Hiking Blanca Lake & Peak in the Squamish River Valley
Contents
Blanca Lake & Peak Hike Information
Difficulty: Moderate
Distance: 16.20Km
Elevation Gain: 1,044m
Highest Elevation: 2,117m
Average Gradient: 12.89%
Effort/Reward Ratio: Moderate / High
Time Needed:
– Slow: 7 – 8 Hours
– Moderate: 5 – 7 Hours
– Fast: 4 – 5 Hours
Dogs Permitted?: Yes
Season: July – October
4×4 / High Clearance Required? Yes
Scrambling / Exposure: Some very simple scrambling towards Blanca Peak, no exposure.
Blanca Lake & Peak Trail
Trailhead Coordinates: 50°03’11.8″N 123°20’04.2″W
Note: The above coordinates lead as far as Google Maps can go down Squamish Valley Road. Once here, change your map to AllTrails / Gaia and continue along the road until the bridge over the Squamish River joins to Elaho Mainline. Follow this until you reach the E300 spur road, which you drive up to the very end to the trailhead.
Blanca Lake & Peak Overview
Blanca Lake is a stunning alpine lake located west of Whistler, deep in the Squamish River Valley between the Squamish and Elaho River. Blanca Peak is an easily hiked summit located northeast of the lake, offering panoramic views in a truly remote region.
While Blanca Lake is located closer to Whistler than Squamish, access is from the Squamish Valley Road and indeed is the most challenging part of this trip. You will be driving a full 40km along forest service roads in order to access the trailhead, taking around 3 hours from Vancouver. As such a 4×4 / high clearance vehicle is strongly recommended, particularly towards the end where there are deep cross ditches to navigate. An SUV can likely make it to the E300 spur road, and indeed up most of it, but you will likely have to park further down the E300 spur as the road deteriorates, increasing the distance and elevation gain of the hike.
Blanca Lake has been growing in popularity due to the sheer beauty of the lake and the region as a whole. There are multiple lakes in the area to explore, and plenty of ridges and bumps to leisurely saunter around while soaking in the panoramic views. Blanca Peak is a fairly straightforward hike up a boulder field, with some light, unexposed scrambling towards the summit. As the route is unmarked beyond the lake an offline map is required.
Due to the difficulty of accessing this area and the stunning setting Blanca Lake is in, many people opt to camp around the lake so as to allow more time to explore. That being said, Blanca Peak is a relatively simple hike from the lake and should only take a couple of hours to summit and return back to the lake.
The route linked below is a direct route up to the summit of Blanca Peak, but more adventurous parties can circumnavigate the entire lake, following a ridgeline before climbing up the northern slopes of the peak. This will obviously take a lot longer, and route finding will be more challenging, so it should be left to more experienced parties.
Due to the region that Blanca Lake is located, this is a summer only option once the snowline has risen above the FSR. You’ll likely want to save this hike for mid to late summer anyway, as the area is particularly muddy and extremely buggy in the early summer.
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Is Blanca Lake & Peak worthwhile?
Blanca Lake is a breathtaking sight in a stunning area, with beautiful views wherever you look. This is arguably one of the most scenic alpine lakes you will ever see. While the peak itself isn’t the most interesting, it does provide extensive views in a region most people have never explored. The area is undoubtedly beautiful, but the drive to get there is painfully long and draining, making this otherwise straightforward hike a long day. Expect to be driving at least 3 hours each way from Vancouver, longer if you hit any traffic. Should you follow the route linked here you will feasibly be driving for longer than you will be hiking.
How difficult is the hike to Blanca Lake & Peak?
Blanca Lake is a very straightforward hike on an easy to follow trail. The beginning of the hike is quite steep forest travel, before leveling off to a stroll through some scenic meadows and culminating in another short climb up to the lake. There is nothing technically challenging about reaching the lake.
From the lake the route to the peak is steeper but still fairly straightforward. The majority of the route will be hiking up and across boulder fields, so a map is required to ensure you’re going the right way. You might see the odd cairn to direct you, but for the most part it’s a self navigated ascent. Towards the summit the boulder field will get steeper and at times you might need to use hands to work your way up, but the scrambling is very simple and not exposed in any way and should be manageable for most.
Blanca Lake & Peak Route Information
To access Blanca Lake you’ll need to drive a long way down Squamish Valley Road until you reach a bridge over Squamish River. Squamish Valley Road is a flat, bumpy FSR that most vehicles can drive down. Once you cross the bridge you’ll connect to Elaho Mainline, where the FSR worsens, with some fairly deep potholes. This will slow you down but should still be perfectly manageable for most vehicles. After a few kilometers on Elaho Mainline you’ll reach the E300 spur road which you will need to drive up. You’ll now start driving up the mountain, and the FSR starts off fairly benign but it worsens the higher you climb. You’ll hit a few smaller cross ditches half way up, where they’ll become fairly consistent. Towards the end of the E300 spur the cross ditches become quite deep, so most SUV’s will likely have to park at this stage, but 4×4’s with high clearance will be able to drive the entire E300 spur to the trailhead at around 1,220m. The entire FSR drive will take you between 1.5 – 2 hours from the beginning of Squamish Valley Road.
At around 1,220m you should see a trail leading into the treeline. We missed this trail and you will note our route at the start cutting back on itself. Follow our return route, which is correct. Once you’re on the trail it will be very easy to follow and it will start as a fairly mellow ascent in the forest. After around 1km the gradient picks up markedly, climbing quite steeply in the forest for the next kilometer. You’ll ascend around 200m on this stretch, with little of note along the way.
The trail now flattens and continues in the trees, crossing a creek before climbing gradually again. You’ll soon reach an opening in the trees where you’ll now descend into the meadows that follow the Maude Frickert Creek. You’ll now be out of the trees in a scenic alpine meadow. This area can be particularly muddy thanks to multiple creeks running through it, and the flatness of the area retains moisture year-round.
After easily crossing over Maude Frickert Creek via some rocks and a log, you’ll continue strolling through the meadows, climbing at a comfortable gradient the entire time. Following a fairly considerable amount of mud-dodging you’ll see the valley crest that you’re aiming for. The trail continues to be easy to navigate, though it does steepen the more you progress through it.
Once you reach the crest of the valley you’ll be greeted by the southern shores of Blanca Lake. From water level it might be difficult to see the true colors of the water, which reveal themselves fully with a little elevation.
Where you decide to go next is really up to you. There are numerous lakes dotted around, mostly to the west, and the whole area is a joy to explore. At the very least I would suggest gaining some elevation on a small hill to the southwest of the lake, which provides a beautiful vantage point for a photo of the lake with Blanca Peak behind. If your plan is to circumnavigate the lake most parties tend to go clockwise around the lake, following an obvious ridge.
The route described here just goes directly to Blanca Peak, which means going counter clockwise to the east of the lake. You’ll now easily cross over Maude Frickert Creek before beginning the boulder field climb to the summit. The route will now continue east from the southern tip of the lake, towards a ridgeline. After around 60m of climbing you’ll have gained the ridge, where you should see a faint track through some heather. You’ll now turn left, heading north along the ridge. The views will begin to open up now, with some great spots above Blanca Lake, and stunning views to the west of Ashlu Mountain, Porterhouse Peak & Mount Crerar to name a few.
From here the general direction is to continue along the ridge heading north. You should see an obvious mellow ramp to head up in the distance to guide you. You are now generally picking your own route based on the terrain, using the map as your guidance. You might see the odd cairn here or there to guide the way, but it’s just boulder hopping from here on out.
At the top of the ramp, 2,040m or so, you’ll have some stunning views above the lake and the summit block should now be fairly obvious. You’ll soon be at the final climb up to the summit, where you will need to navigate some steep boulder terrain. At times you will need to use your hands to help steady yourself and perhaps to pull yourself up one or two steps, but it’s very simple stuff and a stretch to even call it scrambling. There is no exposure of note anywhere.
In no time you will top out and be at the summit of Blanca Peak. From here you’ll have 360 degree views with endless peaks on the horizon. Some of the more notable peaks will be Mount Callaghan, Ring Mountain, Exodus Peak, Powder Mountain, Ashlu Mountain, Porterhouse Peak, Icecap Peak, Sky Pilot, and Cloudburst Mountain. You’ll also have a pretty nice view of the Pemberton Icefield.
From the summit you simply head back the way you came to the lake, where you can optionally continue exploring or return to the trailhead the same way you came. Unfortunately the long drive home awaits, which is always more tedious on the return journey, especially when you’ve got so much FSR to drive.
When should I hike Blanca Lake & Peak?
As noted this is a summer only hike, with most people visiting between July and October. Once snow has returned it won’t be possible to drive to the trailhead.
Top Tip
If you are a fan of overnights I would strongly suggest camping at the lake. The hike to Blanca Lake is very straightforward, even with overnight gear, and it makes for a fantastic base camp to explore the region in all its glory. The long, arduous drive warrants spending more time in the area than simply hiking to the peak before leaving.
In the early summer bugs will be a major issue in the area due to it’s damp environment. If you want to avoid bugs I’d aim to go towards the end of August onwards when most alpine areas typically become bug free.
If you want an elongated route to the summit I’ve heard great things about the ridgeline that circumnavigates the lake. At the northern tip of the lake the ridge becomes impassable though, so you’ll have to drop down off the ridge via a gully, traverse across the slope, and regain the ridge beyond the steep drop. I believe it is fairly straightforward but not having done it I can’t comment.
