Hiking Russet Lake in Garibaldi Provincial Park
Contents
Russet Lake Hike Information
Difficulty: Moderate
Distance: 26.20Km
Elevation Gain: 800m
Highest Elevation: 2,181m
Average Gradient: 6.11%
Effort/Reward Ratio: Moderate / High
Time Needed:
– Slow: 10+ Hours
– Moderate: 8 – 10 Hours
– Fast: 7 – 8 Hours
Dogs Permitted?: No
Season: June – October
4×4 / High Clearance Required? No
Scrambling / Exposure: None
Russet Lake Trail (Via High Note / Musical Bumps)
Trailhead Coordinates: 50°03’31.1″N 122°57’26.5″W
Note: To reach the trailhead for the High Note trail, you first need to take the Whistler Village Gondola, then the Peak Express Chair.
Russet Lake Trail (Via Singing Pass)
Trailhead Coordinates: 50°06’47.5″N 122°57’07.0″W
Russet Lake Overview
Russet Lake is a beautiful alpine lake set in a stunning valley in Garibaldi Provincial Park near Whistler, offering impressive views of Fissile Peak, Overlord Glacier and the Spearhead range.
Russet Lake is a popular overnight spot with reservable campsites through BC Parks, making for a great backpacking trip and an excellent base camp for exploring deeper into the backcountry, with notable scrambles up Fissile Peak, Whirlwind Peak and Overlord Mountain all easily accessible from the lake. That being said, most people simply opt to hike to the lake and camp in the stunning alpine setting before returning. There is also a newly built alpine hut with reservable bunk beds, the Kees and Claire hut, for those that want a little more comfort.
Thanks to multiple different routes to access Russet Lake, many of which are incredibly scenic, some people opt to hike to Russet Lake as a day trip. The most popular routes to the lake are either along the Singing Pass trail, the Musical Bumps trail or the High Note trail, each of which has their own selling point. It’s also possible to take one route in and a different route out.
Russet Lake is generally a summer hike once the lake has thawed and the snow has left the region, with people generally visiting between June and October. It’s an easily accessible hike whichever route you take, with all the options beginning in Whistler Village, meaning any vehicle can get there, and even public transit will suffice, a rarity for a hike of this quality. As with all hikes in Garibaldi Provincial Parks, dogs are not allowed.
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Is Russet Lake worthwhile?
For a hike as accessible as Russet Lake, the views you will have both from the lake, and along the trail, are pretty amazing. The lake is set beneath the extremely photogenic Fissile Peak, and it also overlooks the tail end of the Overlord Glacier, as well as much of the Spearhead range in the distance. If you hike via the High Note / Musical Bumps trail you’ll have stunning views for the entire hike, but if you go via Singing Pass your views will be very much muted as it’s all in the trees.
How difficult is the hike to Russet Lake?
This is somewhat dependent on which route you take. The stats above are for the High Note / Musical Bumps route inbound and the Singing Pass route outbound, which is by far the easiest route, but it does mean you have to pay for the Whistler Gondola.
The most challenging route would be the reverse, to hike up Singing Pass and out via the High Note / Musical Bumps route, which would be the same distance (26.20km), with over 2,300m elevation gain.
Technically speaking all of the routes are very straightforward, well marked and easy to follow.
Russet Lake Route Information
The two most popular routes to Russet Lake are either the Singing Pass route or the High Note / Musical Bumps route, both of which come with different pros and cons. Each of these routes starts in pretty much the same place, next to the Whistler Village Gondola. It is possible to take the same route both inbound and outbound, or you can alternatively hike one way in and the other way out, which might be recommended if you want to see as much as possible.
Day hikers can park anywhere in the village and walk to the trailhead, overnight hikers are required to park in Lot 4 in a designated overnight parking area, leaving their campsite reservation information on their dashboard.
Singing Pass Route
Note that the linked trail above for Singing Pass is one-way only. The Singing Pass trail begins near the gondola by ascending up next to a mountain bike trail and adjacent to the gondola itself. After 500m or so it will enter the treeline, continuing to weave next to more mountain bike trails as it climbs gradually. After another kilometer or so you’ll cross over the Blue Velvet mountain bike trail, taking care to avoid any bikes, where you’ll leave the bike runs behind.
Over the next 10 kilometers or so the trail meanders through the forest at a consistent gradient, with very little of note to see along the way. You will pass by several creeks and the entire trail will be in the shade, which is nice as you won’t need to carry much water on this route. At the 11.5km mark you will reach a junction where the Musical Bumps Route intersects the Singing Pass route, becoming the Russet Lake trail.
From here the trees thin as you climb higher into the alpine. The gradient continues to be gradual and the views really begin to open up, with some beautiful scenery to the south towards Castle Towers and the Cheakamus Glacier. At around 14km you will reach the Kees and Claire Hut, which is extremely well equipped for a mountain hut. Now you will see the impressive Fissile Peak and Russet Lake below. The trail will descend almost 100m towards the lake, before reaching its northern shores where the campsites are located.
High Note / Musical Bumps Route
This trail begins at the top of the Peak Express Chair, which is accessed via the Whistler Village Gondola. Unfortunately this means you are restricted to starting your hike within gondola hours, and typically the Peak Express Chair only runs on weekends (including Fridays), so make sure to check if this is even possible. If you are hiking midweek you will likely only be able to take the Whistler Village Gondola but not the Peak Express chair, meaning you will have to hike the Harmony Lake and Musical Bumps trail, missing out on the scenic High Note Trail.
From the top of the Peak Express Chair your views will immediately be incredible, with panoramic views of mountains as far as the eye can see. There are a few trails at the top of the Peak Express Chair so I recommend taking an offline map. Following the High Note trail (which should be well signed), you will descend fairly steeply on some rocky terrain. After a kilometer or so you’ll reach a junction where you’ll want to continue on the High Note trail. The trail now traverses across a steep hill with some beautiful views. You’ll soon cross a creek, likely the only water source of the trip, and in another kilometer or so you’ll reach another junction where the High Note and Half Note trail separate. You’ll continue on the High Note trail.
The trail continues to traverse along the hill and soon you will have to navigate a short, narrow chain section with a metal bridge. The views of the turquoise Cheakamus Lake will begin to open up as you continue along the trail, with several viewpoints of the lake along the way. Shortly after passing by Piccolo Summit you will reach another junction where the High Note trail continues, but you’ll want to take the Musical Bumps trail. You’ll now start climbing up to Flute Summit, where the views will be panoramic, now with clear views to the east of Fissile Peak, Overlord Mountain, Mount MacBeth, Tremor Mountain and Mount Pattison. This is also where Garibaldi Provincial Park begins, which is well signposted.
Living up to its name, you’ll descend this “bump” to a notch, where you’ll begin climbing once more to the next musical summit of the day, Oboe Summit. From here, you guessed it, you descend again for around 1.5km, where you’ll eventually meet up with the Singing Pass trail. The remaining 3.50km to Russet Lake follows the Russet Lake trail
hikers simply follow the extremely scenic High Note Trail as it saunters for 4.5km, where it intersects the Musical Bumps Trail. Continuing on the Musical Bumps trail, the scenery continues to be beautiful but the terrain becomes more challenging, with lots of ups and downs as you ascend and descend Flute and Oboe Summit. Eventually the trail joins up with the Singing Pass trail before continuing on to Russet Lake. Unfortunately the trail climbs once again until you reach the Kees and Claire Hut, where you’ll have beautiful views of Russet Lake and Fissile Peak. You’ll now descend once more to the north end of the lake where the campsites are located, and where most people go for a swim in the lake.
The benefits of the High Note / Musical Bumps route is mostly that it’s much easier (~600m elevation gain vs. ~1,400m) and the views are stunning basically the entire time. Yes, the gondola fee is high, but for the considerably better hike than Singing Pass, it might be worth it.
Suggested Route – Easiest Option
The easiest route is to take the gondola up, hike to the lake via the High Note / Musical Bumps Route, then hike out via Singing Pass. This is the route with the lowest amount of elevation gain. The issue with hiking out via the High Note / Musical Bumps route is that it’s mostly uphill to return to the gondola, while the Singing Pass route is all downhill on the outbound journey. This route will of course require you to pay for the gondola up, which isn’t cheap.
Suggested Route – Cheapest Option
The cheapest option is either to hike up and down Singing Pass both ways, which costs nothing but is very boring, or to hike up via Singing Pass and out via the High Note / Musical Bumps route, which is the hardest option but the best of both worlds, free and scenic.
The gondola down the mountain is free as nobody checks your ticket at the top of the gondola. The only issue with this is how difficult it will be, it’s the hardest route. You will be hiking uphill to the lake from Signing Pass, then uphill along the High Note / Musical Bumps route to the gondola. You will also be restricted to gondola times on your outbound day, as the last gondola down is somewhat early (check before you go!).
Suggested Route – Scenic Option
The most scenic option is to hike the High Note / Musical Bumps trail both inbound and outbound. You will have views basically for your entire trip, but obviously you will be seeing the same sights in each direction. As noted it’s also uphill from the lake back to the gondola, so it’s easier to just hike down Singing Pass, even though it’s pretty dull.
Overall if you are happy to pay for the gondola I’d suggest the easiest option above, if you don’t want to pay for it but want to see it all, hike up via Singing Pass and out via the High Note / Musical Bumps route. This is all uphill and the most challenging route. If you really don’t want to hike Singing Pass at all, the scenic option is good but you will be paying for the gondola up and hiking uphill back to it on the return journey.
When should I hike Russet Lake?
Since Russet Lake is at almost 2,000m elevation it is typically frozen for a lot of the year, thawing at some point in June. Most people tend to complete this hike between June and October when the hike is snow free.
Top Tip
Bring plenty of water when you hike the High Note / Musical Bumps trail as there are few, if any, water sources along the way. You’ll also want sun protection as there is very little shade.
The lake can be quite buggy, especially if you are overnighting, so prepare for bugs accordingly.
If you are looking to explore deeper into the backcountry, using Russet Lake as a base camp, I strongly advise a hike up Whirlwind Peak, which will offer some fabulous views. More experienced/adventurous parties can even hike to Overlord Mountain, which is a fantastic trip but does require some ridgeline scrambling with some exposure. Another option is to scramble up Fissile Peak, but again this should be left to experienced and confident parties.
