Hollyburn Mountain trail is the second trail I tried after Dog Mountain. I thought this is a moderate trail and a good step up from Dog Mountain, or so I thought. I probably should have paid more attention when researching on this trail because it was more of a challenging than moderate trail.
It is next to Cypress Mountain within Cypress Provincial Park. It is about 30 minutes drive from Vancouver. Let me give you some stats about this trail.
- Distance: 7.5 km (up and down the same path)
- Elevation: 440 m
- Peak: 1,326 m
- Time: We took about 4 hours with all the sightseeing and resting
- Entrance Fee: Free
Parking
If you are early, you can park right next to the trailhead. Even if you are a little late, it is still convenient because if you parked slightly further away, the terrain of the carpark in flat unlike Dog Mountain’s parking. There is a toilet at the Cypress Mountain’s Nordic Area paid attraction which shares a carpark. Make a stop there if you need before heading up the mountain. There are no toilets along this trail.
Trail overview
This trail can be separated into different sections. The initial 300 meters of trail in my opinion is a tough climb. Followed by a section of about 2 km of flat and gradual up and down slope. When you are about 2.5 km in, the trail starts going uphill and it only gets steeper from there.
The burning begins
From the very beginning of the trail, it begins to climb. It is a gradual incline but this slope is long. About 300 meters of slope without any flat area to rest. Someone asked me along the way which part of the trail is the most challenging, I said the last park because it was quite steep. Come to think of it, this initial part is also quite challenging psychologically. It was very tiring to climb this slope. I was sweating and was breathless half way through. But I didn’t stop on the slope. I made it point of not letting people caught up and pass me. If not, that would be more demoralizing. In the process, I left my climbing partner behind.
A taste of the views ahead
After this initial climb, I took a break and at the same time waited for my friend to catch up. The view here is pretty good and only gets better the higher I go. There are quite a lot of people resting here as well. I think they are out on a school trip because I heard an adult telling some youths not to goof around and do crazy stuff. That is pretty much what I would do when out on a school trip.
For the next 2 km or so, we are walking along side the groomed Cypress cross country ski area. There is nothing exciting. Gentle up and down slope with some open spaces at the side of the trail. In this section, you can actually branch out and explore. Taking different routes which hopefully lead you back to the main trail if you know where you are going. I like this trail. The route is wide and there are not a lot of people. That is probably why the snow is soft and fluffy and not hard and compact as compared to Dog Mountain Trail.
Warning. Venture at your own risk
You will reach a point where you see a sign with the headline “Area Boundary”. Warning you that are heading into back country terrain which is hazardous, uncontrolled and unmarked. However with the popularity of this trail, the kind people of BC Parks marked out the trail so we wouldn’t wander off aimlessly. The is also the same area where the groomed cross country ski area ends. From here, it keeps going up up and up.
See what we have achieve by looking back
Just a couple of minutes after the climb, you are treated with a relatively flat area which is a good spot to take a break and soak in the break taking view. The thing about climbing a trail like this is we always look ahead on the trail and forget to the turn back and look at our achievement. From here on, every few steps I climbed, the view behind me is different. So take time and stop to look behind when you are in this section of the trail.
I gave up my snowshoes
Somewhere along this slope, I gave up my snowshoes. Not that there is something wrong with my snowshoes. Nope, I don’t hate my snowshoes. But there is something wrong with my friend’s snowshoes and she hates it. She got her snowshoes from Costco and according to her, it is very difficult to climb uphill and the snowshoes binding keeps coming loose. So being a gentleman, I offered my snowshoes and we hid her snowshoes in the forest before continuing our climb. (Don’t worry, we didn’t litter by leaving the snowshoes there.)
This is when I realised how good and useful my snowshoes are. My boots are not winter boots. Therefore, climbing up this slippery slope is really tough. I don’t feel confident at all without my snowshoes. One thing good I can say about the Costco snowshoes is that it comes with hiking poles. My friend loan me her hiking poles and it helped immensely because it only gets steeper, slipperier and colder the nearer we are to the peak.
The Peak
Finally reached the peak 
So little? 
Which to choose?
The view is nice. But I couldn’t remember the sight that I saw. What interest me the most when I was at the peak are the birds. Did a bit of research when I reach home and found out those birds are called Grey Jay. They are so cute and brave. They aren’t afraid to approach humans. One of the main factors is probably the food in my hand. There were initially no birds around. As soon as I took out my bread, I see little birds flying around me. They probably know the peak is the place to find food considering a lot of hikers have a little “picnic” before descending. I started sharing my food with the Grey Jays. I couldn’t remember the last time a bird got so close to me but it was a fun experience.
Coming down is a breeze
Descending the mountain is quick. We didn’t even wear our snowshoes. We just slide down the steep parts on our butts and skip along the other parts. Sliding down could be dangerous though. I sometimes have no control. When the momentum picks up, I couldn’t even change my direction or stop. Luckily, there are no cliffs or trees in the way and I had a fun time sliding down. We were even thinking of bringing something that we can seat on when sliding down so out pants wouldn’t get damage. I think we only spent a quarter of the total hike time coming down.
It’s tough but I want to come back again
Although Hollyburn Mountain took me by surprise with this challenging trail. I think this could be one of my favourite trails. It has a mixed of everything I was expecting in a snowshoes trail. It has challenging bits, good view, wide trail and fun elements (bird feeding). I would highly recommend Hollyburn Mountain for snowshoeing even for beginners. Come to think of it, the challenge of this trail is just stamina. As long as you have the stamina or the determination, you will enjoy this trail. No special training needed. If you get tired, just turn back and try again next time.
Backcountry skiing next time?
By the way, on my way down I saw some skiers. That was actually my first time seeing backcountry skiing. I even asked them why are they not sliding backwards. That totally gave away my knowledge on skiing. Their equipment looks so cool. They must be pretty fit to be able to climb the same mountain I climbed with all those gears. But coming down for them must be way more fun than what I experienced. The more I think about it, the more I want to try it. Hopefully when the next time I come back to Hollyburn, I will be doing back country skiing instead.
