Mount Elsay

trail/route with loop option.

Statistics

Directions

From Highway #1 (Trans-Canada Highway), head north over the Ironworkers Memorial (Second-Narrows) Bridge in the middle lane. Take the third exit after the bridge (#22a), signed as Mount Seymour Parkway. Turn right onto Mount Seymour Parkway almost immediately and follow it 4.4 km before turning left onto Mount Seymour Road.

Follow Mount Seymour Road as it winds it's way up the mountain. Drive to the end of the large parking lot at the end of the road. Start at the Mount Seymour Trail kiosk, to the left of the Mystery Peak chairlift. Mount Seymour Provincial Park requires parking passes for vehicles during the summer months.

Details

Mount Elsay a rocky, partially forested summit located directly north of Mount Seymour. Although it is located right next to Mount Seymour and included in many hiking guides, the trail is not well known. On a sunny summer weekend, it's typical to only see one or two other groups on the trail. The terrain is fairly typical for Vancouver's North Shore with portions of exposed rock and steep terrain. The mountain is often climbed as a loop hike, returning via the Elsay Lake Trail.

To reach the Mount Elsay, hike up the Mount Seymour Trail past Second Peak. As the trail drops the the bottom of the col between Second and Third Peak and passes a "danger - steep terrain" sign, look to the left towards a gully. A faint trail with flagging tape can barely be above the gully, leading along the edge of the mountain. Head left and downhill from the Mount Seymour trail, cutting over approximately 30 meters to the faint trail. At the edge of the trees, a metal marker indicates the start of the Mount Elsay Trail.

Follow the trail steeply downhill in a north-westernly direction as it follows the shallow gully. After dropping 150 meters in elevation fairly quickly, the trail turns to the right (north) and enters the forest. From here, the trail is a little rough but well defined and easy to follow. Although the trail is occasionally brushed out, it is not formally maintained. Expect blowdown and overgrowth on the trail.

It's not long before the trail rises steeply and leads to the top of a small rocky bluff on the crest of Mt. Seymour's North-West ridge. A trail leads off to the right here, almost immediately fading into the forest as it heads towards Runner Peak. Ignore it, instead turning left and climbing down the rock bluff and heading downhill. The trail is well defined, and descends to the base of a rocky gully below the north face of Seymour. Climb directly up the opposite side, regaining the trail.

The rough trail gains elevation and begins to follow through the mature timber on the top of the Seymour-Elsay ridge crest. As the trail nears a large rockfield a short distance on the right, watch for flagging tape - this trail can be followed down via the cairns on the rock field to the Elsay Lake trail, creating a loop. Stay to the right of the pond near the bottom.

From here, the trail trail starts to head upwards, continuing straight at the junction with the Mount Bishop Trail. It's very steep past here as the trail continues to Mount Elsay's summit.

The route is reasonably well marked, but good route finding and terrain reading skills are advisable for this trip. The cumulative elevation gain for the loop trip is 1400m over 12 kilometers, giving the trail a true average grade of 23%

Photographs

GPS Waypoints

Mount Seymour trailhead kiosk	N49.36774 W122.94889	10U 503711 5468338
Dog Mountain Trail junction	N49.36856 W122.94918	10U 503690 5468429
Dinky Peak Trail junction	N49.37233 W122.94948	10U 503668 5468849
First Lake Trail junction	N49.37311 W122.94987	10U 503639 5468935
Trail joins service road	N49.37633 W122.94590	10U 503927 5469293
Trail leaves service road	N49.37792 W122.94370	10U 504087 5469470
Brockton Point	N49.38165 W122.94189	10U 504218 5469885
Elsay Lake trailhead	N49.38615 W122.93615	10U 504634 5470386
Pump Peak	N49.38716 W122.94125	10U 504264 5470498
Mount Seymour 2nd Peak	N49.39025 W122.94373	10U 504083 5470841
Mount Elsay Trail junction	N49.39128 W122.94371	10U 504085 5470956
Mount Seymour NW ridge / Runner Peak junction	N49.39457 W122.94809	10U 503767 5471321
Rocky gully	N49.39659 W122.94634	10U 503894 5471546
Mount Bishop Trail junction	N49.40430 W122.94123	10U 504264 5472403
Mount Elsay	N49.40689 W122.93733	10U 504546 5472691
Junction with connector to Elsay Lake Trail	N49.40370 W122.94173	10U 504227 5472336
Junction with Elsay Lake Trail	N49.39797 W122.92990	10U 505086 5471700