Trail stats
Distance: 8.4 KM out-and-back
Elevation gain: 924m
Difficulty level: Difficult
Parking: Yes, lots at the trailhead or along the road up to the trailhead where some cars opt to stop in fear of not making it all the way
Cobalt Lake only:
Distance: 3 KM out-and-back
Elevation gain: 548m
Difficulty level: Difficult – short trail but very steep with lots of thick, tangled tree roots to conquer
Getting to the trailhead
The trail is approximately 2 hours drive from Nanaimo – we got the ferry on Friday evening and drove to our campsite at Sproat Lake in the Alberni Valley. You can book a spot here through BC Parks up to 3 months in advance of your stay: https://bcparks.ca/sproat-lake-park/#camping
I would recommend doing this so you can get a good sleep and wake up early the next day to start hiking!
Driving along Highway 4 to Tofino, you’ll reach Marion Creek Forest Service Road. You continue on this road for 9.6 KM – a 4×4 is highly recommended due to the condition of this road. Some people opt to park a kilometre or two from the trailhead, adding to the hike. I read a lot of blogs about this trail before doing it and I was pretty nervous about this road based on other people’s reports – however, it was much more manageable than we thought! If you get to the parking lot, there is lots of space, but like every beautiful hike in BC, it does fill up.
The trail
You will find the trailhead just off the car park – there is a board with a map posted by the Alpine Club of Canada that shows the area at Cobalt Lake, including their hut that you can stay at. (Reservations can be made here: https://accvi.ca/5040-peak-hut/)
The first kilometre of the hike is all uphill and shaded by the surrounding trees. There are lots of large tree roots you have to climb up, campers we met on the way both up and down were taking it very slowly with their large backpacks. The trail is very narrow so you will have to step aside to allow others to pass.
You will pass by a waterfall (highly recommend drinking from it using your filter system, maybe it’s the dehydration talking but it was DELICIOUS) and continue up on the right hand side, eventually coming out of the trees where the view opens up to surrounding peaks.
After another short, but steep (no more tree roots though) climb, Cobalt Lake will appear before your eyes.
To continue the trail to 5040, walk to the left of the lake, past the outhouse and back into the trees. You will see the trail goes right and of course, up. It is a very short trail with much easier footing than what you’ve already done. Once you get to the top, again the path opens out and you’ll see the Alpine Club hut.
The below image is the sign that is at the start of the trailhead – you’ll see on each side of the hut, there’s two water sources. The “clean side” honestly looked disgusting and even though we had water filters and were incredibly thirsty, we decided against it. So one tip is make sure you have plenty of water!! We waited until we got back down the trail to the waterfall which was a struggle in itself.
To summit 5040 peak, continue to the right of the hut climbing up a narrow, grassy route which again opens up to rocky terrain and amazing vistas. From here, head left and scale the rocks – the path isn’t super obvious but once you get to the top of the rocky section, you’re going to just keep going right and eventually you’ll get to the peak!
