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Hikes · Wells, Barkerville & Bowron · Region to confirm

Mount Agnes

Mount Agnes adds a summit above Groundhog Lake to the long approach from Barkerville. The local trail society lists around 20 km return and 740 m of elevation gain, compared with the shorter lake-only trip. Historic roads, a high lake and an alpine ridge make this a varied day, but the upper mountain should be planned as a separate objective rather than an automatic continuation from the cabin.

Sources reviewed . This is a research date, not a trail inspection.

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The locations GPX contains sourced points with their recorded roles. It contains no trail track or connecting route.

Distance
20 kmRound trip
Elevation gain
740 mPublished route measurement
Walking time
5–6 hoursas published
Difficulty
Not rated
The view east from Mount Agnes in the Cariboo Mountains, 20 July 2008, with a snow patch below the alpine meadow
The view east from Mount Agnes in the Cariboo Mountains, 20 July 2008, with a snow patch below the alpine meadow.Cariboo Snow (opens original source) · Dru! · CC BY-NC 2.0 (opens original source) · 2008-07-20. Provider display size downloaded; no local edits. Display may crop the view. · Noncommercial only

Map & elevation

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Elevation profile

A full-route elevation profile is not available yet.

A reusable trail line has not yet been verified for this outing. Any location pin shows the published location described above; it does not draw the hike or establish a navigable approach.

Getting there & parking

Follow Highway 26 from Quesnel through Wells to Barkerville and park in the historic town’s visitor parking area. Use the visitor centre or the designated trail-transit entrance according to current operating arrangements. Continue along the main street toward the Richfield courthouse, then take the Cariboo Waggon Road uphill toward Summit Rock. Follow the Groundhog Lake signs from there. Check current Barkerville access arrangements before an early start or a visit outside the site’s operating season.

Map position: 53.00194, -121.56417 · official named mountain reference point (not a trailhead). BC Gazetteer exact feature: Agnes, Mount, mapsheet93H/4, 53 00 06 N, 121 33 51 W, datumWGS84. This is the named mountain reference location, not parking, a hiking start or a verified summit approach.

On the trail

Walk the historic road and signed lake approach to Groundhog Lake. The trail society describes two summit approaches: turn right toward the ridge on the lake’s west side, or go left at the cabin along the Van Winkle trail before climbing onto the east ridge of Agnes. Choose one using the steward’s map and identify the point where it leaves the lake route. Continue to the summit cairn, then return by a known line to the lake and Barkerville. The public overview does not specify every upper fork or a marked connecting loop, so do not improvise a descent merely because another ridge looks shorter.

Conditions & seasons

Season-specific access has not been established in this guide. Read the dated notices and original land-manager information before choosing a departure date.

These are dated research notes. Open the trip planner for current available weather and advisory feeds; no alert found does not establish that a trail or road is open.

Check weather & available updates →

Camping & overnight plans

Groundhog Lake has a rustic cabin described in older hiking accounts. Current occupancy, booking and surrounding tenting rules were not established in the reviewed sources; do not plan a summit day around guaranteed cabin space.

Photos of Mount Agnes

The view east from Mount Agnes in the Cariboo Mountains, 20 July 2008, with a snow patch below the alpine meadow
The view east from Mount Agnes in the Cariboo Mountains, 20 July 2008, with a snow patch below the alpine meadow.Cariboo Snow (opens original source) · Dru! · CC BY-NC 2.0 (opens original source) · 2008-07-20. Provider display size downloaded; no local edits. Display may crop the view. · Noncommercial only

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Full trip packDirections, planning notes & available mapsTopographic mapPublished locations; no trail lineSave offline guideDownload a copy to your device
Sources, dates & research notes

Descriptions are written for this guide from the linked evidence. Source review dates, published reports and field observations can differ. Photographs and route lines retain their own attribution and reuse terms.

  1. https://caledoniaramblers.ca/trails/mount-agnesgroundhog-lake (opens original source)
  2. https://wellstrails.ca/seven-summits/ (opens original source)
  3. https://catalogue.data.gov.bc.ca/dataset/d92224ee-03ef-4904-be53-b677d8e01ac4/resource/69738aa8-2cc0-4975-aec6-4dc2e30990bf/download/bc-gazetteer-2026-08-12.csv (opens original source)
Details still being researched
  • gainM
  • distanceKm
  • directions
  • dogs
  • accessibility
  • camping
  • seasonal

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