Bear Mountain (Harrison)

A logging road and short trail from Harrison Hot Springs leads to viewpoint overlooking Seabird Island and the Cheam Range.

Statistics

Directions

Starting in Harrison Hot Springs, follow Highway #9 to the four way stop. Reset your odometer here and turn right on to Lillooet Avenue, following it east. After 4.9 kilometers, turn right onto partially hidden gravel road. Park in front of the gate, currently signed as "No trespassing under the Mines Act" (the mine has been inactive for decades). Do not block the road or any of the nearby driveways.

Details

Follow the old logging road past the gate, passing a "Bear Mountain Forest Service Road" sign. The road curves to the right after 400 meters and reaches what remains of an mine office, complete with core samples. As you continue up the road, take the most obvious route at each junction. Two small waterfalls are passed within the next 1.5 kilometers, and are the only sources of water on the trip.

After a total distance of 5 km from the start, the trees alongside the road finally open enough for beautiful views of Harrison Lake and the surrounding area. The road completely levels out past the viewpoint and curves around to the right, reaching a signed junction a short distance later. The right fork leads 300 meters to the shore of Bear Lake, while the left fork continues to the summit.

Beyond this point, the road has become overgrown, with many bushy sections and some occasional deadfall to navigate over. Continue for 2.1 kilometers down to a point where a large amount of flagging tape marks the true start of the trail. Turn left, entering the virgin forest and following the trail. Watch for flagging tape of various colors as you continue. Once the trail reaches the top of the ridge, it turns to the right and continues to a beautiful lookout with a transmission tower and helicopter pad. Ignore the sign marking the total distance as 10 km - in reality it was only 8.9 km to the gate.

The viewpoint has lots of room for lunch, and offers great views of the Fraser Valley, Agassiz, and Seabird Island.

Photographs

GPS Waypoints

Gate	N49.33270 W121.75041	10U 590787 5465193
Mine office	N49.33440 W121.74729	10U 591010 5465385
Small waterfall #1	N49.32949 W121.74775	10U 590986 5464839
Small waterfall #2	N49.32293 W121.74689	10U 591061 5464111
Bridge	N49.32171 W121.74558	10U 591158 5463977
View	N49.31809 W121.73887	10U 591652 5463582
Road levels out	N49.31877 W121.73876	10U 591659 5463658
Lake junction	N49.32045 W121.73443	10U 591971 5463850
Bear lake	N49.31809 W121.73462	10U 591961 5463587
Pond	N49.31413 W121.73582	10U 591881 5463146
Trail leaves old road	N49.30564 W121.74143	10U 591489 5462195
Viewpoint and tower	N49.29891 W121.74104	10U 591530 5461447