Fort St. James / Full trip pack
Mount Pope / Nak'al
- Round trip
- 13 km
- Elevation gain
- Not established The source lists 790 m with the destination approach. The stored distance includes a calculated return, but climbing on that return has not been separately established.
- Walking time
- 4-6 hours
- Difficulty
- Moderate There and Back
round trip calculated as 2 × official 6.5 km to summit
A sustained mountain trail above Fort St. James reaches a summit gazebo overlooking Stuart Lake and the ranges to the north. The park is day use only, with no drinking-water supply on the route.
1. Getting there and parking
Drive through Fort St. James on Stuart Drive West, then turn west onto Stones Bay Road. The signed trailhead parking area is on the right about 4 km along that road, approximately 7 km northwest of town. Use the hiking entrance rather than an informal access to the nearby climbing cliffs. Carry all required drinking water before leaving the parking area; BC Parks identifies no potable supply along the ascent.
- Travel through Fort St. James on Stuart Drive West.
- Turn west onto Stones Bay Road and continue about 4 km to the signed hiking lot on the right.
Parking: Signed trailhead parking is on the right about 4 km along Stones Bay Road, northwest of Fort St. James.
2. Walking the route
Follow the designated summit trail through the limestone mountain’s forested slopes to the gazebo on top. The official description gives 6.5 km each way and approximately 790 m of gain, with four to six hours for the return outing. Keep the ascent line distinct from rock-climbing approaches and avoid shortcuts across vegetation or unstable rock. The summit shelter provides a place to stop and take in Stuart Lake and the surrounding mountains before descending the same way. Cultural and natural features, including any caves or rock markings, are protected and must be left undisturbed. Return with enough daylight for the full descent.
- Follow the designated summit hiking trail, keeping separate from the limestone climbing approaches.
- Continue to the gazebo at the mountain summit, the normal turnaround.
The return
Descend the same hiking trail. BC Parks gives 6.5 km each way, about 790 m of gain and 4–6 hours for the return trip.
Mapped outing: Mount Pope trailhead → Mount Pope summit shelter → Mount Pope trailhead. 12.5 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
Full round trip
Start: Mount Pope trailhead · Turn around: Mount Pope summit shelter (6.3 km) · Finish: Mount Pope trailhead (12.5 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
The main source component begins15m from the published trip start and ends2m from the mapped summit shelter and10m from the independently named Mount Pope peak. BC Parks describes the summit gazebo as the objective and the same-trail descent. The detached36m viewpoint spur is excluded because it is not part of the complete main approach.
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/way/140536462. 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Mount Pope / Nak'al start point of published trip track (parking unverified) | 54.470159 -124.315257 | Embedded trip-map feature 'PopeMt': first recorded coordinate [-124.315257, 54.470159].
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/pope-mt/ |
5. Camping, facilities and seasons
Camping and tenting
Overnight camping is prohibited in Mount Pope Park.
Water
No potable water is supplied on the trail. Carry the water needed for the climb and descent.
Season and access
BC Parks permits snowshoeing and skiing on the same general trails in winter, but there are no set ski tracks. A summer hiking description is not an assessment of current snow or ice.
Winter route
BC Parks describes winter skiing and snowshoeing on the same trails as summer, with no set ski tracks.
Practical details checked 2026-10-17.
Measurement notes
7 km to summit
750 m
Your trip notes
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