Mt. Thynne is located south of Brookmere on the east side of the Coquihalla Highway, across from July Mountain. It is accessed by turning off the Coquihalla Highway at the bridge across the Coldwater River and turning onto the Brookmere Road. Drive through Brookmere and turn right onto the Mount Thynne Forest Service Road. The gravel road has a number of junctions, some signs, and a number of MSC (Merritt Snowmobile Club) signs (the route to the trailhead). From Bookmere to the trailhead is about 16 km. The road continues past that, but it is too rough for most vehicles. The trailhead is at the Tin Shed Shelter.
The “trail” is really a rough double track used to service communications towers on two hilltops on the ridge. We hike up the route for about 1.6 km before we are on a subalpine ridge with meadows, ponds, and pockets of forest. Wildflowers line the 4 km route from start to finish. The track goes up and down before the final climb. There are some side trails for snowmobiles and dirt bikes, but they all drop off the ridge steeply.
Over decades I have been hiking Mt. Thynne at the start of summer. Snow clears off the open 6500 foot ridge early and the hike through alpine meadows is rewarding. From viewpoints, we can see the Coquihalla Peaks – July Mountain, Guanaco and Vicuna, Yak, Zoa, and some more distant peaks. This is an out and back hike (7 – 12 km). It is a 2 hour drive each way. It was an early start so I was home in the early afternoon. There was no one else on the mountain that day (on weekends, hikers may encounter ATVS and dirt bikes).
Some photos are shared from that hike in a Google Photos album:
More Information:
- A Nature Hike on Mt. Thynne
- There will be a new nature hike post on A Wildflower Journal soon