Cypress Lake and White Rock Loop

August 18, 2023

Distance: 13.5km round-trip

Elevation gain: 628m

Time required: 4-5 hours total

Cypress Lake is a small lake located above Eagle Mountain Rec Site in Coquitlam. White Rock is a rock bluff above Cypress Lake with a marked but unmaintained trail to get it it. I did a clockwise loop to reach both of these spots.

I parked on a road above North Hoy Creek Park in Coquitlam and started my hike from there. The route follows mountain biking trails through Eagle Mountain Rec Site (watch out for mountain bikers as you are walking).

My first destination was the White Rock bluff, which is technically located in the Coquitlam watershed. After walking the mountain biking trails for a while, you get onto the Halvor Lunden trail before cutting off into the woods and climbing up to the bluff. It is not particularly high, sitting only at 965m, but it has views of the Fraser River in the distance. This part took about 2 hours.

Overlooking Coquitlam forests and the Fraser River from the White Rock viewpoint

From the White Rock viewpoint, it is under half an hour to reach Cypress Lake. The lake is small and has a flow control structure surrounding it. I went and climbed on some nearby logs to eat lunch. I love swimming in lakes but this one did not look particularly inviting. It was rather shallow and had lots of debris in it.

I found a cool bouldering spot on my way back from Cypress Lake that I stopped at to climb around on the rocks.

Overall, this is an enjoyable short hike with not too much elevation gain.