Hike to the top of peaks and look out over ocean vistas and inland turquoise lakes. Feel the pulse of old-growth forests pierced with moss and filtered sunlight. Discover some of BC’s most unique landscapes, shaped by thousands of years (rainbow mountains, anyone?).
From coastal rainforest to alpine ridgelines, Northwest BC offers a rare kind of access to places that still feel vast, quiet, and untouched. Discover some of BC’s most unique terrain, from glacier-carved valleys to volcanic plateaus streaked in colour, and find out just how far a trail can take you when the wilderness opens up around you.
PRINCE GEORGE
Prince George is a city that embraces nature and many of its best trails are found within city limits. For a wilderness setting in the heart of the town, head to Forests for the World, a 106-ha demonstration forest with over 15 kilometers of trails. The short but challenging hike up to Teapot Mountain rewards with 360-degree views of the surrounding lakes, rivers, forests and wetlands. The only inland temperate rainforest in the world can be explored by wheelchair-accessible paths in Ancient Forest Trail/Chun T’oh Whudujut Park. Or venture into the alpine at Sugar Bowl-Grizzly Den Provincial Park, aptly named because it provides excellent habitat for grizzly bear, caribou and other wildlife.
BURNS LAKE & LAKES DISTRICT
Discover more than two dozen trails in the Burns Lake area, with popular routes including Nourse Creek Trail, Bear Dens Trail, Rod Reid Nature Trail and the Southbank Nature Trail.
HOUSTON
In Houston, hike to the top of Morice Mountain for sublime views of the surrounding hillscape. For another breathtaking summit vista, climb China Knows, known in Wet’suwet’en as “Tse Zhul” (rock neck), which slopes gently from a forested south end to a dramatic 400-meter cliff that juts out at its north end. Hot day for a hike? Feel the cool mist coming off Aitken Falls on a steep and challenging hike descent into a canyon.
SMITHERS
Smithers‘ soaring peaks make great playgrounds for hikers. Head to the Babine Mountains Provincial Park where glacier-fed lakes, rugged peaks and valleys of sub-alpine meadows provide both day and overnight hikes. Easy alpine can also be accessed above Hudson Bay Mountain to Crater Lake. A family-friend hike along the Driftwood Canyon Trail offers the chance to discover ancient fossils and explore an area once covered in massive sheets of glacial ice. For a full-day adventure, tackle the Silvern Lakes Trail where alpine lakes and meadows of flowers await.
STEWART
The four- to five-day traverse across the desolate, volcanic landscape of Mount Edziza is remarkable for its rainbow-streaked mountains, cinder cones and fields of basalt rock. Over in Stewart, over a dozen routes worth hiking for excellent viewpoints of the town, Portland Canal and the Bear River Valley. A network of trails leads through old-growth forest, subalpine terrain, lakes, and waterfalls, offering shifting perspectives over this historic town at the head of the Portland Canal. The town’s Trails Guide brings these routes together, reflecting the depth and range of experiences found across this landscape.
TERRACE
Among the options for easy hiking in Terrace is a short walking route through forest, a gentle path that follows a babbling creek, and a moderate one-kilometer hike through an old-growth to a lake. There’s no shortage of hikes that quicken the heartbeat either. Gunsight Lake is a near-seven kilometer route that winds along scenic alpine lakes and ridges, or seek out the Oliver and Whiskey Creek trails in the Seven Sisters Provincial Park, which provide challenging routes to the treeline.
KITIMAT
In Kitimat, trails rise from tidewater to alpine in a single day. Follow the Kitimat River Trail for a peaceful riverside walk where eagles gather in the fall, or climb toward the alpine ridgelines above town for sweeping views of Douglas Channel and the Coast Mountains. Maggie’s Point and Hirsch Creek areas offer accessible forest walks, while more ambitious hikers can push higher into rugged terrain shaped by glacier and sea. Here, the meeting of mountain and ocean offers a perspective that feels distinctly coastal and undeniably wild.
PRINCE RUPERT
In Prince Rupert, most hikes take you beside the ocean, like the short, mostly flat walking path that connects Rushbrook to Cow Bay, or to panoramic views overlooking the harbour dotted with islands and boats, like you’ll find on Tall Trees Trail. There’s coastal rainforest to be found on the Butze Rapids’ five-kilometer loop too.
