Some days, (especially on rainy days) you might not feel like doing a big epic walk; But it’s still lovely to go on a wander. The Lynn Loop within Lynn Canyon Park is perfect for that kind of day!

A couple of weeks ago, I met up with the lovely Lisa from West Coast Hiker Girl. We shared a yummy breakfast, and then stretched our legs along the Lynn Loop through the mist and rain. This is not a difficult hike, but it will get your heart pumping in one section when you climb up towards Lynn Peak. It’s also a great walk for doggos, so expect to see plenty of happy pooches along this loop!

Lynn Loop – The basics:

Distance: 5.1km
Elevation gain: 160m-ish
Time: 1.5-2 hours
What to bring:
Walking boots and rain gear!
The ten essentials
Facilities:
There is a loo by the Rice Lake Gate, near the entrance to Lynn Headwaters Park, and one at the end of Lynn Valley Road.
Dogs:
Great for dogs, but you should keep them on a lead, as there is an aggressive bear in the area.
How hard is it?
Easy, but it’ll get your heart going on the way up the hill.

Lynn Loop trail map

Lynn Loop the start

The hike starts at the end of Lynn Valley Road. This is the same route as the way to Coliseum Mountain (my favourite jelly-leg-inducing hike in this area) and Norovan Falls. At the start of the walk, you’ll meet this tree gremlin.

Looking down to Lynn Creek

On rainy days, Lynn Creek has plenty of rushing water. At the start of the hike, you cross the creek, and then wander along the walkway, just above it. Keep following along the lower Lynn loop trail. We could hear the rain pattering on the leaves as well as the gushing water in the creek. Occasionally there are holes in the foliage where you can look down to the creek, but mostly you’ll hear (rather than see) the river!

Head uphill

Lynn Canyon Park has good signage, so follow their directions. You need to turn right and follow the Lynn loop trail up through the trees. It was gorgeous seeing all the greenery through the mist.

Cool trees

There were a few uprooted trees along the trail. You can look right into the roots and see all the teeny pebbles that are lodged inside.

This is my new hiking friend, the lovely Lisa. You can take a peek at her hiking blog too here: www.westcoasthikergirl.com

Lynn Loop in the mist

Once you’ve made it to the top section of the loop, you turn back on yourself and start to descend slowly along the path. By now, the rain had stopped for us, but it was still quite misty. Looking up, this was my view of the trees along Lynn Loop.

As well as the huge stumps left from logging in the last century, there are interesting trees in all directions.

Logging history

Waaaay before people hiked around here for fun, the Lynn loop trail would have been used by loggers. Last time we walked to Coliseum Mountain we found all sorts of rusty logging paraphernalia, including buckets, hub cabs and tools. This part of the walk has an ancient looking car as well as thick metal wires. Most of this has sat here rusting for a century, as the park opened for hikers back in 1912!

Lynn Creek

We extended the Lynn loop a little and wandered further down to cross Lynn creek on the pipeline bridge. You could easily extend it even further to visit the Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge too. You can see that on my post about the Sea to Sky trail here.

Banana Slugs!

On this rainy walk, my favourite critter was this awesome banana slug! Lisa assured me that this massive fella wasn’t even particularly big, but I thought he/she (they are hermaphrodites) was awesome! I looked up for information about these yellow little dudes, and apparently they breathe through their skin, and their slime acts as an anesthetic. You should go and read more about them here, as I’m not sure anyone will believe me if I write out their penis-gnawing mating rituals!

More cool stumps

You’ve probably got the idea that I quite like all the trees on the Lynn Loop! Well, I’ll finish this post with a couple of pretty stumps. I think the first one looks a bit like Davy Jones from the Pirates of the Caribbean.

Other gorgeous trails near Lynn Headwaters

• If you’d like a view; Lynn Peak
• The Baden Powell trail – From Quarry Rock to Eagle Bluffs. The trail crosses here.
• The Sea to Sky Trail through Lynn Canyon Park (it finishes at the start of this trail!)
• If you want to walk a little further, head to Norovan Falls. This is best in Spring.
• If you reeeally want to stretch your legs, start early, and challenge yourself with the epic Coliseum Mountain.
• Slightly further west, you can visit the Big Cedar and Kennedy Falls.