Hiking the Black Tusk in Garibaldi Provincial Park
Contents
The Black Tusk Hike Information
Difficulty: Difficult
Distance: 28.5Km
Elevation Gain: 1,750m
Highest Elevation: 2,319m
Average Gradient: 12.2%
Effort/Reward Ratio: Very High / Very High
Time Needed:
– Slow: 10 – 12 Hours
– Moderate: 9 – 10 Hours
– Fast: 7 – 9 Hours
Dog Friendly?: No
Season: ~July – Mid-October
4×4 / High Clearance Required? No
Scrambling / Exposure: Steep scramble on loose scree up to the ridgeline beneath the Tusk. Summiting the actual Tusk requires an exposed chimney climb.
The Black Tusk Trail
Trailhead Coordinates: 49°57’27.1″N 123°07’12.9″W
The Black Tusk Overview
The Black Tusk is one of the most iconic summits in Garibaldi Provincial Park and Southwestern BC as a whole. This prominent peak can be seen throughout the Sea to Sky region and leaves hikers and tourists in awe at its majestic pointed spire of a summit. Standing at an elevation of 2,319m, The Black Tusk is a stratovolcano as evidenced by its jagged, jet black appearance. It stands high above its nearby summits and almost demands respect with its sheer omnipresence in the region.
Hiking to the summit is fairly challenging but it’s certainly not the steepest hike, with an average gradient of 12.2%, generally considered a moderate gradient. While this is a long hike, it is more than possible to hike the Black Tusk as a day hike, even when combined with Garibaldi Lake. You can, however, choose to spread the hike over two days by camping at either Garibaldi Lake or Taylor Meadows before continuing on.
Along with Panorama Ridge and Garibaldi Lake, the Black Tusk is one of the most popular hikes in Garibaldi Provincial Park, and for good reason. This hike takes you through alpine meadows, past turquoise glacier lakes and atop a volcanic spire with majestic 360 degree views. This is one of the “must do” hikes in the region and one many people would happily do year after year.
While this is a popular hike, due to its difficulty and its setting in the expansive Garibaldi Provincial Park, it’s usually not too crowded as groups tend to disperse over the 30km distance, with many preferring to stick to Panorama Ridge or Garibaldi Lake. Reaching the base of the Black Tusk is mostly hiking, much of which follows a maintained trail, however ascending to the (false) summit requires a short class 3 chimney scramble with exposure and loose rock. Unfortunately it is not uncommon for incidents in this scramble, with falls not entirely uncommon. Unfortunately a death occurred on this scramble in 2023.
The Black Tusk is 2WD accessible from the Rubble Creek parking lot, however as with all trails in Garibaldi Provincial Park, this is not a pet friendly trail.
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Is the Black Tusk worthwhile?
This is certainly a big hike with a significant distance and elevation to boot. It’s one of the longest front country day hikes most people will ever do. That being said, the views throughout this hike are breathtaking, as they always are in Garibaldi Provincial Park, and you’ll probably find yourself stopping for a ton of photos along the way. The Black Tusk is similar in notoriety as the Lions are on the North Shore, and having the ability to say “I’ve climbed that” is undoubtedly worth the grueling effort it takes to get there.
How difficult is the hike to the Black Tusk?
This is certainly one of the more challenging hikes you can do, far more difficult than Garibaldi Lake and also more difficult than Panorama Ridge. While a lot of the hike is on the same (well maintained) trail as both of these, the final ascent up the Black Tusk is extremely steep and mostly on unmarked loose scree. This part of the hike will leave you gasping, for sure, but should still be manageable for anyone with average fitness.
If you plan to summit the tusk itself, this hike becomes quite technical. While I’m confident any hiker can get to the base of the tusk (it’s steep and tiring but not super technical), ascending the actual tusk requires a class 3 exposed scramble up a loose chimney, with helmets strongly advised.
The Black Tusk Route Information
The trail to the Black Tusk begins at Rubble Creek parking lot (Note: You can also start from Cheakamus Lake Trailhead too, but most don’t as access to Garibaldi Lake is much more cumbersome from this side).
As with every hike that begins from this parking lot, the first 7km of the hike is the biggest drawback of the Black Tusk. This section of the hike is a never ending climb in the forest with absolutely nothing to see or do along the way. It’s really just a case of getting past it as fast as possible.
After the switchbacks you’ll reach a junction where most people take a rest and grab a snack. There are a couple of trails here, one to Garibaldi Lake and the other, which you want to take, to Taylor Meadows.
The trail continues to climb in the forest for a few hundred meters, before eventually breaking out into the beautiful meadows. Depending on the time of year you go, these could be full of colour, but either way it’s a scenic place to stroll, with the trail mostly flat, and much of it along a smooth boardwalk.
Soon enough you’ll continue past a junction in the trail where you can either go down to Garibaldi Lake or continue onto the Helm Creek Trail. After following the Helm Creek Trail briefly you’ll soon reach a fork in the road. Many (most) people here continue to Panorama Ridge, but you’ll be taking the Black Tusk Trail.
After turning onto the trail the gradient starts to increase. You’ll continue over a creek crossing and soon enough the views will start to open behind you as you break out of the treeline. The terrain will shortly turn to loose rock, and it will remain the same for the rest of the ascent. Soon you will reach a sign stating you’ve reached the end of the maintained trail, but this isn’t the end of the hike.
The trail continues as loose rock and, combined with the now steep gradient, you’ll find the going slow. After a lung busting ascent on the scree, you’ll be glad to reach a saddle just beneath the tusk, with unbelievable panoramic views of Garibaldi Lake, Mount Garibaldi, Mount Price, Panorama Ridge, Table Mountain and much, much more.
This is where many people decide to stop, as the final push up the Black Tusk appears ominous. If you decide to continue, you’ll cross a ridgeline before reaching a chimney climb up. This has loose rock and is not for the faint of heart, but the climb is short and manageable for many if you’re careful. I would not try this on a wet/icy day mind you, and many people choose to wear a helmet due to the potential for falling rock. After the brief but unnerving climb up the chimney, you’ve made it. The views here are now 360 degrees and breathtaking. You can now bask in the glory, knowing that anytime you see that jagged black rock on the way to Whistler, you can say you’ve climbed it.
One of the beauty’s of this hike is that after you’re done and you’re absolutely exhausted, you can make your way (carefully) down the tusk and head to Garibaldi Lake for a (frigid) dip in the lake and chill out for a while. Soak it up, as once you’re done you’ve still got around 9km before reaching the car. If you thought the switchbacks were bad on the way up, imagine what they’re like after 21.5km and 1,750m in elevation hiked.
When should I hike the Black Tusk?
This is really a summer only hike when the summit is mostly snow free. With that said Mid- July to Mid-October or so is the best time to complete this hike if you want a mostly snow free ascent.
Top Tip
There is a specific route I would follow for the hike. After completing the switchbacks at the beginning of the hike and reaching the junction for either the Taylor Meadows or Garibaldi Lake Trail, take the Taylor Meadows trail. You will pass a junction where you can go right to Garibaldi Lake or go straight on the Helm Creek trail. Go straight and continue to the Black Tusk. When you return back on the way down, take the junction to Garibaldi Lake. After finishing up at the lake, you can take the Garibaldi Lake trail back to the switchbacks at the start. Doing this circuit allows you to see basically everything in one trip with as little repetition as possible, and you won’t have to come back to do Garibaldi Lake on its own.
