Mt Benson

Location:Nanaimo

Map

Nanaimo Lakes 92 F/1

Terrain: Rough

Witchcraft Lake Trailhead: Take the new bypass highway when you get to Nanaimo. Take left turn off bypass highway at the Malaspina University exit. You're on Jinglepot Road. Go past the Westwood Lake turnoff on Jinglepot Road, continue past power substation. Turn left on Kilpatrick Road. Near end of road turn right on Benson View. Drive till the end. Park on side of road.

Uses

Dayhike	3 boot (moderate to strenuous).	4 hours one way.	Suitable all year.

Description

We have received word that the route we forrmerly described has "suffered extensive clearcutting and is no longer passable".

A big thank you to Lynne Stafford of Nanaimo for the following description:

Take the trail a hundred or so metres down to the north end of Witchcraft Lake (more of a pond, really). Turn left around end of lake, go over small footbridge. Take first right off old gravel road onto trail. The trail is rather steep for a kilometre or so, it passes a stream which is dry late summer, continues to rocky knoll, a little way past the knoll there is a bit of a labyrinth of trails created by mountain bikers. At the first intersection go right (there is a pink spraypainted arrow). Another kilometre or so, take the left turning, you'll go by the remains of an old cabin, and a viewpoint. The trail then winds up through a lovely woodsy part till you get to an old logging road. If you follow that a few metres to your left you'll be in one of the clearcuts. So, turn right, go along the old road a half km or so, take well-marked left turning. After a kilometre or so you'll come to a short, steep pitch of rock with a rope. Shortly after that you come to another rocky knoll (top of a ridge), lovely spot to sit and enjoy the quiet, you can see the top from it. Continue down off that ridge. There is some fun, almost-climbing to negotiate, and you're at the top before you know it. You can't see the clearcuts from this trail, or from the top, they're tucked down in draws, so far.

Features

This trail features forests, lakes and views.

Hazards

fixed ropes are in place in spots along the trail to help with ascending/descending
some scrambling is required

Comments

The summit provides a 360 degree view of the surrounding country. On a clear day you can see Mt Arrowsmith, Mt Moriarty, Mt Landalt, El Capitan, Mt Brenton, Mt Washington and many other peaks on Vancouver Island. You can also see the peaks on the mainland as well as the Gulf Islands.

View trail condition reports for this trail.