Sphinx Mountain Trail

Route Description for Sphinx Mountain Trail

Although a beautiful mountain, the Sphinx is a challenging beast to summit due to the steep nature of the ascent and the rocky terrain. As mentioned, after reaching the saddle, hikers can continue on to reach either of the two summits; however, the west summit is more of a technical scramble, so the east is the preferred choice for many hikers.

The trail sets out along a mining road and follows it on an uphill climb through the forest. After levelling out a bit, you will pass by an old mining cabin and begin to briefly head downhill with a view of the Sphinx ahead of you. After crossing a creek, you will begin to climb sharply uphill again on the ascent of the saddle between the two peaks. Once you reach the top, you will have some amazing views of countless mountains in front of you and each of the Sphinx peaks on either side. Hikers wishing to summit the east peak can use their route finding skills to push another 1km uphill, although it is a bit of a slog with 250 m of elevation gain. At the top you can expect more of the same breathtaking views, just from a different vantage point. After taking in the views, head back down the same route to return to the trailhead.