August 27th, 2017

Mount Cheam was one of the most amazing hikes I have done to date. I cannot believe I have not been up to Cheam until now. A friend and I went this past Sunday, August 27th. It was over 30 degrees out. We were well prepared with water, food and bug spray but we forgot the sunscreen (not wise).

The journey begins as you head down Chilliwack lake road past the prison and follow the signs to head to Chipmunk creek (You will also see a sign for Mt. Cheam as well). It can be a little confusing finding the right road to climb up. My advice is to keep heading towards chipmunk. When you cross over a bridge on the gravel road you can either turn left or right. Turn left here. After you drive down this road along the creek there will be a road on the right to head up and here is where the signage gets better and you will see continuous signs for Mt. Cheam beyond this point. We took it really easy on this road as it was very rugged. It took us about an hour and a half to get up to the trailhead (you may be able to get up a little faster depending on your vehicle and 4×4 skills).

Once we got to the trailhead and began our hike we were already so amazed with the views all around us. We were already surrounded by mountains and about 10 minutes walking in we crossed over a small creek and passed by a lake (we knew we’d be going for a dip in that lake after the hike haha).

Below is the start of the hike from the parking lot.


The view a couple minutes into the hike.


Spoon lake surrounded by mountains.


After you pass the lake you begin the beautiful trek through the meadows of wild flowers. I kind of felt like I was in a Disney movie at this point as it was so beautiful and the colors were so vibrant that it didn’t seem real.

The meadows of flowers we hiked through.


As you continue hiking up through meadows the terrain begins to change and becomes steeper and rockier. It can get a bit slippery especially closer to the top when the rocks become smaller and looser. Walking on the rocks up top sounded like walking on broken glass!



There are little shaded opportunities so we enjoyed each one when we could!
The last part of the hike almost felt impossible as we were quite hot and exhausted but it sure was worth it!


360 degree views of the whole valley, all the lakes, the surrounding mountains and the Fraser river.

Lady peak (you can hike up here after Mt. Cheam for higher elevation).


Photos of the view of the valley.




This time of the year the bugs are pretty bad, especially the flies, so people weren’t hanging at the very top too long. There were also many lady bugs which was pretty neat as I had never seen so many at one time!
It took us 5.5 hours round trip hike with a lunch break and swim included.

The water was really cold but very refreshing!

The trail is child friendly, younger children were being carried most of the time. I would say the trail is dog friendly on a cooler day. We found a lot of the dogs on the trail this day were quite exhausted and dehydrated. One pup had even gotten sick. So just be mindful of your dogs abilities and the heat on this hike. Bring lots of water for you and your dog. 🙂
Happy hiking! Make sure to add Mt. Cheam to your list if you have never been!