Fall Hiking in Whistler!
Fall is here and hiking in Whistler is spectacular! Check out our Best Whistler Hiking by Month for inspiration!
The Cloudraker Skybridge and the Raven’s Eye Cliff Walk are new additions to the summit of Whistler Mountain. The Cloudraker Skybridge stretches 130 metres from just steps from the top of the Peak Express Chair across to the West Ridge. The Raven’s Eye Cliff Walk is a viewing platform that extends over 12 metres up and out from the West Ridge. Both of these exhilarating viewing areas tower way above Whistler Bowl.
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
The Raven's Eye Cliff Walk gives you wonderful views over the Whistler valley as well as an excellent vantage point of the Peak Express Chair with Blackcomb Mountain and the Spearhead Range in the background. The Spearhead Range encompasses Blackcomb Mountain and the Fitzsimmons Range includes Whistler Mountain and extends to Overlord Mountain. Overlord Mountain is where the two mountain ranges meet, separated by Fitzsimmons Creek that runs through Whistler Village into Green Lake. At Whistler’s peak you can hike the cliffs adjacent to the top of the Peak Express Chair on the Whistler Summit Interpretive Walk. This rugged, though very easy 1.6 kilometre set of trails can be done as a figure 8 loop trail. The large area to the right as you exit the Peak Express Chair with the Inukshuk and the Cloudraker Skybridge is one side of the figure 8 and the other side ascends up past the Peak Express Chair to some incredible lookouts and interpretive information boards before bending back to meet Mathews’ Traverse, the gravel road that brings you back to where you started. Many follow Mathews’ Traverse down to the Roundhouse Lodge on a constantly descending and gorgeous 3.2 kilometre or 2 mile route past several stunning views and through the Whistler ice walls.
The Whistler Summit Interpretive Walk is quite easy and two much more challenging hiking trails can be found starting at the trailhead located next to the inuksuk just past the Cloudraker Skybridge and Raven’s Eye Cliff Walk. The Half Note Trail and the High Note Trail both start here. The Half Note Trail is a beautiful trail that follows the ridge of Whistler Mountain overlooking Cheakamus Lake. It bends back and connects to Pika’s Traverse Road which takes you back to the Roundhouse Lodge. This route is 5.5 kilometres or 3.4 miles and should take you 2 to 3 hours from the start at the top of the Peak Express Chair to the end at the Roundhouse Lodge.
Alternatively you could take the much shorter Mathews’ Traverse Road(instead of Pika’s Traverse) back up to the summit of Whistler Mountain and ride the Peak Express Chair back down to the Roundhouse Lodge(via the short Peak Express Traverse trail). Where the Half Note trail veers back, the High Note trail continues. This much longer route takes you deeper into Garibaldi Provincial Park before meeting the junction to the Musical Bumps trail at Piccolo Summit. The High Note trail sinks into the valley in the shadow of Whistler Mountain and past Symphony Lake and Harmony Lake before reaching the Roundhouse Lodge. The High Note trail from the Cloudraker Skybridge to the Roundhouse Lodge is 11 kilometres or 6.8 miles and takes most hikers 4-5 hours.
Whistler Mountain Hiking Trails
Whistler Mountain has a dozen named hiking trails that range from extremely easy and short to very challenging and long. All of them are pretty beautiful on their own, however all of them tend to be combined with others into routes, depending on what hikers are after and how much time and effort they want to put in. Another factor is the time of year and snowpack. In May and much of June, for example, you won’t have the Peak Express Chair running and almost every trail will be still buried in snow. If you are short on time and want to get to the obvious highlights, you will ride the Whistler Gondola to the Roundhouse Lodge, ride the Peak Express Chair to the summit of Whistler Mountain, see the Cloudraker Skybridge and Raven’s Eye Cliff Walk, inuksuk, Interpretive Walk, then ride back down to Whistler Village. If you are wanting more of a hike, you will not return via the Peak Express Chair, but instead hike the Half Note trail and check out the snow wall on Mathews’ Traverse. This route takes only a couple hours, but takes in a tremendous variety of sights and endless viewpoints.
Two Fantastic Books About British Columbia!
Here are two excellent books on hiking and geology of British Columbia. Matt Gunn's Scrambles in Southwest British Columbia includes the various routes to the summit of Wedge Mountain as well as summit routes to the neighbouring peaks, Weart, Cook, Parkhurst and Rethel. Mount Weart is the second highest mountain in Garibaldi Park and is located just north of Wedge Mountain, separated by the Wedge-Weart Col. Published in 2005, Scrambles in Southwest British Columbia is still the best guide in print or online. 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.
Accumulation Zone: the area where snow accumulations exceeds melt, located above the firn line. Snowfall accumulates faster than melting, evaporation and ...
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Along Whistler’s Valley Trail near Rainbow Park you come across some impressively unusual trees. Unlike most other Whistler trees with straight trunks and ...
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Arête: a thin ridge of rock formed by two glaciers parallel to each other. Sometimes formed from two cirques meeting. From the French for edge or ridge. Around ...
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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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Columnar Jointing: bizarre looking columns of oddly angular rock formations that can be found in many places around Whistler and worldwide. Generally ...
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Whistler can be expensive. Everything worth doing seems to cost a lot of money. But if you step back from the noise and crowds you may spot some secret ...
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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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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
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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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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The alpine hiking trails on Whistler Mountain are the ultimate in luxurious, quick-access alpine hiking. Little effort gets you amazing views of turquoise lakes, snowy mountains, valleys of flowers 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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