Whistler Spring HikingIn the(usually) deep March snow of Whistler you have an amazing array of snowshoeing options.  If you have not been to the Whistler Train Wreck, you have to, it's a must see.  An incredible 50 year old train wreck, turned art exhibit, turned bike park.  It is an amazing surreal world hidden just a couple hundred metres from the busy Sea to Sky Highway, running along the spectacular Cheakamus River.

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Whistler Spring HikingApril in Whistler is a wonderful time of year.  The winter deep freeze ends and T-shirt weather erupts.  The village comes alive with overflowing patios and the excitement of approaching summer can be seen everywhere.  The snow in the village starts the month measured in feet and ends the month, having mostly melted, about halfway up to mid-station on Whistler Mountain.  Early in April the usual favourite places to snowshoe are warm and wonderful.

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Whistler Spring HikingMay is an extraordinarily beautiful time of year in Whistler.  The days are longer and warmer and a great lull in between seasons happens.  Whistler is fairly quiet in May and nobody goes hiking.  This is because most of the trails have quite deep snow.  This keeps everyone away, and for good reason.  The best Garibaldi Park and Whistler area trails are mostly steep and at high elevations, so hiking or snowshoeing in deep snow is exhausting.

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Whistler Summer HikingJune is a pretty amazing month to hike in Whistler.  The average low and high temperatures in Whistler range from 9c to 21c(48f/70f).  The summer tourist season in Whistler doesn’t kick into high gear until the end of June, so most trails remain relatively quiet.  The higher elevation hiking trails in Whistler and Garibaldi Park with have lingering snow well into June and sometimes early July.

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Whistler Summer HikingJuly is a wonderful time to hike in Whistler and Garibaldi Provincial Park.  The weather is beautiful and the snow on high elevation hiking trails is long gone.  The average temperatures in Whistler Village range from 11c to 27c(52f to 80f).  Located in the Coast Mountains, Whistler gets warm summer days and cool nights.  On a hot July day of 25c(77f) often switches to a cool 12c(54f) night. 

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Whistler Summer HikingAugust hiking in Whistler definitely has the most consistently great, hot weather.  You can feel the rare pleasure of walking across a glacier shirtless and still hot.  Even in the high elevations and on glaciers the temperatures are often a beautifully hot 20c plus.  There are numerous glaciers that are readily accessible via Whistler area hiking trails.  Wedgemount Lake has one of these beautiful glaciers just steps from its far shore.

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Whistler Fall HikingSeptember hiking in Whistler is possibly the best month of all.  The snow has melted far up to the mountain tops, yet the temperatures are still quite high.  And just like that wonderful phenomenon of May and June, there are no annoying bugs.  And with the passing of the first week of September, the summer season officially ends, so the number of hikers dwindles to virtually none by the second week.

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Whistler Fall HikingHiking in Whistler in October is often unexpectedly stunning.  The days are much shorter and colder but the mountains are alive with colour from the fall leaves.  On the higher elevations there is often a dusting of snow that makes everything look amazing.  Picking a full moon evening to hike in a place like Joffre Lakes, Russet Lake or Wedgemount Lake makes for an incredible night in the mountains.

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Whistler Fall HikingNovember in Whistler is when the temperatures plummet and the first heavy snow falls in the alpine and often in Whistler Village.  The hiking opportunities become limited to easier and lower elevation hikes such as to Nairn Falls, Brandywine Falls and Rainbow Falls.  Waterfalls are a great in Whistler, huge and impressive.  Also, most can be accessed year-round. Alexander Falls, located high up in beautiful Callaghan Valley, just metres from a snow plowed road. 

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Whistler Winter HikingDecember hiking in Whistler is mainly done on snowshoes, though if it hasn't snowed for a few days, trails to Whistler Train Wreck and Rainbow Falls can usually be tackled fairly easily without snowshoes.  The wonderful, multi-use trail network in Whistler, the Valley Trail is amazing on foot all winter, though the overlapping Sea to Sky Trail is quickly buried in December snow.  Some sections of the Valley Trail are snowplowed and some sections are groomed for free cross country skiing.

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Whistler Winter HikingThere are plenty of beautiful and free snowshoe trails in Whistler and Garibaldi Provincial Park.  From the surreal paintings of Whistler Train Wreck to the magnificent mountain serenity of Wedgemount Lake in Garibaldi Park.  Trails range from extremely easy, like the short, flat trails to Brandywine Falls and Rainbow Park.  To challenging and long trails to places like Elfin LakesTaylor Meadows and Wedgemount Lake

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Whistler Winter HikingFebruary is a great month for snowshoeing in Whistler and Garibaldi Park.  The days slowly get longer, but the temperatures stay consistently cold.  Expect several days of -12c and of course much colder in the mountains.  February is a great month for trying some overnight snowshoeing trips.  There are even several huts that are available to use.  Some are free and some have a reasonably low cost.

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Whistler Hiking Trails

The Sproatt East trail is a beautifully wild, steep, but relatively short trail to the magnificent, wide open alpine and summit of Mount Sproatt.  Mount Sproatt (1834 metres) towers over Whistler Valley ...
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Black Tusk is the extraordinarily iconic and appropriately named mountain that can be seen from almost everywhere in Whistler.  The massive black spire of crumbling rock juts out of the earth in an incredibly ...
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Garibaldi Lake is the centre and base for much of the hiking in Garibaldi Provincial Park. The Garibaldi Lake campsite is located on the amazing, turquoise shores of this massive and mostly still wild ...
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Russet Lake is a surreal little paradise that lays at the base of The Fissile, in Garibaldi Provincial Park. The Fissile is the strikingly bronze mountain visible from Whistler Village.  From the Village ...
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Whistler Snowshoe Trails

Brandywine Falls Provincial Park is a beautiful park centred around the wonderful falls that plunge 70 metres down a vertical wall of glacier fractured rock.  The peculiar, angular cubes of rock that the cliffs ...
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The Rainbow Trail is a convenient and popular trail near Whistler Village that takes you to Rainbow Lake as well as the Rainbow-Sproatt Flank Trail, Rainbow Falls, Hanging Lake, Madeley Lake, Beverley ...
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At the north end of Green Lake hides one of the most unusual, interesting and scenic snowshoe trails in Whistler, Parkhurst Ghost Town.  From the 1920’s to 1950’s a small logging town with several dozen ...
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The Blueberry Trail is a relatively unknown, though very scenic trail that ascends quickly up to a cliff viewpoint high above Alta Lake.  Another trail hugs the shoreline of Alta Lake through a wonderfully ...
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Hike in Whistler Glossary

Cirque: a glacier-carved bowl or amphitheater in the mountains.  To form, the glacier must be a combination of size, a certain slope and more unexpectedly, a ...
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Glacier Window: the cave-like opening at the mouth of a glacier where meltwater runs out.  Glacier windows are often extraordinarily beautiful.  A blue glow ...
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Bergschrund or abbreviated schrund: a crevasse that forms from the separation of moving glacier ice from the stagnant ice above. Characterized by a deep ...
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The Barrier formed as a result of huge lava flows from Clinker Peak on the west shoulder of Mount Price during the last ice age.  About thirteen thousand ...
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The pale green shub-like growths hanging from trees in the forests around Whistler is called usnea.  These bushy, coral-like fruticose lichens anchor to bark ...
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Nunatuk: a rock projection protruding through permanent ice or snow.  Their distinct appearance in an otherwise barren landscape often makes them ...
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Mount Garibaldi is the huge, potentially active volcano that Garibaldi Provincial Park is named after.  Mount Garibaldi also lends its name to the Garibaldi ...
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Aiguille: a tall, narrow, characteristically distinct spire of rock. From the French word for "needle". Used extensively as part of the names for many ...
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Best Hiking by Month

In the(usually) deep March snow of Whistler you have an amazing array of snowshoeing options.  If you have not been to the Whistler Train Wreck, you have ...
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April in Whistler is a wonderful time of year.  The winter deep freeze ends and T-shirt weather erupts.  The village comes alive with overflowing patios and ...
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May is an extraordinarily beautiful time of year in Whistler.  The days are longer and warmer and a great lull in between seasons happens.  Whistler is fairly ...
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June is a pretty amazing month to hike in Whistler.  The average low and high temperatures in Whistler range from 9c to 21c(48f/70f).  The summer tourist ...
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Hike in Whistler News & Blog

Oct 10th, 2022: Jane Lakes consist of three lakes that are well hidden in the vast wilderness adjacent to Whistler’s Interpretive ForestWest Jane Lake, ...
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October 22nd, 2022: The Cal-Cheak campground just south of Whistler sits in a tranquil, huge tree forest, nestled between Callaghan Creek and Cheakamus ...
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January 5th, 2023: Pack smart by putting heavier items close to your back and higher up your pack.  Be organized and think of keeping important things ...
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November 18th, 2022: Way up in the Callaghan Valley on the back side of Mount Sproatt is an abandoned gold mine.  Old cement foundations and two ...
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Best Whistler Aerial Views

Alexander Falls is located far up in the Callaghan Valley just before the turnoff to Callaghan Lake Provincial Park.  The falls are very impressive with ...
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Russet Lake is a surreal little paradise that lays at the base of The Fissile, in Garibaldi Provincial Park. The Fissile is the strikingly bronze mountain ...
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The Rainbow Trail is a convenient and popular trail near Whistler Village that takes you to Rainbow Lake as well as the Rainbow-Sproatt Flank Trail, Rainbow ...
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Brandywine Falls Provincial Park is a very convenient stop along the Sea to Sky Highway on the way to or from Whistler.  The falls spill over an abrupt 70 ...
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Best Whistler Waterfalls

Shannon Falls towers above Howe Sound at 335 metres as the third tallest falls in BC.  The wonderful, though very short trail winds through a beautiful old ...
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Alexander Falls is a very impressive 43 metre/141 foot waterfall just 30 to 40 minutes south of Whistler in the Callaghan Valley.  Accessible year-round, ...
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Brandywine Falls is one of the must see sights on the way to or from Whistler. The falls drop from a 70 metre(230 feet), unnaturally abrupt looking cliff ...
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Holloway Falls is the beautiful waterfalls you see partway along the Joffre Lakes Provincial Park trail.  Located between Middle Joffre Lake and Upper ...
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Best Whistler Parks

Alpha Lake Park is a beautiful little park on the shores of Alpha Lake in Creekside, just 5 kilometres south of Whistler Village.  Located partway along ...
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Green Lake is stunning, vivid turquoise coloured lake just north of Whistler Village.  The Sea to Sky Highway runs along the edge of the lake for most of ...
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Wayside Park in Whistler is one of several idyllic parks along the shore of Alta LakeRainbow Park, Lakeside Park and Blueberry Park are also along the ...
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Lost Lake is a tranquil and secluded lake that hides in the forest extending from Whistler Village.  Just a 20 minute, leisurely walk or 5 minute bike ride ...
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Explore BC Hiking Destinations!

Hiking in Whistler is spectacular and wonderfully varied. Looking at a map of Whistler you see an extraordinary spider web of hiking trails that are unbelievably numerous. Easy trails, moderate trails and challenging hiking trails are all available. Another marvellous ...
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Squamish is located in the midst of a staggering array of amazing hiking trails. Garibaldi Provincial Park sprawls alongside Squamish and up and beyond Whistler. Tantalus Provincial Park lays across the valley to the west and the wonderfully remote Callaghan Valley ...
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Vancouver is surrounded by seemingly endless hiking trails and mountains to explore.  Massive parks line up one after another.  Mount Seymour Provincial Park, Lynn Canyon Park, Grouse Mountain, Cypress Park and the enormous Garibaldi Park all contribute to Vancouver ...
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Clayoquot Sound has a staggering array of hiking trails within it.  Between Tofino and Ucluelet, Pacific Rim Park has several wilderness and beach trails, each one radically different from the last.  The islands in the area are often Provincial parks on their own with ...
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Victoria has a seemingly endless number of amazing hiking trails.  Most take you to wild and beautiful Pacific Ocean views and others take you to tranquil lakes in beautiful BC Coastal Rainforest wilderness.  Regional Parks and Provincial Parks are everywhere you turn in ...
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The West Coast Trail was created after decades of brutal and costly shipwrecks occurred along the West Coast of Vancouver Island.  One shipwreck in particular was so horrific, tragic and unbelievable that it forced the creation of a trail along the coast, which ...
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