- Quiet area, not a lot of visitors
- Terrific lakes for swimming & fishing
- Excellent and free camping!
- Black Tusk visible across the lake
- Very dog friendly wilderness trails
- Great viewpoints along the trail
- Fantastic geological rock formations
- No wow factor like Wedge or Cirque
- Not a whole lot to see at the lakes
- No magnificent alpine scenery
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
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Finding the Jane Lakes West Trail
Jane Lakes West trailhead is a bit tricky to find as it may not be marked, though the original Jane Lakes Road signs are still there. From Whistler Village you drive south to Cheakamus Crossing and turn right to follow Jane Lakes Road. You then bear right onto the Cheakamus River FSR(previously Jane Lakes FSR). You drive down this fairly smooth logging road for 3.4 kilometres before the old Jane Lakes FSR ends at a row of boulders and a deep ditch. This is the new trailhead that follows a fairly steep old logging road for 4.1 kilometres to West Jane Lake. The old road ends at a nice flat clearing that was evidently once used for 4x4 parking, but is now a great spot to camp. There is a nice fire ring set up there and you can see glimpses of the lake through the trees a few hundred metres away. The Jane Lakes trails go around the three lakes and continue out to the Westside Main FSR which bends around to follow the west side of Cheakamus River. Westside Main FSR come out at Cheakamus Crossing.
The Expanding Jane Lakes Trail Network
The Jane Lakes trails consist of three connecting trails that extend in an arc linking the Cheakamus River FSR to the Westside Main FSR. These two forest service roads meet at opposite ends of Cheakamus Crossing, the southernmost residential neighbourhood in Whistler. The Westside Main FSR ends at a locked gate about 7 kilometres from where it starts near Cheakamus Crossing. This locked gate has a large, unmarked parking area near it. This is the parking area used for hiking to Jane Lakes from this side. From here you have to hike or bike 2.4 kilometres up the Westside Main FSR and you will see the Jane Lakes East trail on your right. The Jane Lakes East trail is 1.5 kilometres long and takes you to the shore of East Jane Lake. From here the 2.8 kilometre Jane Lakes North trail takes you over the top of East Jane Lake, across to West Jane Lake, then around the north end of West Jane Lake to connect to the Jane Lakes West trail. The Jane Lakes West trail then quickly descends down 4.1 kilometres to the new trailhead on Cheakamus River FSR. The driving, biking, hiking distance between the two parking areas for Jane Lakes is just over 10 kilometres.
Jane Lakes West Trail Stats:
Driving There: 15 minutes south of Whistler Village(12.5 kilometres/7.8 miles) Hiking Distance: 4.1 kilometres/2.5 miles, one way from the trailhead to West Jane Lake. Hiking Time: 1 hour and 20 minutes there and 50 minutes back. Start Elevation: 636 metres/2087 feet. End Elevation: 942 metres/3091 feet. Elevation Gain: 306 metres/1004 feet. Fees: None Campsites: Yes Camping Allowed: Yes Difficulty: Moderate, constantly steep but short trail, easy to follow Kid Friendly: Yes, short enough to be fun, not too exhausting Stroller Friendly: No Dog Friendly: Yes
The Jane Lakes West Trailhead
As the Jane Lakes trail was recently built, the trailhead may not be well marked, though it is easy to find at the end of the logging road barricaded by boulders and a ditch. This overgrown access road is now the Jane Lakes West trail and pictured below is the parking area and trailhead.
These are the old signs to be replaced in the fall of 2019 when the new trail was finished. The Jane Lakes Rough 4x4 Road 3.8km is the new Jane Lakes West trail.
The Jane Lakes West trail was a 4x4 logging road, now a biking and hiking trail.
Columnar Jointing on the Way to Jane Lakes
Beautiful columnar jointing along the trail at a few different places. Caused when lava from a volcano flows up against a glacier. The rapid cooling where it meets the glacier causes strangely symmetrical fractures in the rock that look bizarrely unnatural. Nearby Brandywine Falls is another great place to see this weird phenomenon. During the last Ice Age Whistler Valley was under a glacier about one or two kilometres thick and there were active volcanoes everywhere.
Jane Lakes Trailhead Directions
The Jane Lakes West trailhead is found near the Whistler neighbourhood Cheakamus Crossing, 8 kilometres south of Whistler Village. Bus transit to Cheakamus Crossing is frequent from Whistler Village and walking to the trailhead from the bus stop is just 3.4 kilometres. Driving directions from Whistler Village: From Village Gate Boulevard in Whistler Village zero your odometer and drive south on the Sea to Sky Highway. At 7.9km you will come to the intersection with Function Junction to the right and Cheakamus Crossing left. Turn left onto Cheakamus Lake Road and drive toward Cheakamus Crossing. After crossing the bridge over Cheakamus River at 8.6km turn right onto Jane Lakes Road. At 9.1km look for the Cheakamus River Forest Service Road on your right. Turn onto the Cheakamus River FSR and follow it until 12.5km where you will arrive at the unmarked trailhead/parking for Jane Lakes. Previous to October 2019 this was the Janes Lakes Forest Service Road. Now this road has been permanently deactivated and has been blocked by large boulders as well as a huge ditch. The ditch is actually a water channel to allow the natural creek to flow through here. The 4.1 kilometre old road, now trail to Jane Lakes West has dozens of these water channels dug across.
Printable Directions Map to Jane Lakes
You might want to save this map to your phone or print it out for reference. To print: right click on the map below, click "Save Image As...", save it to your desktop and open and print.
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