Hayward Lake Crag

The three walls at this crag are the South facing Main Wall in the forest, Playground a short walk to the left of the Main Wall, and the Picnic Wall above. All walls dry quickly with minimal seepage but the Picnic Wall is fastest to dry.

Directions to all of the walls can be found in the photos.

Main Wall: This wall is South facing and is in a quiet location and has a forested setting. This wall doesn't get direct sun due to the trees, but dries fairly quickly. The routes here range from 5.7 to 5.12.

Playground: Carrying along the trail to the left from the Main Wall brings you to Playground which features 10 routes including a beginner friendly multi-pitch (Need of Vittles, 5.9), a perfect first trad lead (Stitches or Glue?, 5.8), and a varied 30m route that provides a second option for topping out the area (Cheat Codes, 5.9). Grades range from 5.7 to 5.10+ and nicely bridge the grade gap between the Picnic Wall and Main Wall.

Picnic Wall: Sitting just below a series of lookouts, Picnic Wall is South-East/South facing and sees a lot of sun and dries very quickly. Bring sunscreen! Routes here are in the 5.5-5.8 range and the setting is incredible with sweeping views across the Fraser Valley to peaks from Slesse to Baker. Top-rope access here is very convenient and safe and the low angle makes it a comfy spot for beginners to learn.

John Valecko opened the Hayward Lake Crag in 2020 with the routes at the main wall.

After climbing in the area and recognizing the potential, Alex Denham and Rylan van der Pauw began expansion of the crag with the picturesque and beginner friendly Picnic Wall in 2024 followed by a three pitch route on the West side of the same bluff called Need of Vittles.

The area surrounding Need of Vittles proved to be a much greater challenge to develop and two years of steady work was required to make the area safe and clean before routes could go in. Alex Denham and Nico Dupre did the majority of this work followed by huge contributions from Simon Driver to assist in the completion of routes and the clearing of belays in spring of 2026. Kevin Martorano also deserves huge credit for kick-starting the 2026 season by assisting with the removal of some huge problematic blocks high on the wall.