De Pencier Bluff and Mystery Lake Loop

De Pencier Bluff and Mystery Lake Loop is one of those short North Vancouver hikes that feels way bigger than the stats suggest. At 4.7 km with about 275 m of gain, it packs in a legit workout, a swim-worthy alpine lake, and a wide-open bluff viewpoint around 1230 m. Expect a moderate hike on paper that can feel harder in real life thanks to rough tread, route-finding, and changing snow conditions.

The loop usually starts on the well-used Mystery Lake Trail on Mount Seymour, with rocky, rooty singletrack that’s easy to follow up to the lake. Mystery Lake itself is small but scenic and busy on hot days, with people swimming and staking out shoreline rocks early. Past the lake toward De Pencier Bluff, the trail narrows, gets overgrown in spots, and becomes more technical, but the payoff is a big open bluff with sweeping views over the Seymour area and beyond. Many people complain about the return down the ski runs and gravel road, so some hikers choose to backtrack via the first half instead.

Right now, conditions around Mystery Lake and the higher sections of the De Pencier Bluff and Mystery Lake Loop are mixed, with patchy snow starting around 1150 m, icy sections, and water running down parts of the trail. The junctions for the De Pencier turnoff and the loop are easy to miss, flagging is sparse, and blowdown plus snow can hide the path, so a downloaded GPS map is basically mandatory. Poles, good boots, and long pants help with collapsing snow bridges, mud, and brush that can scratch your legs. Expect bears in the area, bring spray, make noise, and plan this one for late spring through fall if you want dry trail, clearer views, and less sketchy snow travel.