Little Onion Mountain

Little Onion Mountain
Babine Mountains Provincial Park, B.C.
August 8, 2026
Distance: 7.3 km (4.5 mi)
Cumulative Elevation Gain: 565 m (1854 ft)

In the winter, snowmobilers pay to use the wide trail up Little Onion, but hikers can use it for free. Little Onion is a subpeak of Big Onion Mountain, and although smaller, Little Onion affords fine views from its open summit. Next to Big Onion, separated by a saddle, is a higher peak called Astlais Mountain.

The trailhead is 30 minutes east of Smithers. We took Babine Lake Road to Burnt Cabin Road. The latter is a 3 km drive down a gravel road suitable for most vehicles, but watch for potholes. Dinah and I set off up the trail through dense forest. We soon crossed meadows with views of distant mountains before the trail ducks back into the forest. We passed a steel gate, a barrier to off-road vehicles, and continued up. At a fork, we kept left; the right fork goes to Big Onion.

The trail levels off at the base of the summit. This trail also goes to the saddle between Astlais Mountain and Big Onion, but we turned left and followed a brief trail to the bare top of Little Onion. Behind us, Astlais rose 250 m above us.

It was mild and sunny, and we lingered on top looking at the surrounding mountains, although most were too far away to distinguish. We enjoyed this trip, and as we hiked back down the trail, we vowed to return to climb Astlais Mountain.

KML and GPX Tracks

From a large parking lot, we headed to the trail