Difficulty: gentle grade
Distance: 22 km round-trip, 600 m elevation gain
For the longest time, I had a memory of Elfin Lakes being absolutely daunting. No doubt it’s because I shouldered a tent, sleeping bag and stove up there in 35° heat while two of my companions bickered endlessly about who snored the loudest and one, who with hindsight, likely came down with heatstroke. But upon re-evaluation, it’s actually a perfectly doable day trip if you leave all of the heavy gear behind.
From Garibaldi Village just north of Squamish, take a right onto Diamond Head Forest Service Road. At the peak of summer, this road is jam-packed with mountain bikers and there’s a good chance you’ll add several km to your already long hike simply because of the parking situation. You’ll also need a day pass. BC Parks is starting to do away with day passes in some parks, but Garibaldi is not one of those.
The trail is actually two parts. The first leg of which will take you five km to the hut at Red Heather, where we stopped for a brief respite. (The chipmunks got into our jar of Nutella the first time we tackled this trail and brought our overnight stuff). Then the trail splits into two branches–one for hikers and one for cyclists. They’ll meet up again one km later as you exit the woods. From there, it’s another five km traverse across a gravel pass to the lakes. Yes, I know that sounds like a lot of ground to cover, but believe me, the swarms of gnats and horseflies are excellent motivators to keep you moving!
Now, Elfin Lakes (yes, plural) is two lakes. You’ll see the hut at a distance before you even start across the ridge. It’ll look deceptively close, but it’s still a fair amount of ground to cover before you actually arrive at the overnight shelter and picnic area. One of the lakes is strictly a drinking water reserve and the other is where campers do their washing and bathing. It’s a lovely spot for a swim. On my most recent trip there, my friends and I spent several hours paddling around in the cool water. If you do decide to stay the night, you can reserve a tent pad ahead of time. When the sun goes down behind the mountain, it’s just gorgeous. From here, you can continue deeper into the backcountry toward Opal Cone, but that’s for another time.
