Hiking Elfin Lakes in Garibaldi Provincial Park
Contents
Elfin Lakes Hike Information
Difficulty: Moderate
Distance: 22Km
Elevation Gain: 821m
Highest Elevation: 1,602m
Average Gradient: 5.45%
Effort/Reward Ratio: Moderate / High
Time Needed:
– Slow: 7 – 9 Hours
– Moderate: 6 – 7 Hours
– Fast: 5 – 6 Hours
Dogs Permitted?: No
Season: Year-Round
4×4 / High Clearance Required? No
Scrambling / Exposure: None
Elfin Lakes Trail
Trailhead Coordinates: 49°45’00.6″N 123°03’12.6″W
Elfin Lakes Overview
Elfin Lakes are a duo of lakes in Garibaldi Provincial Park that are very popular for hiking, snowshoeing, skiing and even mountain biking. Due to its gradual gradient, beautiful setting and relative ease of access, you can be sure Elfin Lakes will be well trafficked by all sorts of adventurers year-round and especially during the summer.
As well as offering excellent day trip potential, Elfin Lakes is also a very popular camping destination, offering 35 campsites, with another 33 spaces available in Elfin Lakes Shelter. Many people choose to use Elfin Lakes as a base site for further adventures into Garibaldi Provincial Park, namely Opal Cones, the Gargoyles, Columnar Peak, Diamond Head and Mamquam Lake.
At 22km the Elfin Lakes trail is fairly long but the incline is quite manageable throughout, without ever getting steep, making this a perfectly obtainable destination for all sorts of fitness levels. Some people opt to split this trail over two days, staying overnight at Elfin Lakes and returning the next day, however it’s also easy enough to do as a day trip.
The trail begins at Diamond Head parking area, which is at the end of a bit of a rough road but a 2WD is usually able to make it to the trailhead with some careful maneuvering. In the winter chains are mandatory to access the parking lot due to the icy incline. The trail itself follows a rarely used forest service road over undulating terrain, with the first half in the forest and the latter half a stunning stroll through alpine meadows, offering panoramic mountain views the entire time. Elfin Lakes lie at the end of trail and offers a beautiful end point to an already exceptional hike.
If it takes your fancy you are permitted to swim in one of the two lakes, with the other being used for drinking water only.
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Is Elfin Lakes worthwhile?
Elfin Lakes is a relatively easy hike with exceptionally good views of the surrounding mountains. Much of the hike offers excellent views and the lakes themselves are well worth the effort. Some hiking purists may be a little disappointed you don’t actually summit a peak or mountain on this trail but that’s being a little harsh on what is an exceptional hike. Should you wish to make it more challenging you can always add in the Gargoyles or Columnar Peak and still tackle this as a (long) day trip. Overall, Elfin Lakes is a great hike.
How difficult is the hike to Elfin Lakes?
The Elfin Lakes trail is well maintained, easy to navigate and never gets very steep. While it is quite long at 22km you can generally keep a good pace due to the low incline throughout. The average gradient of the trail is very mellow.
From a technical perspective you will not face any challenges whatsoever, this is a simple stroll through undulating alpine meadows. The trail does become rocky at some points so you might want good ankle support to help with balance.
Elfin Lakes Route Information
Beginning at Diamond Head parking lot you’ll begin this trail in the forest. In fact, 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 on simple terrain at a moderate but persistent gradient. If you’re camping this part of the trail will probably be a bit of a grind, at least it looked like that when I whizzed by people with overnight packs on. As usual on this kind of mellow ground with nothing to see, I generally try to keep a fast pace knowing I’ll probably end up taking my time once there are sights to appreciate.
At around 4.5km you will come to 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 I’m sure it’s a welcome respite and place to warm up for a bit. There’s also a bathroom nearby should you need it.
While the trail doesn’t exactly get exciting at this point, it does begin to open up and you can now at least see some nice meadows and foliage. Don’t worry though, it’s only brief and as you continue to follow the easily navigated trail the views start to open up as you break out of the forest and into the full alpine meadows. The views quickly go from average to full on breath taking, especially with the mighty Atwell Peak soaring above the forested valley below.
This is where the fun really begins as the views are now endless throughout the rest of the hike. Soon the trail will merge with the mountain bike trail, though don’t worry, in my experience very few people actually mountain bike it so you won’t exactly be dealing with traffic.
Soon enough, at around 6.5km into the hike you will actually 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. The views to the north and east only continue to get better and better on a clear day with mountain after mountain appearing the further you proceed. This is definitely a hike to save for a bluebird day otherwise you would not be seeing much at all.
For the next 4.5km or so you will simply stroll along the trail, which meanders along the side of a hill to the east and south so all the views will be on your left. Most people take their time here, stopping for photos constantly and just enjoying the trip. This is certainly a hike you can do without having to exert yourself too much.
After around 10km you will eventually crest over a small hill and receive your first sight of Elfin Lakes. These are actually quite a bit lower than the high point of the hike at around 1,485m, so you will have to ascend somewhat on the return leg of this trip as well. Still, it’s mellow throughout so just enjoy the lakes. The first and larger lake will be the first to come into view with the smaller lake behind. You will be above the lakes as you descend and this is really where the best photo opportunities are of the lakes themselves.
As you approach the lakes you can either go to the left or right of them. If you want nice photos of the mountains behind with the Elfin Lakes Shelter (which is picturesque in itself) in them, you should keep to the right of the lakes. As a note you can swim in the first (larger) lake but do not swim in the smaller lake nearer the shelter/campsites.
Once you’ve reached the end of the lakes there are plenty of areas to relax, either on one of the picnic tables or simply using one of the disused wooden campsites. If it’s clear and sunny many people spend a long time here eating lunch, soaking in the now panoramic views in all directions. Should you want some shelter you can also go inside the Elfin Lakes Shelter where there are tables and benches also.
After finishing up at the lakes it’s time to head back. You simply go back the way you came, which as noted above does still include some elevation gain as this is an undulating hike with elevation gain/loss throughout. It’s easy still but I won’t lie, the hike back from Elfin Lakes is a long one. Once we reached the Red Heather Shelter and the views had vanished, it was eyes down, hiking as fast as possible to get back to the car. Those final 5km are really a drag with absolutely nothing to see and nothing to look forward to except getting to the car.
When should I hike Elfin Lakes?
Elfin Lakes is a year round destination thanks to the shelter providing an escape for snowshoers and skiers alike. That being said, if you want to see the lakes without them being buried in snow the season is relatively short and ideally you would want to do this hike from July – October. Obviously this is a hike to save for a bluebird day as the views of nearby mountains are half of the allure.
Top Tip
If you’re not satisfied with your hike ending at a lake rather than atop a peak I highly recommend adding the Gargoyles and Columnar Peak. This increases the hike to 28.40km and 1,333m elevation but they are both wonderful additions and really add to the whole day.
Another tip is that once you have broken out of the forest in the first half of the hike you are exposed to the sun for the rest of the day, so if you’re going on a clear and hot day make sure to prepare for that. Since we added in the above summits we were out for a full 9 hours in total and definitely needed a lot of sun protection.
