Goat Ridge Hike, Chilliwack

The Goat Ridge hike, situated close to Chilliwack Lake Provincial Park, offers hikers a challenging and rewarding experience. This steep trail leads to two picturesque lookout points before reaching the ridge’s summit. Locating the trailhead can be a bit tricky, hidden amidst dense forest just off the highway. However, once found, you’ll embark on a steep ascent towards the ridge, encountering five technical sections with installed ropes to aid in navigating large rock formations.

Upon reaching the lookouts, you’ll be treated to breathtaking vistas of Chilliwack, Lindeman, and Greendrop lakes, as well as nearby mountains like Mount Webb and Mount Meroniuk. From the ridge’s pinnacle, you’ll be rewarded with even more awe-inspiring panoramic views in every direction. Although this hike is challenging, it offers a remarkable journey through stunning scenery and tends to be less crowded compared to other routes in the Chilliwack Lake area.

The Goat ridge trail hike is an 8.0-km out-and-back hiking trail near Chilliwack in the Fraser Valley situated in British Columbia. Generally considered a challenging route, it takes an average of 5 hours min to complete. This is a very popular area for hiking, so you’ll likely encounter other people while exploring. The best times to visit this trail are June through October. Dogs are welcome and may be off-leash in some areas.

Goat Ridge Hike Overview

• Hiking Difficulty: Hard
• Hiking Time: 5 hours (Round Trip)
• Hiking Distance: 5.5 km
• Elevation Gain: 969 meters
• Best time to hike: May – November
• Camping Allowed: No
• Distance from Vancouver: 2 hours
• Public Transit Available: No
• Dog Friendly: Yes

Goat Ridge Hiking Video

Goat Ridge Hike Trailhead

Goat ridge trailhead is around 2 hours drive from Vancouver toward Chilliwack. There is no proper marker near the trailhead like on other hikes so you will have to use google maps or AllTrails to go to the trailhead. Though the trailhead is right beside the highway so it should not be a problem to find the trail. Here is the Google maps link to the trailhead: https://goo.gl/maps/XfWRDYcG8hdvs1hg8 This trailhead is situated right near other famous hikes such as the Lindeman lake hike. Once you reach the trailhead, take the trail going towards the river to the right from the parking spot.

Soon after you start the hike, you will see a notice about the hike. The warning is true as this hike is not for everyone. Also, forget not to carry at least 2 liters of water and enough snacks for this hike. Also, since this hike is very steep, have a hiking shoe with good ankle support and grip. Please also have someone informed that you are going on this hike. There won’t be any signal except near the peak. Since the hike is very steep, it is suggested that you do not attempt this hike during a rainy day because the trail can become really slippery.

Goat Ridge Hiking Trail in Detail

Initially, the trail is almost flat for the first 600 meters and then it gets steep almost throughout the entirety of the hike. You will have to take a left after the first 400 meters and then another right after another 100 meters. Once you take the right, you will start seeing the markers as well.

The goat ridge hike has multiple rope sections. Some rope sections are as long as more than 70-80 feet in length on a very slippery and steep section. Be careful at the rope sections with good foot holdings. Other than that, the trail is pretty straightforward. You might also encounter multiple fallen trees along the route. Besides the fallen trees, during the summer, the bugs might annoy you a lot too. So, it is advisable to carry bug spray as well. Also, forget not to take micro-breaks because you will definitely feel your heart pumping and blood rushing in the heart.

First viewpoint

For the first 1.9Km, the trail is mostly under the canopy. So, you might not be hiking under the direct sun initially. After the 1.9Km or nearer to the first viewpoint, the trail starts to open up. You will also notice multiple short detours from the main trail to the nearest viewpoints as there are multiple viewpoints.

Though there are mainly three viewpoints on the Goat ridge hike since the trail opens up after 1.9Km and the hike goes along the ridge, you will notice multiple lookouts all along the trail until the peak. There are some famous and popular picture spots too that you will notice. From the first viewpoint, you can see Lindeman lake and Chilliwack lake towards the right. You might not be able to see the Green drop lake yet from the first viewpoint yet. The trail is the steepest until the first viewpoint and then it eases up but still remains steep though

Second Viewpoint

The second viewpoint is around 400 meters from the first viewpoint. At the higher elevation, the view is better and wider. However, you are still not able to see the Greendrop lake yet. The trail flattens out a bit near the second viewpoint before it gets steeper until the peak. The last 300 meters of the trail is through the rocky part though there is no scrambling involved.

Goat Ridge Top

The trail is well marked throughout even amid the rocky trail section, still, keep an eye out for the markers or stone heaps or cairns in the rocky sections. There is no canopy and cover in the last stretch of the hike. So you start getting a much wider and more panoramic view of the surrounding mountains and peaks. You also start getting the view of the Greendrop lake as you approach the Goat Ridge mountain peak.

There is another rope section near the last viewpoint which I would say was sketchy as well. 09:19 Goat Ridge Peak From the peak, you can further explore. Also, you get views of all the lakes i.e. Lindeman lake, Chilliwack lake, and Greendrop lake. After such a hard hike and steep trail, you will definitely feel more accomplished at the top. Please also note that going down could be much harder on the knees so be prepared for that as well.