Quick facts:

• AllTrails link: Lindeman Lake Trail. 3.5km out and back, 238m elevation gain
• Difficulty: moderately difficult for our 5 year old but he did it!
• Traffic: very busy, parking lot fills up early on the weekends. Lots of dogs too, supposed to be leashed but some do not follow the leash rules.
• Facilities: pit toilet and garbage bins at trailhead, pit toilet at the lake. Pack-in, pack-out on the hike.
• Definitely not stroller friendly
• Views: nice view of the emerald green Lindeman Lake
• Overall score: 8/10

I am so glad we finally did this hike! The Lindeman Trail has been on our hiking to do list for quite sometime, so when we decided to camp at Chilliwack Lake, it was the perfect opportunity to explore it. (This trail is by far the most challenging trail that the boys have tried so far, and we are proud to say, Big Bro crushed it!)

We arrived around 10:30 on a busy Saturday, and luckily there were a few spots at the parking lot. This lot can get busy very fast, and overflows spill over onto the road. Unfortunately it’s been frequently noted that this area is very prone to break-ins, so best to keep valuables with you.

By the time we got there, there are several people preparing themselves for the hike, some back-country campers getting ready all their equipment on their back, and even a few paddle boarders wearing their boards and ready to tackle the challenge. A passerby commented that this trail is “Grouse Grind on crack”…which makes me worried whether we were too adventurous bringing the boys here. (I don’t think the hiker was right. At 1.8km and 777m elevation gain, Grouse Grind is the same one-way distance but 3 times steeper.)

After a quick stop at the one and only pit stop washroom by the entrance, we began our hike. 

The trail is clearly marked by red tags hanging on trees every few meters. Very well maintained throughout. The beginning portion of the hike was a very flat trail for a few hundred meters.

Soon the trail got rougher and rockier, with several sections covered by large boulders to climb over. The boys used their hands and knees to cross over this tough section and had lots of fun looking for the right path to go. 

Most of the hike follows Post Creek closely, visible from several points along the way. A tiny little trickle on the trail needed to be crossed by stepping over a few rocks.

One of the boys’ favourite was to cross the creek by going over a metal bridge. Apparently before this bridge, there was just an old log crossing which would have been scary.

Middle Bro used up most of his energy about midway to the top and jumped into his backpack carrier. It’s already an impressive feat for the 3 year old. Big Bro, on the other hand, kept on going without any complaint and even picked up the pace despite even more challenges throughout the trail.

The trail is very busy, and we had to step aside to let others pass many times throughout the hike since the paths are quite narrow. There are also many dogs on the hike .

After just under 2 hours, we finally made it to the top! Took us quite some time but I’m glad to say we did it! And the lake view is spectacular!

There are several camp platforms available here near the lake for back country camping. With Big Bro successfully hiking this trail, we are one step closer to backpacking camping.

We took our time and had a nice lunch break right by the southern end of the lake. This is where the trail meets the lake for the first time, so most people just stop and linger here, so it’s the busiest.

There is only one pit toilet available at the top, and it got busy around midday when most people made it here.

After a leisurely lunch break, we got back on the trail around 1:30pm.

The hike down seemed faster than the way up. Maybe because we knew what to expect and with that downhill momentum, everything seemed quicker. Middle Bro regained some energy after lunch and made it almost half way down until he got tired and needed a nap in the carrier. But Big Bro powered through, much to our astonishment!

It’s a different challenge to climb down this technical trail, but the brothers know how to turn around and climb backwards when the footing is too far apart.

After about 2 hours of downhill hike, we finally made it down. We are all very proud how strong Big Bro is and really amazed that he can do this difficult 3.5 km technical hike with no problem. He kept on asking us about Grouse Grind, I guess it might be time.