The Gros Piton Hike: The Ultimate Adventure in St. Lucia
The Gros Piton hike is a vertical staircase to the top of the mountain, rated 8 out of 10 in difficulty, and can take between 4 to 6 hours, depending on your fitness level. This is no hike for the weak. In fact, several people don’t make it to the top at all!
It took us about 4 hours, which I thought was insane because I took a couple of breaks and was expecting it to be long.
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How to hike the Gros Piton in Stages
You don’t really have a choice about how you hike the Gros Piton because you are required to have a guide.
The hike costs $50 per person. There are card machines available. You can also rent hiking sticks for $10.
The Google Map location is correct, so follow it if you’re driving yourself.
The hike is organized into three parts, with a little rest area at the first three and then the top is your fourth stop.
Overall, this is a 2.9 mile-out-and-back hike but don’t be fooled by the length because you’ll be going straight up. We started at 679ft and reached 2645 ft in just under 2 hours. It barely took us any faster to get down. My knees were killing me by the end of it.
You can see our route using Wilhelm’s cool watch.
The hike is covered by the forest for almost the entire length of the trail.
The first stop has a small view out to sea.
The second stop is the halfway point! This is where many people choose not to continue onwards.
The third stop is a simple bench (that wasn’t worth stopping at for us). I had a burst of energy here and carried on!
Once you reach the top, you’ll be able to look out onto the southernmost tip of the island, and also see St. Vincent on a clear day.
Wohoo, we made it!
At the end of the hike, there is a delicious ice cream and drinks stand. You can also pre-order lunch in advance here. The ice cream is totally worth it and so delicious! Get the soursop flavor.
The Gros Piton Hike Guides
Amazingly, many of the guides are women. They do the hike as many as 5 times a day depending on the number of tourists.
Our guide was so nice, and we learned a lot about the area and the history of the mountain. She shared with us that the mountain and trail were originally used by slaves to hide out and plan revolts during the 1700’s.
If there are no guides available, you also won’t be allowed to start the hike. It’s another incentive to start the hike early.
There are guided hikes available on sites like Viator and Get Your Guide. However, the entrance fee is not included in these tours. Instead, they are good ways for you to guarantee a guide and transportation from your hotel. If you’re renting a car, I would suggest just arriving early in the morning to ensure you get a guide.
When to Start the Hike
To make the most of your Gros Piton hike, aim to start between 7-8am. This way you’ll avoid the mid-morning rush when tour and cruise ship groups tend to crowd the trail at 10-11am. And, you’ll beat the intense heat.
We originally planned to leave at 7am from our hotel, Fond Doux, and reach the hike just 10 minutes later. However, we slept through our alarm somehow and only started at 7:40am.
If you’re driving yourself, then be warned the road may be in poor condition after it rains. (And, overall your hike will be muddy). When we visited, there was a little pond we had to drive through that I’m sure would be worse with rain. Watch out for potholes too! Parking for the Gros Piton hike is done by the side of the road; a guard should direct you when you reach.
What to Bring
I suggest you carry at least 1 liter of water per person. I also needed granola bars to manage the hike because I get super hungry when hiking.
In the morning, we also ate a cheese sandwich prepared by Fond Doux. Eat breakfast.
Is the Gros Piton Hike Hard?
The Gros Piton hike is challenging. However, stressing about it isn’t worth it since your only option is to either make it to the top or not. Leaving early and being prepared are in your best interest, especially if you want to take it slow. If you want to do any preparation, consider hitting the Stairmaster every day and going at it consistently.
I was surprised we completed the hike in four hours, despite feeling like I took a ton of rest. The trail is very steep going up and down.
If you don’t make it to the top, try to get to the halfway point.
Where to Stay around Gros Piton
When planning how to hike the Gros Piton, consider staying in hotels near Soufriere, the nearest town, for convenient access to the hike starting point. Most of the hotels are going to be within a15-minute drive.
Around town, we stayed in both Samfi Gardens and Fond Doux. One of the benefits of staying at Fond Doux is that I think we were one of the closer hotels to the starting point so even though we woke up late to start the hike, it didn’t make a big impact.
However, out of the two, I highly suggest staying at Samfi Gardens because it’s got just the most gorgeous views of the Pitons.
View from our room at Samfi Gardens
Petit Piton Hike
Climbing experience is required to do the Petit Piton Hike! It’s rated a 10/10 difficulty. Although Wilhelm was tempted, I politely declined any attempt to hike up this beast. As we were driving though, we stopped by the below sign with a phone number to get in touch with a guide (or a mountain goat). Anyone who likes goats is a-okay in my book.
Call 384-7844 locally
If you’re not sure what you’re doing in St. Lucia, be sure to check out my 10-day itinerary.
