Whistler's Turquoise Glacial Hikes: Cheakamus Lake, Garibaldi Lake & Joffre Lakes

Surrounding Whistler in the Coast Mountains are some of the brightest glacial-rock-flour turquoise lakes in the world. Because hiking trails vary from a flat 1-hour forest walk to a demanding 6-hour alpine climb, pick the lake below that matches your time and knees, and remember to reserve your free BC Parks Day-Use Pass online at reserve.bcparks.ca early in the morning Pacific Time two days (48 hours) before your hike between May and October.

1. The Easy Option: Cheakamus Lake Trail (6 km Round-Trip to First Beach, 2 Hours, Almost Flat)

Located on the southern edge of Whistler off Cheakamus Lake Road (behind Function Junction; note the last 7 km is an unpaved gravel forest road, so drive slowly over potholes): if you want to see a glowing, milky-turquoise glacial lake ringed by snow-capped peaks without climbing 900 vertical metres, hike Cheakamus Lake. The wide, root-free trail winds gently through a forest of 800-year-old giant western red cedar and Douglas fir trees along the roaring Cheakamus River, reaching the first turquoise lakeside beaches and wooden docks in 45 to 55 minutes (3 km, only 80m elevation gain).

2. The Moderate Option: Joffre Lakes Provincial Park (8 to 10 km Round-Trip, 3.5 Hours, 400m Gain, 1 Hour North)

Located 60 kilometres (1 hour's drive north of Whistler past Pemberton along scenic Duffey Lake Road), Joffre Lakes (Pipi7íyekw) lets you see three consecutive neon-turquoise lakes stacked like steps up a glacier:

• Lower Joffre Lake: just a 5-minute flat walk from the car park.
• Middle Joffre Lake (3 km / 1.5 Hours Uphill): home to the famous floating log in electric-aquamarine water.
• Upper Joffre Lake (4 km / 20 Mins Past Middle Lake): sits directly beneath the hanging ice wall of the Matier Glacier.

3. The Epic Full-Day Hike: Garibaldi Lake (18 km Round-Trip, 5 to 6 Hours, 820m Vertical Gain)

Starting from the Rubble Creek Trailhead (20 minutes south of Whistler Village off Highway 99), this classic hike climbs 6 km of forest switchbacks before emerging at 1,484 metres elevation onto the sapphire-turquoise shore of Garibaldi Lake, guarded by the Sphinx Glacier and volcanic Black Tusk (attempt only if you are an experienced hiker wearing proper boots with at least 2 litres of water).