Hiking Rice Lake in North Vancouver
Contents
Rice Lake Hike Information
Difficulty: Easy
Distance: 7.25Km
Elevation Gain: 200m
Highest Elevation: 213m
Average Gradient: 5.50%
Effort/Reward Ratio: Low / Low
Time Needed:
– Slow: 2.5 – 3 Hours
– Moderate: 2 – 2.5 Hours
– Fast: 1.5 – 2 Hours
Dogs Permitted?: Yes
Season: Year-Round
4×4 / High Clearance Required? No
Scrambling / Exposure: None
Rice Lake Trail
Trailhead Coordinates: 49°20’35.6″N 123°01’07.5″W
Rice Lake Overview
Rice Lake is a scenic and tranquil lake in Lynn Headwaters Regional Park in North Vancouver that makes for an easy and pleasant hike for all abilities. Due to its well groomed gravel trail, it’s particularly popular with families looking to take their young ones for an easy stroll in nature. It’s also a popular dog walking and fishing spot, and you’ll likely find many anglers dotted around the lakes shore anytime you visit.
There are a few different trails leading to Rice Lake, with the easiest option approaching from a parking lot north of the Seymour-Capilano water treatment plant. From here this is basically a completely flat 2.5km stroll along a gravel trail. This is such an easy trail I wouldn’t call it a hike, hence the trail I am going to describe here is longer, beginning at Lynn Canyon.
Rice Lake is a charming spot, with plenty of lookout points along its shore, and it makes for a pleasant and easy outing. It’s a year-round destination, and no doubt makes for a great rainy day option when you aren’t feeling too ambitious but you still want to get out in nature.
Since this route also passes through Lynn Canyon, you get to benefit from all the sights offered there as well, namely the Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge, Lynn Creek, Twin Falls and the 30 Foot Pool. With such an abundance on offer it’s obvious why both Rice Lake and Lynn Canyon are very popular, so be prepared for crowds if you choose to go on a sunny weekend. An early start is advised if so.
Maintaining this website requires a significant investment of both time and money, if you find this website a useful resource, please consider making a donation using this button.
Is Rice Lake worthwhile?
On its own Rice Lake would be a very short walk along a gravel path with basically zero elevation, and as such wouldn’t feature on this site. However, when combined with Lynn Canyon you do add a bit of adventure, distance and elevation gain, making this simple stroll into more of a hike. There are plenty of sights along the way, and while I wouldn’t personally dedicate a sunny summer day to it, Rice Lake / Lynn Canyon is a worthy trail.
How difficult is the hike to Rice Lake?
The trail around Rice Lake could not be any easier, it’s completely flat and gravel, you could push a stroller around it. And for that reason I wouldn’t consider it a hike at all on its own. When you add in Lynn Canyon as well, this becomes more of a hike, with some elevation gain, some rough terrain and a bit of adventure. Still, other than a few steep staircases this is an easy trail both physically and technically.
Rice Lake Route Information
The trailhead for this route to Rice Lake is at Lynn Canyon, at the end of Peters Road in Lynn Valley. Pay parking is in effect for popular times of the year and fills up extremely fast on a sunny weekend, so get there early. There are several parking lots after the entrance, so after parking find your way to the Lynn Canyon Cafe where the trail begins.
The hike begins along the Centennial Trail, which is to the right of the suspension bridge, running parallel to, but high above, Lynn Creek. After a few hundred meters you’ll see a steep staircase heading down towards Lynn Creek, which you will want to take. Once at the bottom you’ll find yourself on Twin Falls Bridge, with a nice view of Twin Falls and the roaring Lynn Creek below you.
On the other side of the bridge you’ll join the Baden Powell Trail, where you’ll want to turn left. The trail will climb gradually, with much of it on a boardwalk, making for simple travel. After a few hundred meters of weaving through the forest you’ll find yourself back at the suspension bridge, only now on the other side. If you have an urge to go onto the bridge, now’s your chance, as the trail won’t actually be passing over it.
Instead, you’ll continue along the trail that runs parallel to the creek. Take note of all the warning signs and fencing preventing cliff jumping in the area as many people have been injured or even killed by partaking in the activity over the years.
The trail will now continue to follow Lynn Creek, with plenty of opportunities to reach the shoreline along the way. In a few hundred meters you’ll reach the 30 Foot Pool, a very popular spot for people to take a dip in the ice cold waters on a sunny day.
After a quick stop at the pool, the trail now ascends steeply but briefly up a staircase before reaching a junction, where you’ll want to keep right. You’ll hit another staircase that climbs further, before eventually reaching a wide open gravel travel. From here on the trail is almost completely flat until you’ve finished the lake loop.
Going left on the gravel trail you’ll soon join up with the start point for the easy route to Rice Lake at the Rice Lake Road roundabout. The trail now continues into the forest, before turning right, through a fence and onto the Rice Creek Loop Trail.
Almost immediately you’ll cross a bridge on the southern point of the lake with a nice viewpoint, and in a few hundred meters you’ll reach the Rice Lake Floating Dock, which will often be lined with anglers. This is one of the best views of the entire lake.
Back on the trail, it continues much the same the whole way around the lake, completely flat and smooth gravel, with many viewpoints of the lake along the way. Eventually you will complete the loop around the lake and find yourself back at the start where you’ll simply retrace your steps back to the Rice Lake Road roundabout. From here you can return to the trailhead back the way you came, or you can take another route as I did, via the Pipeline Bridge.
Assuming you follow my tracks, instead of going back the way you came, you’ll keep right after the roundabout, descending on a shared trail with cyclists towards the creek once more. You’ll pass over the Pipeline Bridge, keep left on Rice Lake Road 7 follow Lynn Valley Road briefly before rejoining the trail down, back into the forest towards the creek on the other side.
The trail now follows the creek once again, offering some nice viewpoints of Lynn Creek along the way. After a few hundred meters on this trail you’ll climb back up and find yourself back at the suspension bridge and Lynn Creek Cafe, where the hike began.
When should I hike Rice Lake?
Rice Lake is a year-round option but I like to keep it in the back pocket for a rainy or cloudy day when ambitions are low and I don’t want to drive too far. Both Rice Lake and Lynn Canyon can get very busy on a sunny summer weekend, so personally I would avoid this time at all costs.
Top Tip
It’s easy to extend or reduce this hike in a variety of ways, just look at the number of trails in the area and see how they connect. It’s possible to go as far as Horseshoe Bay or Deep Cove, so your options are almost endless. If you just want to see Rice Lake and don’t care for any effort, you might as well just park at the Rice Lake parking lot north of the Seymour-Capilano water treatment plant and go from there.
