Hiking Rolley Peak in Mission
Contents
Rolley Peak Hike Information
Difficulty: Moderate
Distance: 13.10Km
Elevation Gain: 634m
Highest Elevation: 728m
Average Gradient: 9.68%
Effort/Reward Ratio: Moderate / Moderate
Time Needed:
– Slow: 5 – 6 Hours
– Moderate: 4 – 5 Hours
– Fast: 3 – 4 Hours
Dogs Permitted?: Yes
Season: Year-Round
4×4 / High Clearance Required? No
Scrambling / Exposure: None
Rolley Peak Trail
Trailhead Coordinates: 49°15’17.2″N 122°21’56.6″W
Rolley Peak Overview
Rolley Peak is a forested summit in Mission, slightly north of the popular Rolley Lake, though it does offer a panoramic viewpoint above Stave Lake from a viewing platform slightly below the summit that makes the hike worthwhile. The actual summit does not have a trail leading to it, requiring some bushwhacking, and offers no views whatsoever, so if you do not care to reach the summit you might as well stop hiking once you reach the viewing platform. Doing so would reduce the hike to around 12km and 600m gain.
Rolley Peak is not a well known hike and there’s every chance you won’t see anybody during your trip. The entire hike follows a logging road as it meanders up the hillside at a moderate gradient throughout, with some limited views along the way.
Due to its lower elevation Rolley Peak is a year-round option and might be preferred in the winter when snow covers the area. It’s a largely safe winter hike on mellow terrain, though microspikes and potentially even snowshoes may be required depending on the snowpack. Of course, hiking this in the summer is also perfectly fine, but there are likely better objectives than Rolley Peak on a sunny summer day.
Parking for Rolley Peak is along Florence Lake Road, a rugged FSR full of deep potholes, but manageable for 2WD’s if you take your time and drive with care. There are no steep sections, jagged rocks or any cross ditches to navigate along the road. This is also a pet friendly hike and likely makes for a good option if you like quiet hikes to take your pup off leash.
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Is Rolley Peak worthwhile?
I’m a little bit surprised that Rolley Peak isn’t a more popular hike, in fact it is almost entirely unknown. It ticks many boxes in that it is close to Vancouver / the Fraser Valley, it’s 2WD accessible, the viewing platform offers a beautiful viewpoint over Stave Lake and the hike itself is only moderately challenging. In many ways this is a similar hike to the very popular Hunter Logging Road trail, albeit a bit more challenging with more elevation gain and distance hiked.
If you prefer quieter hikes to a nice viewpoint Rolley Peak should be on your radar for sure. The actual trail itself isn’t the most interesting though, so don’t go expecting to be wowed throughout.
How difficult is the hike to Rolley Peak?
Physically speaking Rolley Peak is a moderately challenging hike at 13.1km and 634m elevation gain. With an almost 10% average gradient this is a fairly consistent climb, though at no stage is it particularly strenuous.
Technically the hike is as simple as it gets, a straightforward hike up an old logging road the entire time.
Rolley Peak Route Information
The trailhead for this hike is a few kilometers down Florence Lake Road, which is a rugged, pothole riddled road but should still be manageable in a 2WD with some careful driving. You may need an offline map downloaded to ensure you are in the right spot as there are no signs for this hike. You will know you are in the correct place as the trailhead is an offshoot logging road on your left which is gated to prevent vehicles driving up. There is no dedicated parking here, you simply have to park on the side of the road ensuring to leave enough space for other vehicles to get by. There should be plenty of room for several vehicles.
You’ll begin the hike by passing by the gate at the start of the logging road you parked at. The trail climbs gradually and after 800m you’ll follow a sharp switchback, passing by another trail that you don’t want to take. The ascent remains consistent but not overly challenging, and the next few hundred meters will offer some nice views of the southern tip of Stave Lake and its surrounding hills.
Soon enough you’ll be back in the forest though, and the gradient picks up slightly here, where it’s one of the steeper sections of the hike. It doesn’t last long though and once you hit the 3km mark of the hike the gradient tapers off significantly. You’ll pass by another junction here but just stay on the main logging road as it curves around to your right, passing a few more junctions on the way. You will pass by a few spacious cut blocks where previous logging has cleared the area, and at around 5km the mellow trail once again starts to climb.
The logging road narrows and you’ll soon reach another junction with a gated trail on your left, this time you’ll want to take this trail. The hike now begins to climb steeply as it switches back on itself, but overall it’s just a consistent grind. You’ll begin to get some peek-a-boo views of Stave Lake as you climb here, but the viewpoint isn’t far now so just keep plodding along.
At the 6km mark and approximately 700m elevation you will reach the viewpoint, which is a very obvious open area with a large, newly built viewing platform. It’s unclear what the purpose of this platform is at the moment, it could be the intention of making this a more popular hike in the Mission area. I am fairly sure it is not a tent pad due to its size, it very well could be a helicopter pad, but there is really no need to have one here so that would be unusual if so.
Either way, the view is now panoramic to the north, east and south, with stunning views of Stave Lake and its surrounding peaks, as well as many peaks on the horizon of the Fraser Valley, such as Slesse Mountain, the Border Peaks & Mount Baker. Unfortunately you cannot see the show stopping Mount Robie Reid or Mount Judge Howay as they are blocked by Mount Crickmer and the unnamed peaks around it.
Most people will want to stop at the viewing platform, which makes a great place to have lunch, but more fervent peakbaggers will note this is not the peak and thus will want to continue on. The trail now loops around the true summit, with no specific access point to the summit itself. Hikers will have to decide for themselves when to enter the forest and bushwack their own way to the high point. There is nothing to see here and the bushwhacking isn’t particularly fun, but neither is it that challenging. In no time you will reach the summit where I’m sure you won’t linger. You bushwhack your way back out as you please, we formed a small loop that returned us back to the viewing platform. From here you simply hike back down the logging roads to the trailhead the same way you came up.
When should I hike Rolley Peak?
As noted this is a year-round hike but personally I wouldn’t go on a sunny summer day, there are just far better hikes out there than Rolley Peak. For me it makes for a good option in the shoulder season or in the middle of winter when avalanche ratings may be too high to do anything more adventurous. Safe winter hikes are often in short supply and Rolley Peak makes for a good option so that’s the preferred time for me.
That being said you likely do want a clear day for this otherwise it’s just a hike along a logging road to a nonexistent viewpoint.
Top Tip
You’ll definitely want an offline map for this one as there is no signage and several trail junctions to navigate.
If going in the winter you will certainly want microspikes and potentially even snowshoes if there has been recent snowfall at lower elevations.
