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      • Whistler Golf Course 5k(3.1 Mile)
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Whistler Train Wreck

Joffre Lakes

Garibaldi Park

Parkhurst Ghost Town

Rainbow Falls

Wedgemount Lake

Cirque Lake

Black Tusk

Summer is Here!

Summer is here! Check out Hike in Whistler July 2022 for inspiration! Wedgemount Lake, Brandywine Meadows, Ring Lake, Russet Lake, Sproatt East, Sproatt West, and more, so many trails, so little time!

Rent Hiking Gear Here!

Whistler hiking gear rental at WeRentGear.com.  Free delivery in Whistler and to Rubble Creek for Garibaldi Provincial Park.  WeRentGear Whistler: Best gear, best prices, best service.

Nairn Falls is a wonderful, crashing and chaotic waterfall that surrounds you from the deluxe viewing platform that allows you to safely watch it from above.  The beautiful, green water rushes through the deep and angular channels of rock. Nairn Falls Provincial Park is centred around a very large campground and the short, 1.2 kilometre trail to the falls.

  • Very nice trail along the river to the falls
  • Informative signs at the falls explaining geology
  • Accessible year-round, even during snowy days
  • Campground is elaborate and well laid out
  • Easy, family friendly hiking trail
  • Very dog friendly trails
  • Campsites are crowded together
  • Not too much to see except the falls
  • Campground gets very busy
  • Fun to swim near the campsite, but cold!

Though the BC Parks website describes Nairn Falls as 60 metres high, the description is a bit misleading. You won't find a marvellously abrupt drop into a deep chasm like to see with Brandywine Falls. Nairn Falls has a very different shape to it, but is every bit as interesting and scenic. More so, in fact, due to the interesting geological information you find at the main viewpoint over the falls.  Nairn Falls crash through various narrow and wide areas, and though the cumulative drop is 60 metres, what you see is a series of 10 to 20 metre falls through a deep, zig-zagging canyon. There are very nicely constructed railings, fences and viewing areas as well as a walkway that guides you to the best views. With such abruptly steep rock all around, the area would be potentially dangerous. Evidently there have been deaths here before. A cross, reverently placed across the chasm from the viewing platform, indicates of some tragic event. Nairn Falls Provincial Park is located just a short 20 to 30 minute drive north of Whistler.  From the large parking lot the well marked trail runs along the Green River for 1.2 kilometres to Nairn Falls. The trail is very easy and is hike-able year-round. Though considerable snow falls in the winter months here, the popular trail remains easy to follow, and snowshoes are usually not needed. You will find the parking lot gate locked in the winter, so you can park outside the gate and walk in. In cold winter weather you may find some treacherous sections of trail. The trail is quite narrow and follows a course next to a very steep slope down to the rushing river. On many winter days you will find the trail icy and extremely slippery.

Though the main trail to Nairn Falls is the main focus of visitors to Nairn Falls Provincial Park, there are more trails to more sights. The Sea to Sky Trail and various other trails zig-zag to the south. A cute trail off the campground brings you down to the river and quite a scenic area at a large bend in the river. This is the place you can jump in the water on a hot day.

Nairn Falls Provincial Park - Hike in Whistler

Nairn Falls Potholes

Nairn Falls Hike in Whistler 15

Nairn Falls Aerial View

The Story of Nairn Falls

Nairn Falls Provincial Park Trails

Nairn Falls Provincial ParkMost visitors to Nairn Falls Provincial Park just see the falls, however, to the left, beyond the campsites the Green River is beautiful.  A short trail takes you down to a wide bend in the river and you find yourself in what looks like a large beach. It is a hidden bit of paradise with the crystal clear, green water flowing over polished rocks. The whole are is in almost constant sunlight despite being in the middle of the forest. On warm, summer days you will find people swimming, sipping beers on the rock cliffs across the river and generally having an amazing time in this usually forgotten corner of the park.

Nairn Falls Large Map v7

Parkhurst Ghost Town CaterpillarParkhurst Sawmill SiteKups Blue Face ParkhurstParkhurst Plow TreeParkhurst RidgeParkhurst Sawmill Caterpillar

Getting to Nairn Falls

Driving to the TrailheadNairn Falls is very easy to find, just a 20-30 minute drive north of Whistler. From Whistler Village, zero your odometer at Village Gate Boulevard and head north on Highway 99(towards Pemberton), 29.1 kilometres from Whistler Village you will see the parking lot on your right and a huge Nairn Falls Provincial Park highway sign. There is a large, free parking area as you enter the park. If you drive further into the park you will find all the drive-to camping areas as well as the park warden's cabin. If you are just visiting the falls, parking at the main area just off the highway is best.  If you find the gate locked(after hours and in the winter), you can park along the edge of the highway.

Nairn Falls Driving Directions Map

More Nairn Falls Information

Cirque Lake is a wild and beautiful lake that hides high above and beyond Callaghan Lake in Callaghan Lake Provincial Park.  What makes Cirque Lake special among the other ...
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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 ...
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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. Open year-round and located just before ...
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Whistler has an absurd number of wonderful and free hiking trails and Parkhurst Ghost Town certainly ranks as one of the most unusual, exotic and interesting. Parkhurst was a little ...
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Mount Meager erupted here 2400 years ago and filled the valley with debris that cemented into rock that blocked Lillooet River.  Eventually water erosion ...
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Wedgemount Falls can be seen along the trail to Wedgemount Lake.  As the falls flow directly from Wedgemount Lake, they are located about three quarters ...
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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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Cirque Falls crashes down from Cirque Lake to Callaghan Lake, connecting these two remarkably beautiful and very different lakes.  Where Callaghan Lake is ...
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More Whistler Waterfalls

Fantastic Books About Geology in BC

In Search of Ancient British ColumbiaGeology of British ColumbiaHere 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.

**We participate in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and earn a small commission on purchases we link through to Amazon at no extra cost to you.  We only link to books and products we love and highly recommend.  Thanks for your support!**

When you hike in the alpine in Whistler and Garibaldi Provincial Park, you will often encounter unbelievably hardy and sometimes mangled looking trees.  ...
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The Fitzsimmons Range is a subsection of the Garibaldi Ranges that covers the area between the valleys of Cheakamus Lake and Fitzsimmons Creek.  Fitzsimmons ...
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Mountain hemlock is a species of hemlock that thrives along the west coast of North America from Alaska to California. In Whistler and Garibaldi Park you ...
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Tom Fyles (27 June 1887 - 27 March 1979) was an astoundingly skilled climber that figured prominently in the climbing community of Vancouver for more than two ...
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Corrie Lake is the surreal looking lake that can be seen across the valley from Whistler Mountain.  While hiking the High Note trail along Whistler ...
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The Pacific yew or western yew is a coniferous tree that grows in Whistler and along the coast from Alaska to California. The Pacific yew’s unique ...
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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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Russet Lake sits in a wide, glacier carved valley at the base of The Fissile.  In the direction opposite The Fissile, up on a plateau less than a ...
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Rent Hiking Gear Whistler & Garibaldi Park

Whistler & Garibaldi Hiking

Easy Hiking Trail WhistlerAlexander Falls  Moderate Hiking Trail Whistler Dog FriendlyAncient Cedars  Moderate Hiking Trail WhistlerBlack Tusk  Pay Use Hiking Trail WhistlerBlackcomb Mountain  Easy Hiking Trail WhistlerBrandywine Falls  Moderate/Hard Hiking Trail Whistler Dog FriendlyBrandywine Meadows  Moderate/Hard Hiking Trail Whistler Dog FriendlyBrew Lake  Easy Hiking Trail WhistlerCallaghan Lake  Moderate Hiking Trail WhistlerCheakamus Lake  Whistler Hiking Trail EasyCheakamus River  Whistler Hiking Trail HardCirque Lake  Whistler Hiking Trail EasyFlank Trail  Moderate Hiking Trail WhistlerGaribaldi Lake  Moderate Hiking Trail WhistlerGaribaldi Park  Moderate Hiking Trail WhistlerHelm Creek  Moderate Hiking Trail Whistler Dog FriendlyJane Lakes  Joffre Lakes Hike in Whistler in SeptemberJoffre Lakes  Moderate Hiking Trail Whistler Dog FriendlyKeyhole Hot Springs  Hiking Trail Hard Dog FriendlyLogger’s Lake  Whistler Hiking Trail EasyMadeley Lake  Moderate/Hard Hiking Trail Whistler Dog FriendlyMeager Hot Springs Easy Hiking Trail WhistlerNairn Falls  Whistler Hiking Trail HardNewt Lake  Moderate Hiking Trail WhistlerPanorama Ridge  Whistler Hiking Trail EasyParkhurst Ghost Town  Hiking Trail Hard Dog FriendlyRainbow Falls  Moderate Hiking Trail WhistlerRainbow Lake  Moderate/Hard Hiking Trail Whistler Dog FriendlyRing Lake  Moderate Hiking Trail WhistlerRusset Lake  Whistler Hiking Trail EasySea to Sky Trail  Easy Hiking Trail WhistlerSkookumchuck Hot Springs  Easy Hiking Trail WhistlerSloquet Hot Springs  Sproatt East  Moderate Hiking Trail WhistlerSproatt West  Moderate Hiking Trail WhistlerTaylor Meadows  Whistler Hiking Trail EasyTrain Wreck  Hiking Trail Hard - Whistler TrailsWedgemount Lake  Pay Use Hiking Trail WhistlerWhistler Mountain

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Brandywine Falls is one of the must see sights on the drive to or from Whistler, and arguably the nicest of Whistler’s numerous beautiful waterfalls.  Located about halfway between Squamish and Whistler, the ...
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Ring Lake is a fantastically serene and wonderfully remote lake similar to Cirque Lake, but considerably farther to hike to reach it. The 10 kilometre(6.2 mile) hike takes you through a rarely hiked forest, ...
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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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Ancient Cedars is a nice, easy/moderate 2.5 kilometre (1.6 mile) hiking trail on the far side of Cougar Mountain, just 13.1 kilometres north of Whistler Village. A small, untouched grove of huge western ...
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