Suicide Bluffs is another of of the fabulous sub peaks on Mount Seymour near Vancouver, Canada. We love this as a hike or snowshoe as it takes a similar amount of time to Dog Mountain, but without all the crowds. The views are similar to the Vancouver vistas you get from Dog Mountain, just a little higher.

I’ve done this mini hike quite a few times so I’ll share photos of the route covered in snow, as well as “naked” in the sunshine. It’s great either way!

Suicide Bluffs – the basics

Distance: 5.3 km
Cumulative Elevation gain: 230m
Highest Point: 1167m
Time: 1-2 hours (we recorded 2 hours moving time, but that also included Pump Peak)
What to bring: The 10 Essentials
Facilities: There are loos in the parking lot.
Dogs: Great for dogs, but you should keep them on a lead
How hard is it? Short and sweet BUT more route finding compared to other routes with similar distance. I think of it as intermediate/hard in winter or easy in summer.

Suicide Bluffs – Getting started

You should start at the base of the Mystery Peak Express. You need a day pass to park at Mount Seymour from mid December – Jan 7th, and then on weekends and holidays until the end of March 2024. Once you’re ready to go, take the main Mount Seymour trail up towards Pump Peak. You then need to turn left after 1.5km.

Avalanche Danger

This part of Mount Seymour is not patrolled and has some very steep cliffs. If you look on the Avalanche Canada Trip Planner, you can see that although most of this trail traverses simple terrain, the last 0.5km goes through challenging terrain. I recommend avoiding this trail unless the avalanche forecast is low. You should also be careful in summer as the trail is quite steep, rugged with plenty of slippery tree roots.

One of the best things about this route is the fabulous views of towards Pump Peak and Mount Seymour. On busy days you can see loads of snowshoers or hikers making their way up those peaks.

The steep parts

There is an extra “bump” along the way to Suicide Bluffs. You need to climb down a very steep section of trail, then up again, then down and up again to reach the best viewpoint. In the summertime there are ropes to help you climb down, but in winter you need to be very careful on the steep slopes.

There are VERY steep, almost vertical cliffs on the right side, so stay far from the edge.

This is the view looking back to the top of the Mystery Peak chairlift.

The first “bump” along the trail is covered in huge old growth trees, but as you get closer to the peak, the trees are a little more spread out. It’s really beautiful walking on this slightly more open slope.

This is Marc’s photo of me, looking teeny on the slopes.

These photos are from the springtime when we could see the layers and layers of snow.

Suicide Bluffs Views:

The views are (of course) gorgeous. You can see down to Dog Mountain with Vancouver and harbour below.

This the the view right at the edge of the bluffs (in the summer, I don’t recommend getting this close in winter if there are cornices!) It’s kind of cool to see the tops of the trees from above.

This is the autumnal version of the view. Once you have relaxed and enjoyed the scenery you can return the way you came, or keep going towards Brockton Point, Pump Peak etc for more Peak Bagging.

Wait, what is Peak Bagging?

Peak Bagging is where hikers try to reach a collection of summits in one geographical area. Every summer people compete to see who can bag the most North Shore peaks. I joined a facebook group of friendly peak baggers in Vancouver. This area is great for reaching lots of peaks in a single trip; See below.

Other fab trails on Mount Seymour

• Easy flat-ish walk with great city views – Dog Mountain (or Dog Mountain in winter)
• When the ski resort is closed, De Pencier Bluffs is a great trail. Short, but not busy.
• Super North Shore hike; Easy in summer or intermediate in snow – Pump Peak
• Beyond Pump Peak – Intermediate in summer (avoid in snow) – Tim Jones Peak
• Next, is more of a climb to Mount Seymour – Intermediate in summer (avoid in snow)
• Less famous but gorgeous hike through the trees – Intermediate in summer – Devils Peak
• Amazing summer hike – Challenging with several creek crossings – Mount Underhill
• Challenging hike beyond Mount Seymour (very dangerous in snow) – Mount Elsay

Suicide Bluffs is not a long trail, but it is pretty cool that you can reach such gorgeous views in less than an hour! I love that it is normally quite quiet, but that can make it dangerous in the wintertime, so please hike with a buddy and make sure someone has a plan of your hike. Do you like the look of this one? Would you prefer to hike in the summer on when there is still plenty of snow?