Frosty Mountain Meadows

Manjiri and Sujeet, our friends from Seattle, were going to join us for the Elfin Lakes trip we did in the summer. But because of bad weather, they couldn’t make it. So we planned to meet for the Frosty Mountain Meadows-Larches hike in E.C. Manning Park in early October.

Since this hike is so popular on weekends, we booked a two-night (Sun-Tue) stay at Manning Park Resort and planned to do the hike on Monday. Manjiri and Sujeet left Seattle early in the morning, and then we carpooled from Langley to E. C. Manning Park.

Hope, BC

Even though it’s a short two-hour drive to Manning Park Resort, we stopped in Hope. We first went to Kawkawa Lake and then drove to Othello Tunnel for a short hike.

It was a beautiful day to be out. Manjiri was impressed by the lakeside properties near Kawkawa Lake, and I think she has this place on her “retire to…” list.

Othello Tunnels in Hope, BC — Othello Tunnels

Othello Tunnels are a series of tunnels over the Coquihalla River originally built by Canadian Pacific Railway in the early 1900s. It is a short 3.5 km round-trip hike, but it offers beautiful views of the tunnels, the canyon, and the river. This BC Parks document provides great insight into the tunnel’s history and name.

Our final stop was Blue Moose Cafe, where we had lunch and coffee before heading to Manning Park Resort.

Manning Park Resort

We arrived at the resort around 4 pm and checked in to our Standard Cabin. It had one bedroom with a queen bed and another one with a queen bed and two bunk beds. Kavya would have loved the bunk beds.

Manning Park Standard Cabin — One of the two rooms in our cabin

The kitchen had a four-burner cooktop and plenty of cookware/utensils for our group. We had one meal at the on-site restaurant and cooked all other meals at the cabin. We had packed some groceries, but the resort store also carried some essentials. It was a comfortable stay.

Lightning Lake Hike

We then drove to the Lightning Lake day use area for a short hike around the lake. Around 5:30 pm on a Sunday, cars were parked along the road about 1 km from the main parking lot. That’s how busy the area gets at peak larch season.

Back in 2024, all four of us had hiked along the Lightning Lake when we camped at Strike Lake. Now, we planned to hike to the Rainbow Bridge, cross it, and then head back to the parking lot.

Rainbow Bridge - Lightning Lake — Rainbow Bridge

Last time we had fun jumping from the Rainbow Bridge into the lake, but this time we just admired the bridge and crossed it to finish our loop across Lightning Lake. It was a short 5 km hike, but the timing was great, and the lake views were beautiful.

Cascade Lookout

Given the clear weather, we decided to go to the Cascade Lookout for some stargazing after dinner. We arrived at the lookout at around 10 pm and were the only ones in the parking lot.

The Cascade Lookout sits at an elevation of 1665 m and offers beautiful alpine skies with minimal light pollution. We could see the Milky Way and spot some of the major constellations. Manjiri pulled up an app and guided us through the beautiful sky.

We had rented a telescope from the resort, but I don’t think we used it to its full potential. For me, just the view with the naked eye was breathtaking, and it was probably one of the best night skies I had ever seen. After about 30 minutes, we made our way down as the sign right at the start of the Blackwall Road said the road closes at 11 pm.

Frosty Mountain Meadows – Larches Hike

The next day, on Monday, we were at the trailhead around 9 am. It was not as crowded as Sunday, and we found a parking spot in the main lot. We started the hike from the east end of Lightning Lake and, over the dam, went to the trail sign. From there, we followed the Frosty Mountain Trail, which goes straight and then climbs up to the right.

We hiked up the switchbacks and, after some time, had beautiful views of Lightning Lake, Hozomeen Mountain and likely some of the peaks in North Cascade National Park in the US.

About two hours into our hike, about 4.5 km in and at around 1850 m, the trail flattens out. From here, we hiked another 2-2.5 km to Frosty Creek Campground, with just over 50 m of elevation gain.

Frosty Creek Wooden Cabin — Frosty Creek Campground

At Frosty Creek Campground, along with tent platforms, there is a pit toilet and a rustic wooden cabin that is used in case of an emergency. After a short break, we continued our hike and soon saw larches along the trail – just a teaser of what was to come ahead.

As we approached the meadows, a sign provided great information about these majestic trees, which have been around for more than 2000 years and can survive at about 2000 m.

We crossed the meadows and continued hiking until the terrain opened up, offering great views. As the trail started climbing up the slopes, we turned around. We were probably 3 km from the Frosty Mountain summit. Although it was tempting for me to keep going, it was not the plan for today.

After a long break in the meadows, we started our descent. We were back at the parking lot before 5 pm. It was our first time hiking the Frosty Mountain Trail, seeing the larches, and we couldn’t have asked for a better day to do this hike.

Territory Acknowledgement

I would like to acknowledge that this trip took place on the unceded territory of the Stó:lō and Similkameen First Nations. I commit to learning about Indigenous peoples and issues and making reconciliation an ongoing effort.

Source: Native-Land Pronunciation Guide: First-Nations.info