Fawn Lakes

Fawn Lakes are located in Monashee Provincial Park. The park contains vast forests of old growth cedar, spruce and hemlock. You'll move through forests into sub-alpine, alpine meadows toward the jagged peaks. The park hosts abundant wildlife and spectacular wildflowers.

The Hike

To reach the trail-head for Monashee Provincial Park, you'll drive toward Cherryville. Before reaching Cherryville, you'll turn left by Frank's store. For the first part, this road is paved. It transitions to a well maintained gravel road taking you past Sugar Lake. Following this road to the Sugar-Spectrum forest service road. By following the Monashee Provincial Park signs, it will take you to the trail-head. Follow the trail to Big Peters Lake (photo below).

After hiking to Big Peters Lake, I made my way along the shoreline to a faint trail at the southeast end of Big Peters Lake. The trail is less obvious (right of centre in the picture below).

After a kilometre or so through the forest, I emerged near a marshy meadow.

I found a sign indicating the way to Fawn Lakes and Valley of the Moon.

From the sign, the trail transitions into a route. There are sparse cairns. The direction of travel is straightforward. I hiked to the left of centre in this photo between the gap in the trees.

As I continued, the trees dispersed to reveal an alpine meadow. I aimed roughly for the distant mountain (Humility Peak). I traversed around a number of smaller lakes along the way.

Once at the largest lake, I saw Humility Peak in the background. To the left in the photo is Silence Peak. There are numerous spots to camp around the lake.

After ascending to the top of Silence Peak, I saw many more mountains of the Gold Range. Stegosaurus ridge is barely visible in the distance.

Looking back, I could see Mount Fosthall in all its splendour.

I could also see Slate Mountain with Little Peters lake in the bottom left. In the future, I would like to complete a traverse from fawn lakes to Silence Peak, Humility Peak, Cariboo Mountain, Slate Mountain and, possibly Tranquility Peak behind it. The traverse would end at Little Peters Lake.

Looking across, I could see Order Peak in the centre back. Moderation Peak is just to left further back. Sincerity Peak and Mount Symons are concealed behind. This is another interesting traverse linking Order, Moderation, Sincerity and Mount Symons.

Hiking further along the ridge connecting Silence Peak to Humility Peak, I could see Valley of the Moon and Gates Ledge (foreground - picture below). In the background, I could see Mount Odin (centre left), Saturday Peak (just left of Mount Odin), Mount Thor (far left), Odin E2 (centre right), and Mount Burnham (far right). Monday Peak is visible on the right side in front of Mount Burnham.

Fawn Lakes via Gates Ledge provides access to Mount Odin, Saturday Peak, Odin E2, Mount Burnham, and Monday Peak. Not visible in the photo, it also provides access to Mount Skade, Mount Gunnarsen, and Caution Peak. This is another beautiful traverse for a future hike.

While hiking along the ridge, I encountered a large grizzly bear foraging for ground squirrels. Fortunately, the bear was preoccupied so I was able to slip away without being noticed. In recent years, grizzly bears are far more abundant in the area. On another trip in this area, I was bluff charged by a sow grizzly and sub-adult! We were less than 20 yards apart. Fortunately, we parted ways without incident. However, bear spray is a must! Keep a very clean camp!

Final Thoughts

Fawn Lakes is a spectacular alpine destination. It is worthy of a four or five day stay. From the parking lot for Monashee Provincial Park, Fawn Lakes is well within reach in a day. From the parking lot, it's a 20km hike with moderate elevation gain (1600metres approximately). With a base camp at Fawn Lakes, there are endless opportunities for hiking, scrambling and climbing.

Fawn Lakes provides access to many class two scrambles nearby the lake including Silence Peak, Order Peak, Moderation Peak, Sincerity Peak and Mount Symons.

For the adventurous, Fawn Lakes provides access to Mount Odin (class three scramble), Saturday Peak (class four), Odin E2 (class three), Monday Peak (class three), and Mount Burnham (fifth class).