Hiking Raven's Bluff & Little Nicomen Peak near Mission
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Raven's Bluff & Little Nicomen Peak Hike Information
Difficulty: Moderate
Distance: 8.25Km
Elevation Gain: 490m
Highest Elevation: 495m
Average Gradient: 11.88%
Effort/Reward Ratio: Moderate / Moderate
Time Needed:
– Slow: 4 – 5 Hours
– Moderate: 3 – 4 Hours
– Fast: 2.5 – 3 Hours
Dogs Permitted?: Yes
Season: Year-Round
4×4 / High Clearance Required? No
Scrambling / Exposure: None
Raven's Bluff & Little Nicomen Peak Trail
Trailhead Coordinates: 49°10’31.0″N 122°09’06.1″W
Raven's Bluff & Little Nicomen Peak Overview
Raven’s Bluff & Little Nicomen Peak are a series of viewpoints located on the southwest slopes of Nicomen Peak near Mission. While far lower than the official Nicomen Peak, these two trails offer decent views over the Fraser Valley, something the official peak lacks as it’s mostly forested. Since Nicomen Peak is also a fairly major grind with little reward (~15km, 1,300m), Little Nicomen and Raven’s Bluff are preferred by a much larger audience.
It’s possible to hike both of these trails individually, but given the fairly small stats even when combined, plus the fact the route from Raven’s Bluff #5 to Little Nicomen Peak is short with minimal elevation gain, it’s worthwhile to combine them into a loop as described here. That being said if you were only interested in one, Raven’s Bluff offers the better views and comes in at around 4.2km and 370m.
The trail begins at the end of Hawkins Pickle Road, which is a popular spot with fishermen recreating in the nearby Norrish Creek. The parking is simply on the side of the road and is accessible for all vehicles. In terms of seasonality, thanks to the low elevation of these trails you can likely hike this year round, though in the midst of winter you may encounter snow/ice at certain times. Dogs are fine on this hike.
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Raven's Bluff & Little Nicomen Peak worthwhile?
Given the relatively modest stats of this hike the views from some of the bluffs along the trail are quite pleasant, especially from bluff #5 on the Raven’s Bluff section. If you don’t go into this anticipating panoramic summit views you might be quietly impressed as the lookout above the Fraser Valley below is quite nice.
How difficult is the hike to Raven's Bluff & Little Nicomen Peak?
The average gradient of this hike is a little deceptive as it begins and ends with quite a lot of flat travel along Norrish Creek. The hike from the creek up to Raven’s Bluff #5 is actually very steep, rising around 300m over just 1km for a 30% average gradient. This section will certainly leave you out of breath, but thankfully it’s short lived and the rest of the hike is simple.
There isn’t anything particularly technical about this hike, but you will want an offline map to follow as there isn’t really any signage along this trail.
Raven's Bluff & Little Nicomen Peak Route Information
As noted, the hike begins at the end of Hawkins Pickle Road, where the road ends at a gate before a bridge over Norrish Creek. Parking on the side of the road, you’ll hike past the gate, over the bridge and immediately turn left onto a trail that passes over a train track, obviously taking care whilst doing so.
The trail will briefly hike through some forest before reaching a junction where you’ll want to keep left and stay on the trail close to Norrish Creek. You’ll pass through an open sandy area offering some nice views of the creek. Continuing on the trail you will re-enter the forest, remaining on the trail closest to the river. Shortly ahead you’ll have a brief, steep climb up next to the embankment of the creek, where the sandy cliffs have collapsed into the creek below. Keep an eye out on your map as you’ll want to locate a trail heading away from the creek and into the forest.
Once you’ve taken this trail it will wind through the forest and begin a steep climb up, this is where the hard part of the day begins as you’ll now have joined the Raven’s Bluff trail. You’ll now climb steeply through the forest, passing by a number of bluffs on the way. According to the trail there are 6 bluffs, but a few of them are really non-events, mostly bluffs #1, #2 and #4.
After around 800m of hiking along this section of trail, gaining around 150m in the process, you’ll reach bluff #3. It’s not a great view as it’s mostly blocked by trees, but it’s a good excuse for a breather and gives you a taste of the views to come. Heading back on the trail you’ll quickly pass by Bluff #4, and after climbing another 150m or so you’ll reach a junction. Going left will lead towards Little Nicomen Peak and going right will continue to Raven’s Bluff #5 and #6.
You’ll want to head right first, and after just 100m of simple hiking you’ll reach Bluff #5, which is by far the most panoramic bluff, offering unobstructed views of the Fraser Valley farmland below, as well as Sumas Mountain and Dewdney Peak. There’s also a bench here to enjoy the views.
Once finished a this bluff you can continue along the trail towards bluff #6, which involves around 40m of descending unfortunately. This bluff isn’t really worth the extra effort, so if you don’t feel like climbing back up you can certainly skip this.
Assuming you’re also going to Little Nicomen Peak, you’ll now want to head back to the junction which leads to Little Nicomen Peak and begin heading along that trail. After a few hundred meters of simple hiking you’ll find a small wooden shack named the “Nut Shack”. I’m not sure of the history of this, but you can go inside and there’s a few chairs and registry books to fill in if you want, and there’s actually quite nice views in front of it. Back on the trail, you’ll simply follow it for another 600m or so to Little Nicomen Peak. This offers another decent viewpoint, but by now the view will largely be the same as what you’ve seen so far. It will offer the better views of Dewdney Peak, though that’s just a forested hill.
Now you can either return to the trailhead the same way you came, or you can form a loop as the GPX above did. To do so, you continue beyond the peak on an old logging road, but after a couple of hundred meters you’ll want to keep an eye out for a faint trail on your left that is easy to miss. This trail descends steeply, dropping almost 200m over a distance of just 600m. Once at the end you’ll reach another old logging road that is easy to follow as it descends gradually back towards Norrish Creek where you began your day.
When should I hike Raven's Bluff & Little Nicomen Peak?
Raven’s Bluff & Little Nicomen Peak are possible to hike at any time of year, though in the midst of winter you may encounter snow and ice at higher (or lower!) elevations. I would personally only hike this on a mediocre day of weather as the views aren’t amazing.
Top Tip
An offline map is basically a necessity to get to where you want to get as there is no signage and plenty of trails dotted around this part.
If you only care for views and want to keep it short, skip Little Nicomen Peak and just end your hike at Bluff #5 on the Raven’s Bluff trail. That is the best view of the day. The Nut Shack is kind of cool to check out though and does also offer a nice view.
