Tumbler Ridge & Monkman / Full trip pack
Monkman Lake Camp
- Point to point
- 25 km
- Elevation gain
- Approx. 460 m Terrain-model estimate; not a surveyed measurement.
- Walking time
- Unconfirmed
- Difficulty
- Unconfirmed
one-way trail chainage from Kinuseo campground; not road access
Official Monkman map marks camp at trail km 25; these are route-chainage values, not road distances.
1. Getting there and parking
From Tumbler Ridge, travel south on Highway 52 for approximately 13–14 km and turn right onto Kinuseo Falls Road. Continue on the signed park approach, keeping left at the junction after the first Murray River crossing. The gravel road is prone to washboard and potholes; allow slow travel and follow industrial-road signs. For the backcountry trail, park in the day-use area at Kinuseo Falls campground, around road kilometre 50. The signed one-kilometre spur to the falls parking is a different destination.
2. Walking the route
Monkman Lake Camp is an on-foot backcountry destination at approximately kilometre 25 on the official northern-route camp map. Beyond Devil’s Creek, pass through the quartzite boulder field called Hell’s Half Acre and continue on the gentler final approach to the lake. This is the last ordinary lake-trail camp before the unmaintained wilderness continuation. The pin marks a camp, not a place a vehicle can reach. Plan the entire approach and return or onward stage before selecting this as an overnight stop.
Mapped outing: Monkman Lake trailhead at Kinuseo Falls campground → Monkman Lake Camp. 23.4 km measured along the mapped line; published trip measurements may differ.
3. Route map
The highlighted line follows the documented outing.
© 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
Elevation along the outing
One-way route
Start: Monkman Lake trailhead at Kinuseo Falls campground · Finish: Monkman Lake Camp (23.4 km mapped).
Approximate ground elevation from a 90 m terrain model. Distance follows the mapped itinerary and may differ from published walking distance. This is a terrain-model profile, not a surveyed measurement. Any ascent total is identified separately with its own source or estimation method.
How the route order was checked
BC Parks downloadable GPS identifies the campground trailhead and this backcountry camp independently. The retained licensed source route is continuous from within39m of that trailhead to the camp vicinity (endpoint offsets recorded in validation). The official northern-route map establishes this approach and staged camp chainage. The selected line excludes waterfall side trips, the Monkman Tarns and the unmaintained southern wilderness continuation. This is the one-way approach to the camp; no return is silently included in a published one-way camp-stage distance.
Copernicus GLO-90 terrain elevations via Open-Meteo (CC BY4.0); linework: Open Database License (ODbL) 1.0
Copernicus DEM 2021 GLO-90 via Open-Meteo. Linework source: https://www.openstreetmap.org/relation/13422689. Sampled and rounded for display.
Source: https://open-meteo.com/en/licence
Licence: CC BY4.0 elevation data; Open Database License (ODbL) 1.0 linework · https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Profile source checked: 2026-10-18
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Monkman Lake Camp backcountry campsite | 54.600275 -121.174764 | Official BC Parks GPS download contains a named Point placemark: Monkman Lake Camp. The marker represents the campsite, not road access. https://nrs.objectstore.gov.bc.ca/kuwyyf/monkman_provincial_park_trails_and_camps_bdf6c05724.kmz |
5. Camping, facilities and seasons
Camping and tenting
The designated Monkman Lake camp has eight tent pads, a food cache, fire ring and pit toilet. Backcountry sites are first come, first served.
Water
BC Parks directs backcountry visitors to boil or filter water and reports a park boil-water advisory.
Toilets
A pit toilet is listed at this designated backcountry camp.
Season and access
Mountain weather is changeable even in summer, with cool rain and wind common. BC Parks says the access road is maintained only to kilometre 21 in winter, so the summer road-end start is not a normal winter driving destination. Water must be treated, and overnight parties need a stove and a complete backcountry plan.
Practical details checked 2026-10-17.
How the elevation gain was established
Outing: one-way outing from Monkman Lake trailhead at Kinuseo Falls campground to Monkman Lake Camp; 23.44 km along the mapped itinerary
Copernicus DEM 2021 GLO-90 via Open-Meteo (90 m resolution). v7-smoothed-ascent-1: interpolate retained terrain samples at 100 m spacing; apply one triangular 1:2:1 smoothing pass over ±100 m; preserve start, finish and documented turnaround heights; sum uphill excursions with a 5 m reversal threshold; round to nearest 10 m.
Approximate terrain-model ascent, not a field or GPS measurement. Coarse cells and smoothing can miss small climbs, switchbacks, structures and sharp terrain. Processing sensitivity is not a statistical confidence interval.
Sources checked 2026-10-19.
More maps & trail files
Monkman Lake & Cascades — January 2025 guide (PDF)
Corridor guide covering multiple camps, waterfalls and destinations; not one short hiking itinerary.
http://assets.wnms.ca/brochures/monkman-lake-jan-2025.pdf
Wolverine Nordic & Mountain Society · Publisher’s source page · checked 2026-10-17.
These links open files and maps maintained by their publishers. They require an internet connection and are not included in this saved guide.
Additional source maps
Map 1: https://nrs.objectstore.gov.bc.ca/kuwyyf/monkman_backcountry_campground_map_79ad23f097.pdf
Your trip notes
________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________