Bunch Grass Hill

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Bunch Grass Hill

On 3 July 2026, Zosia Zgolak and I hiked up Bunch Grass Hill located at the confluence of Granby River and Burrell Creek about 34 kilometres north of Grand Forks, British Columbia. We first took notice of this hill and its spectacular western cliffs while camping at nearby Granby-Burrell Creek Recreation Site last summer, and given the hill's official status and its close proximity to a good road, I was curious as to why there was no online information about it even on peakbagger.com. Studying satellite imagery, I discovered what appears to be an ATV road running up the hill's south ridge which is confirmed only by the BC Basemap (and only if zoomed in close enough making the ATV road easy to miss at first glance). Armed with this extra knowledge, I felt confident about tagging this officially-named high point.

From Highway 3 in Grand Forks, turn north onto Northfork-Franklin Road just west of the McDonald's restaurant. Drive north for 16.0 kilometres and cross a bridge to the east side of Granby River. Continue driving north for 25.7 kilometres and veer right onto Bunchgrass-Wiseman Forest Service Road (2WD gravel). Drive 760 metres to where the road takes a sharp bend to the right (east). Either park here, or continue driving on the road to a split 100 metres further. Keep left and go up a steep hill--the road is rougher here--for another 550 metres to the start of a faint ATV road branching off to the left. The short drive from the highway to this spot is included in my GPS track at the end of this report.

The ATV road was a bit overgrown as Zosia and I started up the initial section, but it quickly became more well-defined as we proceeded further uphill. The road makes about half a dozen switchbacks up the southeastern flank of the hill before winding around to the west side of the south ridge. We easily followed the road all the way up to the rocky high point where we found remnants of a long-removed fire lookout. That would explain the existence of the ATV road. Although the rocky top is open, much of the surrounding views are partially blocked by trees. Hoping for better views, we dropped slightly down the west side of the high point to an open bench. Here, Zosia spotted a subsidiary bump to the north that appeared to be much more open. Getting there directly from the bench was a little tricky, and we had to bushwhack a bit to gain the crest of the north ridge where we stumbled onto a faint but distinct trail leading to the bump. As it turned out, the subsidiary bump is only marginally lower than the high point, but as anticipated, the views were much better there.

After taking a short break on the subsidiary bump, Zosia and I backtracked along the trail and eventually re-connected with the ATV road near the high point. The ensuing descent of the road was very straightforward, and we also had no trouble driving back out to the paved highway.

One of our favourite campgrounds! The western cliffs of Bunch Grass Hill tower over Granby-Burrell Creek Recreation Site.

Starting from here saves about 3 km of walking (round-trip) and 125 metres of elevation gain. The ATV road to the top of Bunch Grass Hill begins from this spot along Bunchgrass-Wiseman Forest Service Road.
Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak

This is the more scenic side of the hill! As the ATV road winds around to the west side of Bunch Grass Hill, there are far-reaching views of Granby River valley.
Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak

There was likely a fire lookout here a long time ago.
Zosia approaches the rocky top of Bunch Grass Hill.

Satisfied to tag this officially-named summit without the benefit of any online beta! Zosia and Sonny stand on the high point of Bunch Grass Hill (1024 metres).

Maybe we'll return someday to bag this one too... To the north is Mount Burns.

Not so easy to get there from here; need to head back into the forest at right! Sonny makes his way to a subsidiary bump to the north.
Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak

It's nearly as high as the true high point!

Zosia stands atop the subsidiary bump (1020 metres).

	Here is a look back south to the true high point of Bunch Grass Hill from the subsidiary bump.
	Of the rugged peaks to the west, only one is officially-named.
	Total Distance: 5.6 kilometres Round-Trip Time: 2 hours 43 minutes Cumulative Elevation Gain: 257 metres GPX Data

	The western cliffs of Bunch Grass Hill tower over Granby-Burrell Creek Recreation Site.
	The ATV road to the top of Bunch Grass Hill begins from this spot along Bunchgrass-Wiseman Forest Service Road. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	As the ATV road winds around to the west side of Bunch Grass Hill, there are far-reaching views of Granby River valley. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Zosia approaches the rocky top of Bunch Grass Hill.
	Zosia and Sonny stand on the high point of Bunch Grass Hill (1024 metres).
	To the north is Mount Burns.
	Sonny makes his way to a subsidiary bump to the north. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak