Vanderhoof & Fraser Lake / Full trip pack
Fraser Mountain
- Round trip
- 8.2 km
- Elevation gain
- Not established Cumulative ascent for this outing has not been established.
- Walking time
- 4-6 hours
- Difficulty
- Moderate There and Back
calculated return, 4.1 km each way
A steep forest climb reaches several viewpoints above Fraser Lake and the former fire-lookout site. The old tower is no longer a reliable landmark or attraction: a later source reports it destroyed in a 2022 windstorm.
1. Getting there and parking
From the Fraser Lake visitor centre, travel east on Highway 16 for about 14.6 km to the small access on the south side of the highway. The municipal guide warns that this turn is hard to see and lies on a bend. Use the designated trail parking area, which is described as holding around six vehicles, rather than stopping on the highway shoulder. Arriving from Prince George, identify the south-side entrance near Fraser Mountain Road carefully and turn only when safe.
2. Walking the route
The marked trail begins on the left side of the parking area and uses orange diamonds. Its first approximately 500 m climbs an old ski slope with grass underfoot. At roughly 1 km, a left-side viewpoint and bench overlook the eastern end of Fraser Lake and surrounding river country. After about 500 m of easier grade, the route steepens again toward another viewpoint near the 3 km mark, then traverses the mountain to a small road leading to the old lookout site. The municipal approach is about 4.1 km one way; longer club outings have different scope. Return by the orange-marked route. Do not expect the tower pictured in older guides, and treat the cave/cliff side trail as a separate extension.
3. Route map
Mapped named trail sections
© OpenStreetMap contributors. Route geometry is available under the Open Database License (ODbL) 1.0. · Line source · Open Database License (ODbL) 1.0 · Source-line database: https://hikingprincegeorge.com/data/osm-route-lines.geojson
Published locations
Numbered points match the map. Use the role beside each point. A summit or park reference point is not a parking location.
| Place and role | Coordinates | Source and notes |
|---|---|---|
| Fraser Mountain start point of published trip track (parking unverified) | 54.054898 -124.632536 | Embedded trip-map feature 'FraserMtDec2025': first recorded coordinate [-124.632536, 54.054898].
Point extracted from the original public trip map. A track start is evidence of where recording began, not certification of parking, legal access, road suitability or the complete route. Source date: 2025 https://hiking.princegeorge.tech/fraser-lake/ |
Measurement notes
~13 km
460 m
Source comparison: Ramblers longer outing; 13 km; 460 m ascent; approximate; club there-and-back listing scope. A source edition, network range or unresolved start/endpoint is not a separate route.
Source comparison: Municipal lookout approach; 8.2 km; calculated return from 4.1 km one-way scope. This is another description of the main outing, a duplicate endpoint, an unscoped source claim, or a related facility.
Additional source maps
Map 1: https://www.fraserlake.ca/sites/26/files/2024-08/Fraser_Lake_Hiking_TrailsV2.pdf
Your trip notes
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