Fall Hiking in Whistler!
Fall is here and hiking in Whistler is spectacular! Check out our Best Whistler Hiking by Month for inspiration!
Waterbar and Cross-Ditch: the purpose of a waterbar or cross-ditch is to capture and redirect surface water from the road and channel it across the road surface beyond the shoulder of the road. A waterbar differs from a cross-ditch as it collects only road surface water and not water flowing down a ditch line or creek. Waterbars often form naturally across forest service roads over time by seasonal flooding. Man-made waterbars are visibly different than natural ones in that they are deeper, straighter and have a berm on the downhill side.
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
A berm is an artificial ridge or raised bank running along the downhill side of the waterbar. A berm uses the excavated material dug out of the ditch to allow the waterbar to channel a higher volume of water, yet be shallow enough to be crossed by vehicles. Waterbars and cross-ditches are similar, however cross-ditches are generally larger, more visibly man-made, and designed to channel a permanent flow of water. On active forest service roads waterbars and cross-ditches are designed to allow vehicles to cross them. On deactivated forest service roads, cross-ditches can be constructed large enough to prevent vehicle access and to allow a more natural looking stream to permanently form. Access roads in Whistler have many examples of waterbars and cross-ditches. The old 8 kilomtre access road to Callaghan Lake has almost continuous waterbars that range from not too bad to very bad. An SUV will have no worries crossing even the deepest of these waterbars, though many require slowing to a crawl. Cars will have some difficulty getting past the waterbars, though with careful and slow driving, getting to Callaghan Lake should be possible for most. The road to Madeley Lake that branches off from the Callaghan Lake FSR is similarly crossed by waterbars. Far less numerous, the waterbars along the 6.2 kilometre road to Madeley Lake don't start until about 4 kilometres up the road. After the trailhead to Hanging Lake at 4.2 km the Madeley Lake Road has a few very deep waterbars that appear to get deeper every year.
The old logging road that extends from Cheakamus Crossing to Jane Lakes was blocked off in 2019 and is an impressive place to see how waterbars have been modified into cross-ditches. The future of this comparatively unknown old logging road looks very promising. Particularly owing to the enticing network of biking trails around Jane Lakes and the seemingly endless energy of bike trail builders in Whistler this trail seems poised to be something special. The trail itself is quite steep and the newly dug cross-ditches are quite wide and deep. Even in the dry months of fall several are tricky to jump across without splashing through. Added to that the fact that this trail will be frequently used as an exit route for bikes coming down the steep old road at high speed would hint at the need for bridges over the dozens of cross-ditches. Hiking up the trail to Jane Lakes, you can't help but visualize the trail in a couple years with bridges over creeks every few hundred metres. Though the excavator used to dig the cross-ditches gouged out the road considerably in 2019, the next couple years will see the forest push back in. The dense forest and steep terrain open up fantastic views all along the trail and the hiking and biking possibilities seem endless. Jane Lakes have trails around them as well as extending through to the Microwave Road which brings you back along Cheakamus River to Cheakamus Crossing. Another trail connects partway up the Jane Lakes West trail to the Daisy Lake FSR between the Bungee Bridge and the Cal-Cheak Campground.
Fantastic 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.
September 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. ...
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Hiking 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 ...
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November 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 ...
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December 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 ...
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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
Mount Sproatt, or as it is known locally as just Sproatt, is one of the many towering mountains visible from Whistler Village. Above and beyond Alta Lake, directly across from Whistler Mountain and ...
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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 sensationally beautiful lakes in the ...
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Cheakamus Lake is a wonderfully relaxing way to get in the wilderness easily and quickly from Whistler Village. The trail begins on the far side of Whistler Mountain, 8 kilometres from the Sea to Sky Highway ...
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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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