Crown Mountain (via Hanes Valley)

August 4, 2023

Distance: 26.5km round-trip

Elevation gain: 1300m

Time required: 11-12 hours total

There are two ways to get to Crown Mountain: via Grouse Mountain or via the Hanes Valley in Lynn Headwaters Regional Park. The Grouse route is shorter but harder as you gain and lose a lot of elevation on your way. Contrast this to the Hanes Valley route which is significantly longer but with less elevation gain.

Hanes Valley is a beautiful valley consisting of numerous talus slopes. There are several scrambling/climbing routes within it such as Crater Slabs and Crown N1.

This route starts at the parking lot of Lynn Headwaters Regional Park with the trail that leads to Norvan Falls. Once the trail reaches Norvan Creek, rather than heading right towards the falls, you continue left over the bridge. This is the trail that leads to Lynn Lake.

A short ways into the Lynn Lake trail, there is a junction marked with a signpost for the Hanes Valley trail leading to the left. The trail crosses Lynn Creek and continues for several kilometres through the forest with very little elevation gain.

After a while, the trail emerges out into the Hanes Valley. Here you are greeted with several talus slopes. I absolutely love boulder fields. I find something about them so beautiful. You can almost always hear the squeaks of pika scurrying among the rocks.

Looking at The Camel (left), Crown Mountain (first peak in the centre group of peaks), and Crown N1 (centre right peak) from Hanes Valley

Bottom of Hanes Valley, leading to the col between Goat Mountain and The Camel known as Crown Pass

Once climbing the boulder field and reaching Crown Pass, you take a right and do the final push to Crown Mountain.

Goat Ridge

Vancouver and the North Shore

Beauty Peak sits on the left. The ridgeline north of Crown Mtn is on the right, with Crown N1 being the far right peak

Looking down into Hanes Valley from the top of boulder field that leads to Crown Pass

This hike is long but not overly challenging. There is very little elevation gain until reaching Hanes Valley. The majority of the elevation gain and technical terrain is in climbing the boulder field and reaching Crown Mountain.

I loved the Hanes Valley. I will definitely be back to do some lesser known scrambles up the backside of Crown and to other peaks such as Zinc and Echo.