Spring Hiking Has Arrived!
Spring is here and summer is not far off! The road to Parkhurst Ghost Town is accessible now! Whistler Train Wreck is free of snow too. Check out Hike in Whistler May 2022 for inspiration!
The Garibaldi Ranges are a subdivision of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains. Deriving its name from Mount Garibaldi, the Garibaldi Ranges cover the huge stretch of mountains between two enormous river valleys. The Lillooet River valley on the east side and the Cheakamus River/Green River valley on the west. Whistler is located on the west edge of the Garibaldi Ranges, while Pemberton near the north end and Vancouver at the south end.
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 subdivisions of the Garibaldi Ranges include Garibaldi Névé, Fitzsimmons Range, McBride Range, Spearhead Range, Golden Ears, Misty Icefield and the Bastion Range. The Fitzsimmons Range is a subsection of the Garibaldi Ranges that covers the area between the valleys of Cheakamus Lake and Fitzsimmons Creek. Fitzsimmons Creek cuts between Whistler Mountain and Blackcomb Mountain and largely originates from the Fitzsimmons Glacier. The Fitzsimmons Glacier and Mount Fitzsimmons are part of the Overlord Massif, which gets its name from the highest peak in the area, Overlord Mountain. Massif is a term used in geology to refer to a compact group of connected mountains that easily identify into one large mountain mass. Massif is a French word that means “massive”.
Fitzsimmons Range(subsection of Garibaldi Ranges)
The Fitzsimmons Range includes several locally famous summits, including the summit of Whistler, Oboe Summit, Piccolo Summit and Flute Summit. These form the Musical Bumps trail which is a gorgeous route to the Russet Lake campground in Garibaldi Provincial Park. Next to Russet Lake is The Fissile, and next to The Fissile is Overlord Mountain. Near Russet Lake and connecting to the Musical Bumps trail is the Singing Pass trail that ascends along Fitzsimmons Creek to Whistler Village at the base of Whistler Mountain.
Spearhead Range(subsection of Garibaldi Ranges)
The Spearhead Range is a subsection of the Garibaldi Ranges that runs in an arc that connects Whistler Mountain and Blackcomb Mountain. The Spearhead Range is effectively the brother of the Fitzsimmons Range which runs east from the summit of Whistler Mountain to Russet Lake. The Spearhead Range covers the area on the north side or Blackcomb Mountain side of Fitzsimmons Creek. Fitzsimmons Creek runs down the valley between Whistler Mountain and Blackcomb Mountain. Where the Fitzsimmons Range ends at Fitzsimmons Creek, the Spearhead Range begins and continues along a set of peaks resembling spearheads to Blackcomb Mountain. These peaks include The Spearhead, Mount Trorey, Tremor, Shatter, Shudder, Quiver, and more.
McBride Range(subsection of Garibaldi Ranges)
The McBride Range is a subsection of the Garibaldi Ranges and covers a 357 square kilometre area east of Cheakamus Lake and Garibaldi Lake. Where the Spearhead Range ends, the McBride Range begins. Owing to its central location in the middle of Garibaldi Provincial Park, the McBride Range is often referred to as the backbone of Garibaldi Park. The McBride Range is a morass of brutally steep mountains and glacier valleys that expert skiers have plotted a route through. The McBride Traverse is an astoundingly difficult and beautiful, week long route through the McBride Range. Along the route you encounter several monster mountains with wonderful names, including Decker Mountain, Mount Patterson, Tremor Mountain, Sir Richard Mountain, The Gatekeeper, Forger Peaks, Isosceles Peak, Mount Carr, The Bookworms and The Sphinx.
Garibaldi Névé(subsection of Garibaldi Ranges)
The Garibaldi Névé is the large icefield that stretches out along the east side of Mount Garibaldi. With a size of 35 square kilometers(14 square miles), the Garibaldi Neve is a subdivision of the Garibaldi Ranges, which in turn is a subdivision of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains. The Garibaldi Névé Traverse is a tremendously beautiful and very treacherous winter skiing route that runs between Elfin Lakes and Garibaldi Lake. It is generally done as a three day expedition beginning and ending at two BC Parks Garibaldi Provincial Park trailheads. The Diamond Head(Garibaldi) trailhead in Squamish and the Rubble Creek, Black Tusk(Garibaldi) trailhead halfway between Squamish and Whistler. A common itinerary is the Diamond Head(Garibaldi) trailhead to Elfin Lakes on the first day. Sleeping in the very nice and well equipped Elfin Lakes hut. The second day covers the difficult Garibaldi Névé which runs from the Opal Cone north of Elfin Lakes to the foot of Sentinal Glacier northeast of The Table. The second night is usually spent at the Burton Hut at the east end of Garibaldi Lake. The third day involves crossing the length of Garibaldi Lake to the Garibaldi Lake campground and then the comparatively easy descent to Rubble Creek. The south to north route is favoured over the north south route because of the net elevation loss and much prized north facing ski descents.
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.
Paper birch, also known as white birch is a type of birch tree that grows in northern North America. Named for its paper-like, white or cream coloured ...
Read more
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 ...
Read more
If you make it to the summit of Wedge Mountain you will notice off in the distance a beautifully symmetrical mountain that stands out among the rest. ...
Read more
Coast Douglas-fir trees are medium to extremely large trees that you will encounter in Whistler and Garibaldi Park. They are the second tallest conifer ...
Read more
Moraines are glacially deposited ridges of debris that accumulate at the sides or terminus of a glacier. Lateral moraines form at the sides of glaciers ...
Read more
Columnar Jointing: bizarre looking columns of oddly angular rock formations that can be found in many places around Whistler and worldwide. Generally ...
Read more
Hidden in the tangle of forest along Green Lake where the old Parkhurst Sawmill once operated, is the bizarre and beautiful Parkhurst Plow Tree. A very ...
Read more
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 ...
Read more
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 ...
Read more
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 ...
Read more
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 ...
Read more
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. ...
Read more
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
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 ...
Read more
Brandywine Meadows is a nice, relatively short hike to a massive flower filled valley high up in Callaghan Valley. Located 40 minutes south of Whistler, this tough and sometimes muddy trail gains a huge 550 ...
Read more
Madeley Lake is a beautiful, remote mountain lake hidden high up in the Callaghan Valley. From Whistler Village expect to take 40 minutes to drive there. You can drive directly to the lake, however the ...
Read more
Logger's Lake is an amazing little lake hidden up in the deep forest above the more well known Cheakamus River. The lake, almost unbelievably exists in a long extinct volcano. However, as soon as you see ...
Read more