Sphinx Mountain is the highest peak along the north side of Gray Creek Pass. Yet, most people don’t even know there is a trail up to its summit. It’s well-worth a bit of trail finding for the amazing views of Kootenay Lake and the Purcell Mountains.
The trail is somewhat difficult to find now because the trailhead is off of the old Gray Creek Pass road. If you have a small off-road vehicle you may still be able to drive up to the trailhead. A truck will not make it over the large water bars.
The easiest thing to do is park at the East end of the old road where it connects with the main road. This intersection can easily be missed. It is about 1km past the the Oliver Lake campground if you are going from Gray Creek to Kimberley.
From this junction, walk around 2.2km up the old Gray Creek Pass road, that now looks like a quad road, to its highest point. Here you will find the trail head on your right. There is a little log bridge going over the creek at the start of the trail with a new sign.
The trail is hard to follow for the first bit. There is flagging tape marking the trail, but the bush has grown over quite a bit. The trail should go left between the two mountains you are at the base of. After about 2km of this it opens up more and you can see the elusive Sphinx. The elevation gain is steady until the basin to the left of Sphinx Mountain.
Once you near the ridge to the left of Sphinx, the trail starts climbing up to the right.
There is quite a bit of loose rock, so be careful with your footing. After 1.5km or so, the mountain sort of plateaus one-hundred metres from the summit. It’s as if you are walking on a grassy hill approaching the rocky summit.
After a total of 6.1km and 1200m elevation gain you reach the peak of Sphinx Mountain. It takes around 2.5 to 3 hours to reach the summit.
From the summit you can see many major summits of the Southern Purcells including Snowcrest Mountain. Kootenay Lake and its West arm are visible to the East. You can also see the valley the Gray Creek Pass goes through. Sphinx Mountain is the highest point along that south side of that valley.
By the time you get back to your vehicle, your total hiking time will be around 5 hours. The total hiking distance is around 12.2km.
This hike is accessible as long as the Gray Creek Pass road is open. The pass is usually open between mid-to-late June and mid-October. Though, there will be a lot of snow if you go earlier or later in the season.
If you’re ever travelling the Trans Canada Trail or from Kimberley to Kootenay Lake, stop and hike. There is even camping available at Oliver Lake on the West side of the Pass if you want to make a trip out of it.
It is not a well-known trail, but that leads to one of the benefits: there are very rarely other hikers on the trail at the same time as you. So, do not forget bear spray either. It’s grizzly country out there.
Go see if you can tame the Sphinx. Happy hiking.
Details
Total distance: 12.2km
Elevation gain: 1200m
Max elevation: 2560m
Total time: approximately 5 hours
Kootenay Hiker 