Haystack Mountain is a remote peak in the Purcell Mountain Range. The access road is long, but the trail offers hikers the chance to bag a peak or just enjoy the lakes and ridges surrounding the area. Come in the fall for golden larches!
Distance, round trip: 11km
Elevation: +1008m
Season: mid-July to late September
Difficulty:
DifficultTrailhead and Driving Directions
From Crawford Bay, head 38km south on Highway 3A, passing through Grey Creek, Lockhart Provincial Park, and Boswell. Turn left onto Sanca Creek FSR and reset your odometer. In 2024, the road was suitable for 2WD low clearance vehicles all the way to the trailhead.
- At 9.5km, reach a junction and fork left, signed for Sherman Lake.
- At 9.8km, stay straight, signed for Sanca.
- At 10.4km stay straight.
- At 14.1km, fork right, signed for Haystack Lake.
- At 15.5km, cross a bridge.
- At 17.8km, reach the trailhead and park.
Route finding warning
The trail fades in the meadows before gaining Haystack’s ridge. Downloading the GPS file for your device is highly recommended.
Bridges and bogs
The trail starts up through the forest with some marshy sections, where squelchy mud threatens to devour hiking boots. Cross a couple of streams on log bridges, and then at 0.5km cross Sanca Creek on a bridge that has seen better days, twisting down to the creek in both directions with broken foot boards – cross carefully.
The trail gradually gains elevation, ascending through the drainage with Sanca Creek on the right side. After 2km, the grade gets steeper as you crest over the headwall into the basin below Haystack Mountain.
Haystack Meadows
Reach the swampy lakes and meadows below Haystack after 3km. A junction near the first lake leads to a primitive campsite with Haystack Mountain on full display. You’re now in Kianuko Provincial Park.
Head left (north) around the first lake and follow the faint trail. The trail disappears among the creeklets and meadows, so having the gps file is very useful here, look also for cairns and remnants of flagging tape. The meadows are flat, easy walking but the bugs can be relentless in the summer!
After 3.5km, veer northwest, carefully looking for patches of trail. The route aims for a low-point on Haystack’s ridge, far left of the peak. At 3.9km pick up the official trail again leaving the meadows and heading north on a thoughtful track, skirting below a rockslide and then ascending the ridge. The trail is now easy to follow and offers a steep, but good ascent.
Haystack Ridge
Gain the ridge after 4.4km and follow the trail as it turns northeast through stands of larch trees. This area is spectacular in late September.
Reach the crest of the ridge after 5km and assess the final route ahead to Haystack. We stopped here in 2024 as it was a very hot day and we were taking longer than planned to ascend.
Summiting Haystack?
If you chose to summit Haystack, it’s an additional 1km round-trip with nearly 300m elevation gained. You’ll go northeast up the grassy meadows before ascending east on the final boulder scramble to the top. The rocks are big, black, and blocky. Look for the summit register at the top.
Plan for 6-8 hours round-trip if you chose to summit. We were 6 hours just to the ridge crest at a moderate pace.
