Evans Valley Trail

Evans Valley Trail in Golden Ears Provincial Park, just outside Maple Ridge, is one of those hikes that feels way wilder than its stats suggest. It’s an 8.4 km out-and-back with about 482 m of gain, rated moderate on paper but edging into “tough but doable” once you hit the valley turnoff. Expect around 2.5 to 3.5 hours on trail, more if you like to poke around the rocks, waterfalls, or late-season snow and ice formations.

The first stretch from the parking lot is straightforward, following a mellow forest trail with creek access and plenty of shade. The real Evans Valley Trail starts at an easy-to-miss, overgrown turnoff toward Evans Creek, then things get steeper, rougher, and more technical. You’ll work through rooty forest, dry creek beds, and a big boulder and rock-slide gully that feels like a natural stairmaster, but the payoff is solid mountain views, a three-tiered waterfall, and in the right season, impressive snowfields and small ice caves.

Recent hikers report the Evans Valley turnoff as very overgrown for the first 30–100 metres, so long pants are smart, and having the Evans Valley Trail map queued up in AllTrails before you lose service is almost essential. The route is generally well marked, but markers thin out in the boulder field, so expect some hands-on scrambling and route-finding. The trail sees less traffic than other Maple Ridge hikes, which means more solitude, more berries, and a decent chance of bugs near the rocks; it’s usually snow-free on trail by late spring, with the best mix of access and views from late May through October.