Emily HaggarExplorer

The Duffy Lake Road area is a scrambling paradise. If you love exploring the alpine off trail, this would be the place.Mt Rohr is a prominent peak, located just above Duffy Lake. One of the highlights of this trip is that you get to hike directly beside the incredible glaciers of Joffre Peak, as it is the next summit over. The deep turquoise Rohr Lake has some great tent sites and swimming spot...

Mt Currie is the giant mountain that sits above the village of Pemberton BC. It soars 7800 vertical feet from the valley floor to the summit in sheer cliffs. (The mountain itself is 8517ft high.) Before 2014, the only way to reach the summit was to bushwack the entire 7800ft climb (we did this two years ago, it's a challenging way to get up there, to put it mildly!). You could also hire a heli...

The Musical Bumps are a series of rolling summits starting from Whistler Mountain that stretch over to Fissile and the Spearhead Range. It should come as no surprise that each one has a musical name: Flute, Oboe and Piccolo.There are two ways to access this area: you can ride the Whistler Village Gondola ($53 for a day pass or just $59 for BC residents for the entire summer season) or hike from...

Just a little ways past Whistler BC Canada, you'll find a steep mountain trail leading to one of the true gems of Garibaldi Provincial Park and the Sea to Sky area: Wedgemount Lake. This is the stuff dreams are made of.The route ascends 7km through beautiful old growth forest, and as you crest the top of the trail, a feast for the eyes of epic proportions awaits you there. Wedgemount Lake is su...

Garibaldi Lake is a huge basin of beautiful turquoise water measuring almost 10 square kilometers (2460 acres), and located at nearly 5000ft above sea level. The lake is over 800 feet deep, filled with pristine glacial water. You’ll be surrounded by big snowy mountains, which remain bright white all summer long, including some of the west coast’s most memorable landmarks. After a visit here, yo...

The Black Tusk is a distinctive landmark just south of Whistler (the remnants of an old volcano). There is nothing else like it, and it is visible from all over the Sea to Sky area.Depending on your experience and fitness level, you can either: climb right to the top of the Tusk (expert hiking/scrambling ability), hike up to the base of the Tusk (intermediate hiking ability), or go to the Black...

The Sea to Sky area is covered in old growth forest, but few people would expect to find trees of this size in Whistler. The Ancient Cedars Trail is a beautiful hike through breezy sunny forest to a little hidden grove of giant trees, tucked into the side of Cougar Mountain.If you're looking for a short outing or are a beginner hiker, this would be an excellent choice - you'll get a good taste ...

How does a series of sparkling blue alpine lakes, beautiful mountains, a huge waterfall, glacier and uncrowded camping sound to you? For me, the area around Semaphore Lakes has been one of my favorite destinations for quite a while. It has some of the best camping you could hope for, and two incredible mountains to climb if you're up for some route finding and scrambling - Locomotive Mtn. and F...

Cheakamus Lake is tucked in behind Whistler Mountain. If you've hike the Musical Bumps trail, or any of the paths off the peak of Whistler, chances are you saw a huge turquoise lake below you. This is Cheakamus Lake.From Whistler Village, drive south on HWY99 to the stop lights at Function Junction. Turn left into Cheakamus Crossing. The first road on your left is the Cheakamus Lake Road. Stay ...

Joffre Lakes is a well loved destination, and for good reason: it is absolutely stunning. Not only is it located on one of the most scenic drives you could ever hope to find (Duffy Lake Road) , but it's possible to enjoy this area no matter how much time you have, or how much hiking you want to do. There are three bright turquoise lakes in the Joffre chain, the first being just a few minutes f...

Duffey Lake sits just under Cayoosh Pass on the Duffey Lake Road (HWY 99), one of the most scenic drives in southwestern BC. Leaving from Pemberton, you'll climb just under 4000ft up to the lake, which is nestled between big, steep mountains, with the impressive Joffre group at the southwestern end.To reach the lake, take HWY 99 north from Pemberton, and turn right towards Lillooet in the villa...

The Canadian west coast mountains around Whistler BC receive over thirty feet of snow each winter. This area is well known for epic skiing and snowboarding, and it's also a really fun place to go snowshoeing. Here's a winter version of the incredible Joffre Lakes adventure (see my profile to read about hiking this area), with some extra details you'll need to know if you are visiting the park f...

The South Chilcotin Mountains are a veritable mountain biking and hiking paradise. With hundreds of kilometers of dry, flowy mixed use trails and epic scenery, it would be easy to spend weeks exploring this area.Many of the trails begin and end at Tyax Wilderness Resort, with the option to drive further up into the mountains to park or run bike shuttles. Tyax also offers float plane drops if yo...

Helm Lake is a sparkly body of water tucked into one of the most scenic alpine meadows around. The lake sits on a lava field, just under the Black Tusk, with the unique volcanic remains of Cinder Cone and Helm Peak on the opposite side of the meadow.The big draw for this hike is that it's far less busy than the Rubble Creek trail on the opposite side of the park. The forest is incredibly beauti...

Kootenay Lake is one of BC's biggest lakes at 104km long, and between 3-5km wide. At nearly 500ft deep, this lake stays cold all summer long with the most perfectly clear and clean water you can imagine. Hiking the Pilot Bay Trail is a great way to experience this incredible place.All of BC's inland ferries are part of the highway system, and are free of charge, unlike the ocean ferries on the ...

The name Green Lake says it all: this is a beautiful glacier-fed lake right next to Whistler village. There's easy access to the water from paved roads, making this a great outing for anyone visiting Whistler for a couple of days and looking for an afternoon adventure.Getting There To reach Green Lake Park, head north from Whistler on HWY99 to Emerald Estates and turn right onto Summer Lane. Th...

Snowshoeing is one of the best ways to experience true solitude in the beautiful snowy mountain landscape. The area surrounding the Cheakamus Crossing neighbourhood of Whistler has some of the very best low elevation snowshoeing in the valley.Riverside and Suspension Bridge Loop:A great 5km loop follows this summer hiking/biking trail along the Cheakamus River. This is a beautiful route in ever...

If 'glamping' is more your style, Riverside Campground is the place. Located within walking distance of Whistler Village, this 40 acre camping area has everything from riverside tent sites to cozy cabins and yurts. A deluxe RV area that’s open year round, amazing views, and a yummy café round out Riverside’s offerings. The amenities of Whistler are just a few minutes away, making this the ulti...

Where the beautiful Callaghan and Cheakamus Rivers converge, there is a great campsite aptly named after these two turquoise rivers. This is a quiet area, shaded by huge stands of West Coast forest, and easily accessible from HWY 99, about 20 minutes south of Whistler Village.Hiking and mountain biking trails, plus a unique suspension bridge are all within a few minutes walk from the camping ar...

Exploring Garibaldi Park by snowshoe is an experience you'll never forget. There is nothing like being in a forest wilderness in the stillness of winter. There are lots of places to snowshoe in the Whistler area, but here are two of the most exciting (yes, snowshoeing can be exciting!) Cheakamus Lake: You can reach Cheakamus Lake in winter two ways: one is by snowshoeing up the access road, and...

The South Coast Mountains are full of high elevation alpine lakes. There are a few of considerable size (Garibaldi Lake, Duffey Lake, Lake Lovely Water, etc) and Callaghan Lake is one of them. This huge silvery lake sits up in the beautiful Callaghan Valley, a destination for ski touring, snowshoeing, hiking, camping, fishing, and paddling.Callaghan Lake is one of those places that is still som...

Lillooet Lake sits at the bottom of the Duffey Lake Road, just past the village of Mt Currie. In 2010, Mt Meager experienced a landslide totalling 48 million cubic metres, the largest in modern Canadian history. Sitting directly upriver of Lillooet Lake, the Meager slide turned this beautiful turquoise lake into a mirky shade of brown for many years. It's now returning to its' former radiant se...

Whistler Mountain is a world class ski destination in winter and a biking paradise in summer, but if you happen to be here in spring or fall, there's a whole other world of magic to enjoy. The access road is cut with machinery in early spring once the mountain has closed for the ski season, and as the sun hits the deep walls, an incredible landscape is formed in sun cups.There's some great snow...