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The Rubble Creek trailhead is the main access point for many of the best hikes and sights in Garibaldi Provincial Park. Rubble Creek is located midway between Whistler and Squamish, just 2 kilometres from the Sea to Sky Highway. The name Rubble Creek is evidently quite appropriate when you reach the parking lot and see the remnants of the terrific rock slide that swept down the valley not that long ago.
Whistler & Garibaldi Hiking
Alexander Falls 
Ancient Cedars 
Black Tusk 
Blackcomb Mountain Brandywine Falls Brandywine Meadows Brew Lake Callaghan Lake Cheakamus Lake 
Cheakamus River 
Cirque Lake Flank Trail Garibaldi Lake Garibaldi Park Helm Creek Jane Lakes Joffre Lakes Keyhole Hot Springs Logger’s Lake Madeley Lake Meager Hot Springs Nairn Falls Newt Lake Panorama Ridge Parkhurst Ghost Town Rainbow Falls Rainbow Lake Ring Lake Russet Lake Sea to Sky Trail Skookumchuck Hot Springs Sloquet Hot Springs 
Sproatt East Sproatt West Taylor Meadows Train Wreck 
Wedgemount Lake Whistler Mountain
January February 
March April May 
June July August 
September October November December
Giant boulders fill the river and river valley that sharply ascends up the valley toward The Barrier and Garibaldi Lake. The Barrier is a magnificently abrupt and unstable rock formation that holds back Lesser Garibaldi Lake and just two kilometres further, Garibaldi Lake. The Barrier partially gave way in the spring of 1856 and unleashed a horrific, rocky torrent of boulders down the valley. It is estimated that more than 25 million cubic metres of rock tumbled down the valley at about 70 kilometres per hour. Sixty years later the Pacific Great Eastern Railway completed the railway line that stretched up the coast from Vancouver, through Whistler, to Lillooet and beyond. In 1916 the Garibaldi Lodge opened near the railway line at Daisy Lake and Rubble Creek. The Garibaldi Lodge was similar to the Rainbow Lodge at Alta Lake in Whistler. Garibaldi Lodge was located in a small community called Daisy Lake after the lake that we see there today that Brandywine Falls so dramatically spills into. In 1932, five years after the creation of Garibaldi Provincial Park, the community changed its name from Daisy Lake to Garibaldi. The newly named town of Garibaldi was poised to become the main base and tourism centre for Garibaldi Provincial Park.
Rubble Creek View of The Barrier
The Barrier Viewpoint
The Barrier is a Constant Threat
The town continued developing and soon grand plans were drawn up for a ski resort in the area. The company that originally created what would become Whistler that we see today was called the Garibaldi Lift Company. A name that suggested the location that the resort would emanate from, Garibaldi. With huge development plans underway, the government had a look at the potential for another enormous rock slide if The Barrier ruptured again. A massive study was done and it was determined that The Barrier could release a similar catastrophe as it did in 1856 at any time. Specifically the study determined that the conditions that produced the 1856 slide are all still characteristics of The Barrier today.
Garibaldi Relocated Away from Danger
Because a similar catastrophic rock slide could occur anytime, the plans for Garibaldi were scrapped and the town was ordered evacuated. To compensate the people that lived in the tiny community, lots were offered in the new settlements of Pinecrest and Black Tusk Estates, just north of Rubble Creek. Those areas retain the same names today, however the settlement of Garibaldi is long gone. Though you will still see the old townsite’s name on the Sea to Sky highway signs for the Rubble Creek trailhead. The highway signs read Black Tusk(Garibaldi) referring to the Rubble Creek trailhead to Garibaldi Provincial Park. In Whistler you will find a little piece of history if you go for a drink in one of Whistler’s best slopeside bars, the GLC. The GLC sits at the base of Whistler Mountain and above the Whistler Gondola, and has one of the most amazing patios around. GLC, of course is short for Garibaldi Lift Company.
Daisy Lake and Brandywine Falls
Today you will see Daisy Lake as you drive along the Sea to Sky Highway between Squamish and Whistler. In 1957 the Daisy Lake Dam was completed and is dramatically visible as you drive by. Just past the lake, heading north, you pass Brandywine Falls which spills from an abrupt cliff into Daisy Lake. Near the falls you will find a tranquil viewing area overlooking the valley and a great view of Daisy Lake. There are a couple of nice, sun facing park benches here as well which makes this spot unbeatable to relax for lunch with a million dollar view of this historically and geologically magnificent place.
Brandywine Falls View of Daisy Lake
The Rubble Creek Landslide
In the spring of 1856 more than 25 million cubic metres of rock from The Barrier crashed down the valley of what is today called Rubble Creek. The incredible torrent of volcanic rock boulders crashed down the valley more than 6 kilometres at a speed of more than 30 metres per second. The vertical distance of the debris flow was over 1000 metres measured from the top of The Barrier to the end of the debris field where Rubble Creek meets Cheakamus River. The exact cause of the 1856 Rubble Creek landslide is very difficult to be sure of. There are a couple of possibilities geologists have come up with. Water from Garibaldi Lake ends up passing through The Barrier via a subsurface drainage system that comes out the other side as springs far below. Groundwater pressure may have increased due to some sort of blockage resulting in pressures that triggered the slide. Another theory is that an earthquake could have ruptured The Barrier, causing the massive release of rock down the valley. There is a record of an earthquake in the area in 1853, however no record of an earthquake in the years that follow, before or after the 1856 Rubble Creek slide. It is difficult to confirm that an earthquake did not occur in 1856 owing to the distance to populated areas at the time. The abrupt shape of The Barrier and its interesting origin not only explain how it formed into such and unusual way, but why it will continue to threaten another collapse.
Garibaldi Lake in Garibaldi Provincial Park
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 mountain lake. There are no trails around the edge of the lake except the small section leading to the campsites, so your view is an impossibly coloured lake edged by swaths of forest and a magnificent glacier towering in the distance. Compared to other lakes in the Whistler area and in Garibaldi Provincial Park, Garibaldi Lake is enormous with a surface area of almost 10 square kilometres or 2460 acres. It is also a very deep lake with its average depth of 119 metres or 390 feet and at its deepest, 258 metres or 849 feet! What really makes Garibaldi Lake extraordinary is its geography. It is flanked by volcanoes on three sides and lava flows from Mount Price during the last ice age formed The Barrier which blocked the valley which filled with water, creating Garibaldi Lake. Vantage points around the lake such as Panorama Ridge and Black Tusk allow relatively easy views of this magnificent lake with Mount Garibaldi and other impressive peaks surrounding it. More...
Books About Geology in BC
Here are two excellent books on the Geology of British Columbia. In Search of Ancient British Columbia by Barbara Huck is one of our favourites. It focuses on southern BC and covers each individual region separately. The Lower Mainland chapter explains the geology, paleontology and archaeology of the region stretching from Vancouver, Sea to Sky, Garibaldi Park and north to Mount Meager and Meager Hot Springs. Quite a lot of the book is devoted to how the last ice age shaped the land and inhabitants of southern BC. The chapters on Vancouver Island are particularly good as the geological history was particularly chaotic and the history of glaciation around present day Victoria is very interesting. Geology of British Columbia: A Journey Through Time by Sydney Cannings, JoAnne Nelson and Richard Cannings is a beautiful history of BC's geology and the 200 million year history of creatures living in this extraordinary corner of the world. The authors take us on a journey through time, describing the collisions of island chains called terrains, the sliding of plates, the erupting of volcanoes, and the movement of glaciers that created British Columbia as we know it today. They also describe the rich legacy of fossils left behind as a result of all this geological activity.
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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July 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 ...
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August hiking in Whistler definitely has the most consistently great, hot weather. You can feel the rare pleasure of walking across a glacier shirtless and ...
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The Roundhouse Lodge is the centre of activity on much of Whistler Mountain. It is where the Whistler Gondola drops off and next to where the Peak 2 Peak ...
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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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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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The Green Lake Loop is the original trail that runs around the back side of Green Lake. Before the Sea to Sky Highway was cut through the valley in 1964, ...
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Crevasse: is a split or crack in the glacier surface, often with near vertical walls. Crevasses form out of the constant movement of a glacier over ...
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Col: a ridge between two higher peaks, a mountain pass or saddle. More specifically is the lowest point on a mountain ridge between two peaks. Sometimes ...
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Bushwhack is a term often used in Canada and the United States to refer to hiking off-trail where no trail exists. Literally means 'bush' and 'whack'. To ...
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Porteau Cove is a beautiful little stop on the drive to or from Whistler. You will notice the lack of convenient washroom stops on the way to or from ...
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Whistler & Garibaldi Hiking
Alexander Falls Ancient Cedars Black Tusk Blackcomb Mountain Brandywine Falls Brandywine Meadows Brew Lake Callaghan Lake Cheakamus Lake Cheakamus River Cirque Lake Flank Trail Garibaldi Lake Garibaldi Park Helm Creek Jane Lakes Joffre Lakes Keyhole Hot Springs Logger’s Lake Madeley Lake Meager Hot Springs Nairn Falls Newt Lake Panorama Ridge Parkhurst Ghost Town Rainbow Falls Rainbow Lake Ring Lake Russet Lake Sea to Sky Trail Skookumchuck Hot Springs Sloquet Hot Springs Sproatt East Sproatt West Taylor Meadows Train Wreck Wedgemount Lake Whistler Mountain
January February March April May June July August September October November December
Brew Lake is beautiful mountain lake just a short drive south of Whistler and is relatively unknown and seldom hiked. Laying at the base of Mount Brew, Brew Lake lays in a massive alpine valley of enormous ...
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Callaghan Lake Provincial Park is a relatively untouched wilderness of rugged mountainous terrain. The valley walls were formed by relatively recent glaciation. Evidence of this can be seen in the ...
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Meager Hot Springs(aka: Meager Creek Hot Springs) is located 93 kilometres northwest of Whistler, was beautifully developed into gorgeous pools, with a caretaker and usage charge. At its height of ...
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Skookumchuck Hot Springs(aka T'sek Hot Springs and St. Agnes Well), located two hours north of Whistler along the edge of the huge Lillooet River. The name Skookumchuck means "strong water" in the language ...
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