My dreams came true on October 7th, 2018 when we hiked up Frosty Mountain in Manning Park to see the golden larches. The golden larches are only visible in the fall around the end of September until mid-October. I had seen so many beautiful photos from other hikers and it was time I finally went up to see them with my own eyes. It had been a while since I was physically able to summit a mountain so I was looking forward to seeing the surrounding mountain peaks up at the top of the summit as well.
This trail can be accessed from 2 different start points at E.C. Manning Provincial Park. We started from Lightning Lake Day use area but you can also access it from Windy Joe (for more information on the other start point visit the BC PARKS site).
To access the hike, start by walking toward the lake from the parking lot and turn left. Keep walking along the trail around the lake until you reach the “Frosty Mtn” sign. This is the start of the trail.
Frosty Mountain trail is very easy to follow and fairly easy to hike due to the number of switchbacks. The trail becomes challenging due to the length of time it takes. Also, the climb up to the peak at the end is challenging especially with snow and ice. The hike to the summit is 10.5km from Lightning lake (21km return) with an elevation gain of 1150m.
A photo of the trail near the beginning before hitting snow.
Lightning Lakes around 3km up the trail.
The snow line started at about 3.5km up.
Winter comes early up at Frosty Mountain!
Frosty Creek camp is a nice spot to stop for lunch and for shelter. There is a cute little cabin with a couple of log stumps to sit at and some picnic benches nearby. Some people had tents set up as they were camping. I have always admired those that are actually able to camp in the snow because I am definitely too wussy for that haha. The camp is located 6.4km up, so just over the halfway point.
Frosty Creek Cabin.
The larches begin past the camp around another km or so of hiking. Some of these alpine larches are over 2000 years old and they are the only tree that thrives above 2000m elevation. You can read all about this as there is a sign up from BC Parks near the meadows of larches that says all of this and more!
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Once we made it to the 9km mark I was relieved, as I was getting tired and anxious to summit the mountain.
As we got closer to the summit it was quite windy and cold. The snow and ice made it a little confusing to find the way up from the peak. There were some hikers that did not have microspikes; which was definitely necessary on this day. So, a lot of people had to turn around at this point. Thankfully I had prior knowledge to bring them so I had no issues getting to the summit. I highly recommend hiking poles as well for stabilization.
Thanks for the photo Daniel Fedosenko. 🙂
At this point, I thought I had reached the summit… Nope! Keep going!
The top of Frosty Mountain is right up there!
I made it! 2408m total elevation.
Unfortunately, there were no views of the surrounding mountain peaks today.
I definitely would recommend hiking up during this time of year. It is worth the hype for sure and of course, the larches look even more beautiful in person. If you can get up on a clear day as well that is ideal as you will get beautiful mountainous views at the summit. You cannot always predict the weather though! I must say it did look pretty cool to see the golden larches in the snow! How neat to witness two seasons at one time! We started our hike at 9:30am and reached the parking lot at 6:30pm. The hike could be done faster with fewer breaks than we took. The average hiking time is around 7-8 hours depending on fitness level.
Great crew again as always! Thanks for capturing the moment Daniel Fedosenko!
Join us for a hike by joining the Facebook Group: “Lower Mainland Hikers Group“.
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