Trail: Moon Rock (Bear Mountain)
Date Completed: February 2023
Distance: 3.1 km
Elevation: 232 m
Time to complete: Approximately 2.5 hours (including exploring the Moon Rock at the top)
Type of trail: Out and back
Location: Bear Mountain, Mission BC
Distance from Vancouver: Approximately 1 hr 25 min
Directions: Click here for Google Map directions
Adults: 1
Ages of children: 6, 8, 9, 9
Stroller Friendly: No
Bathrooms: No
Dog-friendly: Yes
Cell Service: Yes
Jellybean Rating: 2/5
The Moon Rock at Bear Mountain in Mission, BC is exactly as cool as it sounds. Not only is it a great hike up through a gorgeous Mission forest but it leads up to a pretty darn neat boulder at the top. This “moon rock” has a ladder that allows you and the kids to climb aboard and check out the scenery from another perspective (or at least take some great photos that you can tag us @littleadventuresco in on Instagram:))
If you remember before you leave the house, grab a book to leave at the Bear Mountain Book Exchange before you head out on your little adventure!
The trail is quite clear but you do need a keep an eye out for markers. Right near the beginning we encountered a good bit of mud and some fun things to look at and explore. The Fraser Valley Mountain Bike Association (the group who maintains these trails) does an incredible job of making bridges for users of the trail (p.s. thanks FVMBA!)
the trail has a fairly steady incline. I found that I had to find landmarks like “that tree up there” to keep the kids motivated. It doesn’t have an excessive elevation gain but it there aren’t many plateaus to rest on. This is where jellybeans (or whatever other incentives you like to offer) really come in handy.
You’re on “Crank’s” trail to get to the Moon Rock and about half way in you get to see a creative sign that indicates so!
You know you’re getting close to the top when you have to cross a spur road path. We took a little break here to get that last wind in the kiddos before. finishing our expedition.
After just under an hour we got to the Moon Rock. The kids were SO excited to see a ladder there so they could climb up. The dog, on the other hand, was not thrilled that he was unable to go up there with them.
Unfortunately, I didn’t get a photo of the view from here because it was quite clouded over and I was trying to manage a dog who didn’t like his kids so far away from him, but on a good day it’s a decent view.
After you get your fantastic photos you can follow the same trail down that you came up on.
Jellybean Rating for Moon Rock trail in Mission, BC
This is a fun trail that leads to a fun destination. Plus, the name on its own is enough to get kids motivated to check it out.
The Moon Rock trail at Bear Mountain gets a 2/5 on our Jellybean Rating scale. Yep, it’s up, but it’s got a lot of redeeming qualities, too..like the ginormous moon rock at the top!
Have you done the Moon Rock trail? We want to hear your opinion in the comments below!
Just did this one last weekend after checking your website and deciding we would check it out without a review haha. It was amazing! Our 5 and 7 year olds rocked it, and even our 2 year old walked more than half of it. We took the steeper Pioneer/J&J trail up, and Cranks down. We had AMAZING views which was like the cherry on top. This is a great hike for children!