Flint and Feather Trail

Flint and Feather Trail in North Vancouver is short on distance and big on effort. Over just 3.4 km you gain about 770 m, so it feels more like a vertical workout than a casual walk, and the “extreme” rating is accurate. Expect around three hours of steady climbing, scrambling, and route-finding, with a serious, exposed rock section near the top that demands a cool head and some experience.

The trail branches off from the BCMC/Grouse area and quickly turns into a rough, unmarked route with steep forest climbs, rocky creekbed, and hands-on scrambling. Views from the bluff and lookout are a solid payoff, stretching over Vancouver and the inlet, though some trees at the lookout have been cut, changing the feel a bit. Hikers love the variety here: dirt, roots, rock, and a final squeeze through big boulders that feels more like a mountaineering move than a regular hike.

Right now, people report no mud or ice low down and just a bit of hard-packed snow near the top in cooler months, but this route gets sketchy fast when it’s wet, icy, or snowy. The Flint and Feather Trail is poorly marked and AllTrails’ line is known to be off around the rocky creek crossing and the turnoff from the BCMC, so download a map, expect to backtrack, and don’t blindly follow the default route. Locals often go up Flint and Feather and down the less-steep BCMC, and many suggest doing it first with someone who knows the way; solo first-timers, especially in bad weather or low visibility, should think twice.