Hiking in British Columbia is pretty magical. Hiking trails are plentiful. Here we’re going to look towards the Fraser Valley.
Hiking Little Nicomen Peak
Location: Little Nicomen Loop trail is located in the Fraser Valley, more specifically the area known as Dewdney. Access is via along Norrish Creek.
The little Nicomen hike is beautiful and will definitely get your legs working and your heart rate up. Considered ‘hard’ on AllTrails, I’d consider it fairly moderate yet still do-able for beginner hikers and those who hit the trails often. The time it takes a beginner will vary but going at a slow pace with lots of stopping will likely take the better of 3 hours or more. (All-trails gives a time of 2 1/2 hours.) The trail is pretty much straight up, you’re going to feel it and the trail can get pretty narrow in spots.
When you’ve arrived at Norrish Creek, take a left over the train tracks and follow the well-marked trail through the trees. Eventually, you’re going to come across a small marker-take the right and continue on. It will lead you to the bottom of the mountain and again, you’ll see markers letting you know you’re going the right way. There are many side trails here and it can be easy to take one of them, although they all tend to lead up to each other in one way or another. If in doubt, use Alltrails, I’ve found the app is pretty accurate here and you won’t be guessing.
The highlight of this hike is the cabin! I always find it fascinating that someone had to haul all this stuff up here. It makes for a pretty cool cabin though! The views are great from here. Take a break, sign the guestbook in the cabin and enjoy the views of the Valley below. Hike another 10-15 minutes or so and you’ll reach the top. Here it’s wide for parachuters to run off the mountain and drift to the Valley below. It’s a great spot to hang for a few, grab a snack and once again enjoy the view.
You can continue on and go down the opposite side of the mountain, you’ll go back down through heavy forest and it’s a great hike down. Or you can simply go back the way you came. Some people even go the opposite way to do the hike, totally up to you. I do recommend the Alltrails app and following it live if it’s your first time. I’m from the area and still found it hard to find the beginning of the trail to begin my descent down the mountain. It wasn’t marked great, and I ended up just following the wide ATV trail down, which was not the right way. All in all, I love this hike, although it’s hard not to find a hike you don’t love in beautiful British Columbia. Hiking is a real treat, and this one is pretty sweet!
Getting there: Coming Westbound, you are going to continue straight as you approach Dewdney. (Do not cross the tracks and over the bridge- you’ve gone too far then.) Follow the road down a couple KM and make a right over the train tracks, you’ll still be on Hawkin’s Pickle Rd, follow the road and it will lead you to the gate. Parking is along the roadway and the gate is generally closed before the small wooden bridge. Parking is along the narrow roadway, ensure you don’t park in front of anyone’s driveway, and leave plenty of room for homeowners.
People: Depending on when you go, you may run into people on the trail and you might not. It’s not a super busy trail though, which is nice. If you see a lot of cars parked on the road, you can bet a lot of them are checking out Norrish Creek.
