Hiking Diamond Head in Garibaldi Provincial Park
Contents
Diamond Head Hike Information
Difficulty: Difficult
Distance: 31.00Km
Elevation Gain: 1,700m
Highest Elevation: 2,056m
Average Gradient: 10.97%
Effort/Reward Ratio: High / High
Time Needed:
– Slow: 9 – 10 Hours
– Moderate: 8 – 9 Hours
– Fast: 7 – 8 Hours
Dogs Permitted?: No
Season: Year-Round
4×4 / High Clearance Required? No
Scrambling / Exposure: None
Diamond Head Trail
Trailhead Coordinates: 49°45’00.9″N 123°03’12.9″W
Diamond Head Overview
Diamond Head is an officially named summit located in Garibaldi Provincial Park, accessed via the namesake Diamond Head trailhead. While officially named, and offering stunning views of Atwell Peak and the surrounding area, Diamond Head has a mere 16m of prominence and is arguably just the highest easily hikeable point of Atwell’s crumbly southern ridge. At this point the ridge becomes a knife edge of loose rock glued together by crumbly volcanic dust. Going any further along the ridge than here would be treacherous, so all parties will generally stop at this point.
Diamond Head is not a particularly common peak to summit, with the nearby Gargoyles and Columnar Peak seeing a lot more visitors than this, though it does see enough traffic for a trail to have formed, and there are plenty of cairns along the way for general guidance. The entire route is simply hiking, with no scrambling or exposure of note.
The majority of the hike follows the very popular Elfin Lakes trail, and many parties will summit Diamond Head as part of an overnight trip to the lakes. Still, despite the sizable stats of 31km and 1,700m, this is a perfectly reasonable day trip and thanks to the easy terrain and generally moderate gradient, this is generally a quicker trip than the stats would suggest. If you do decide to do this as part of an overnight, a round trip to Diamond Head from the lake and back would be around 11km, 870m or so. This would take most parties in the region of 4 hours.
In terms of seasonality, Diamond Head is generally a summer only hike unless you are planning to visit on skis. Most people are not willing/able to snowshoe 31km in a day, though you could always stay at the Elfin Lakes hut in the winter if you are particularly motivated to snowshoe to Diamond Head. With that said, it’s probably best to save Diamond Head for the summer, likely meaning July to October as the peak season.
The trail begins at Diamond Head parking area, which is at the end of a bit of a rough road, but a 2WD is still able to make it to the trailhead. In the winter chains are mandatory to access the parking lot due to the icy incline towards the end.
As with all hikes in Garibaldi, dogs are not welcome on the trail. On the plus side, mountain bikes are welcome up until Elfin Lakes, and will make the long approach a lot more amenable if you have one available, especially on the descent.
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Is Diamond Head worthwhile?
Any hike in the Elfin Lakes area of Garibaldi is always a scenic day out on a long but straightforward trail, and Diamond Head is no different. It offers quite possibly the most close up views you can find of the impressive Atwell Peak, and much of the approach is a scenic one. If you are looking to keep life a little bit simpler, the Gargoyles would be the easier option, but there’s no reason you can’t do both of these peaks, especially if you are starting and finishing at the lake.
How difficult is the hike to Diamond Head?
While the stats might imply a long and arduous day, Diamond Head is actually quite a pleasant outing following largely mellow trails. The trail rarely gets particularly steep, with most of the elevation gain spread out across the entire 31km (including returning to the trailhead). Thanks to this you can generally travel at a quick pace, and fast parties can complete this hike in 8 hours or less. Trail runners quite like this route as it is long, gains a lot of elevation, but is mostly following easy trails for running. Obviously if you are starting and ending at the lake, this is even easier.
Technically speaking this hike is very straightforward. The only challenge could be navigation, so bringing an offline map is recommended. The final climb to the top is steep and loose, descending this section is a bit finicky but thankfully short lived.
Diamond Head Route Information
Beginning at Diamond Head parking lot you’ll start this trail in the forest. There’s not a whole lot to say about the beginning of this trail and there’s really nothing to see or do for the first 4.5km as you wind through the dense forest, ascending ~450m in the process. At this point you will reach the Red Heather Shelter, a day use shelter with some picnic tables. In the summer this doesn’t get used a whole lot but in the winter it’s a welcome respite and a place to warm up for a bit. There’s also a washroom nearby should you need it. Bears tend to be quite common in this area as well, so keep an eye out for them. They’re usually quite oblivious to humans given the high traffic in this area.
The trail now splits, with bikers going one way and hikers the other. You’ll now wind through these meadows, climbing gradually once more until the trails merge once again below Round Mountain. The views now open up fully, with Atwell Peak prominently on display, and Diamond Head blending in below the towering summit.
At around 6.5km you will reach the highest point on this trail. From here on out it is very mellow yet undulating terrain, allowing you to enjoy the casual stroll in the gorgeous setting towards Elfin Lakes.
The lake is a good spot to take a break, refill water (this could be your last opportunity) and have a snack before continuing on. From the lakes you’ll want to locate the Mamquam Lake trail, which can be found to the northwest end of the lake near the washroom. The trail now descends briefly, before beginning to climb again. After hiking ~1km from the lakes you will reach a junction with a sign indicating the “Saddle Trail”. You want to follow this sign, departing from the Mamquam Lake trail.
The initial trail is a bit rugged in the treeline, but soon opens up to the base of talus slopes below Columnar Peak and the Gargoyles. You’ll now climb steeply towards the col between these peaks, mostly following a distinct trail. This is probably the steepest part of the day, but again it’s quite brief.
From the col between the peaks you will easily see Diamond Head and the terrain you’ll now have to cover. You should easily spot an obvious trail through the talus descending from the col in the direction of Diamond Head. After descending for around 100m you’ll reach a low point slightly west of an unnamed tarn beneath the Gargoyles (which you could easily descend to, should you desire).
You’ll now climb once more, initially navigating around some trees, before reaching the beginning of the gentle talus slopes leading towards Diamond Head. Any semblance of trail generally fades away on the talus, but the general direction is very evident and there are tons of cairns guiding the way. It’s almost impossible to go wrong, but refer to your map if in doubt.
This landscape is a bit unusual and barren. On a hot day it kind of feels like being in a desert, with zero trees, foliage or water around. You’ll gradually work your way through this talus field towards the steeper ridge of Diamond Head. Upon arriving you’ll crest the ridge and immediately be smacked with the south face of Atwell, as well as the steeper climb up to the “summit”.
This climb is fairly steep and pretty loose, with scree on top of rock. Ascending it isn’t so bad, but descending it will require some care not to slip. Thankfully it’s short lived, and soon enough you’ll reach the top. There aren’t any cairns or really anything else indicating the end of the trail, but any further travel would require hiking along a loose, knife edge ridge where a slip would probably send you tumbling the entire way down.
There’s plenty of space at the top to spread out if need be (not likely), and the views of Atwell are now obviously amazing. You’ll also see Mamquam Mountain, the Tantalus range and plenty of other peaks from the top. Once you’ve rested, you simply return back to the lake (or trailhead) the same way you came.
When should I hike Diamond Head?
The peak hiking season for Diamond Head is July to October. You can likely go a little earlier if you’re willing to deal with some snow. Skiers will often tour to Diamond Head during the winter, but they have the benefit of faster/easier travel. Doing this on snowshoes would be a gargantuan slog, though not entirely impossible.
Top Tip
A lot of this hike is sun exposed with little opportunity for shade, so make sure to bring plenty of sun protection.
If you have access to a mountain bike, biking to/from Elfin Lakes will make this an easier outing.
If you are starting/finishing at the lake, adding on the Gargoyles and Columnar Peak wouldn’t be too challenging. Adding this on to a day hike would be a huge day.
