk to Thurston the trail becomes a little trickier to follow as it meanders between the ridgeline and trees. In the untouched snow this proved very tricky and I needed a map to stay on trail, though I did keep running into orange markers on the trees so I suspect it is much easier without fresh snow on the ground.
At no point on this hike are you required to do any scrambling or climbing, and there is little exposure except for the trail hugging close to the ridge, which is fine in summer but can be tricky in winter in deep snow.
Mount Thurston Route Information
This hike begins at the same trailhead as Elk Mountain, just off of the Chilliwack Bench Forest Service Road and is accessible to all vehicles. Since I’ve already written a detailed report on the hike to Elk Mountain you might want to review that first, but I’ll summarize it here.
From the parking lot the trailhead is to the east end. The trail quickly passes some washrooms before entering the forest where the gradient begins to climb gradually. You’ll soon cross a stream, descend slightly and then begin climbing again where, after around 1.5km, you’ll get partial views of the Fraser Valley through the trees.
The next 500m will climb steeper into the forest, but around the 2km mark it eases off for the next 500m, staying pretty mellow. From 2.5km onwards the trail becomes much steeper, passing through a few switchbacks as you continue in the forest. The trail will now also be more rugged but still easy enough to navigate.
At around 3.3km you’ll break out of the forest into incredible views over the Fraser Valley, passing an excellent lookout point that you can traverse for some great photo opportunities. The remaining 500m to Elk Mountain is very steep but the views continue to get better and better. Soon enough you’ll be at Elk Mountain, with incredible views of Slesse Mountain, the Border Peaks, Mount MacFarlane, Mount Baker and the Fraser River.
This is where many choose to stop and head back but you’ll be continuing along the Elk-Thurston trail to Mount Thurston.
From Elk Mountain the trail to Mount Thurston is far less traveled and thus trickier to navigate. It is marked with orange markers but I found them a little sparse so I’d bring a map just in case. You begin on the ridgeline and actually start by descending slightly. The views over the Fraser River Valley will be impressive as you continue traversing this ridgeline for a while, at times ducking into the forest before popping back out onto the ridge. It’s a fun little adventure I’m not going to lie, especially if you go in winter like me.
The first kilometer or so after leaving Elk Mountain will be pretty simple in terms of elevation, in fact you’ll be about the same height by the end as you were when you left Elk. Make sure to keep looking behind you as the views are fantastic along this whole ridge, and in the summer the ridge will be filled with alpine flowers. For me in the winter though it was a bit nerve wracking as there was no trail to follow and with the steep ridge so close to the trail, you had to be very careful with your footing.
Around 1.5km after leaving Elk Mountain you’ll climb steeply into a forest, leaving the ridgeline for the next kilometer. There won’t be much to see here but navigation is at least easier and the forest section is pretty flat so you can make good progress.
After leaving the forest you’re now in my favorite park of this hike, a nice open meadow offering expansive views to the north of the Cheam range, something Elk lacks, as well as views of Mount Thurston itself. In the snow this place was just breathtaking but in the summer I imagine it’s a bit sparse, unless perhaps there are alpine flowers here. Anyway, it’s not too far to Mount Thurston now, around another 2km.
The trail will continue through this meadow while again dipping in and out of the impressive ridgeline. There will be countless places to stop for views along this ridge so just stop wherever you please. Unfortunately the clouds had rolled in to the south for me in this part so I just soldiered on, motivated by the northern views.
As you continue towards Mount Thurston the views of the Cheam range to the north are amazing albeit distant. The trail is never steep though so it won’t be long until you reach Mount Thurston. Unfortunately, as noted, there are no views at all as it is lined with trees, but the views along the way have been well worth it. Luckily I also have an ace up my sleeve.
When I was resting at Mount Thurston another snowshoer, happy that I had broken trail for him all day, showed up and offered a tip. He said if you keep going for 200m on the trail to Mount Mercer you get amazing views of the Cheam Range. Although I was tired, I was a bit disappointed that Thurston itself offered no views so I decided to go on and I’m thankful I did. The views of the Cheam range soon opened up and they were some of the best views I had all day! I strongly suggest doing this if going to Mount Thurston. I didn’t go any further as my pace was so slow breaking trail, but I’d have liked to keep going to Mount Mercer.
Anyway, you simply head back the way you came, enjoying the expansive views on the return leg. Careful descending from Elk Mountain, especially in winter, as this is very steep and slippery and often quite busy.
When should I hike Mount Thurston?
Mount Thurston is a year round objective and I personally loved doing it in snow. I think it made what would be an otherwise relatively dull trail incredibly rewarding. It’s definitely a much more tiring hike in winter than summer (it always is!) and you will likely need snowshoes to continue after Elk Mountain, but for me it was well worth it.
If you want alpine flowers though, or simply don’t like snow, I’d stick to the summer months, June to October.
Top Tip
Well first of all make sure to go to the Cheam range lookout point just after Mount Thurston as it only adds a couple of hundred meters and is well worth it. If hiking in summer and you want a trio of peaks I recommend continuing on to Mount Mercer, though it would make for a long day.
This trail isn’t the easiest to navigate, especially in winter, so I recommend an offline map for sure.
