Kent Ridge North Summit

Kent Ridge North Summit is a roughly 5-mile loop from Sawmill Day Use Area to the 2,923-metre high point of Kent Ridge. The route climbs from old logging roads through an open meadow to a steep, loose gully and long scree slope, then returns over West Outlier’s south ridge and another old road. It’s an informal scramble with no maintained or signed trail. This is the North summit, not the shorter Mount Kent hike from the same access.

Start north of the graded road behind the washroom and take the left branch just beyond the metal gate. The route winds through old logging roads, then a faint side path to the overgrown road and meadow. Turns are easy to miss; don’t assume a worn path continues straight. The tread fades at the meadow, so keep the gully and summit line in view.

Cross the meadow toward the north fork gully. On the recorded line, hikers stayed high on its right edge for firmer footing, then climbed open rubble to the summit. The hard part is the sustained climb and loose footing rather than technical climbing: roughly 1,100 metres of ascent, with a long scree slope near the top. Allow about 8 hours. This suits experienced hikers who are comfortable navigating faint terrain and loose slopes; casual day walkers should choose another hike.

From the summit, follow the recorded line toward West Outlier and descend its south ridge to the old road back to Sawmill. That makes the full loop and avoids descending the loose ascent gully, but adds a short climb along the ridge. Keep dogs leashed under park rules. Because this isn’t a maintained park trail, confirm current access before setting out.