Difficulty: the trail is fair, getting to the parking lot is difficult
Distance: 19 km-round trip, 600 m elevation gain
The hardest part of the Watersprite Lake trail is getting to the trailhead. From Vancouver, it’s probably the closest of any of these hikes along the Sea to Sky listed. Just after Shannon Falls as you enter Squamish, take a right onto Mamquam Forest Service Road and continue along it for 23 km. It’ll take you about an hour to drive, and I hope you’re comfortable with steep gravel slopes and plenty of ditches. For the love of god, please let someone know where you’re going because this trail is prone to washouts. There’s a chance you’ll arrive at the trailhead with a few scrapes after the road tosses you about like a rag doll for an hour. But you made it!
No, actually. Now you have to get out of the car, shoulder your pack, and start climbing. Kidding. The trail snakes uphill through a dark, wooded patch for a couple of km. But then it spits you out onto a gravel ridge and it’s relatively flat from there on out. There’s a rock overhang at about the five km mark that functions as a good picnic spot with a view of the valley below. At least, it used to. On my last hike it appeared to be eroding, so I wouldn’t trust it anymore.
The trail doesn’t become difficult again until you hit the boulder field. If, like me, you’re nervous about loose rock, don’t worry, this section is pretty stable compared with other trails I’ve encountered. You’ve just got to take it slow and steady. Then it’s back into the forest and just when you think it’s over, there’s one final push up to the lake that will knock you absolutely flat.
I attempted this trail with my boyfriend over the Victoria Day long weekend two years ago and it was buried under six feet of snow. That made the boulder field impossible to traverse. Actually, I’ve had a few unsuccessful attempts. But I have made it to the lake twice now, and I swear it’s more spectacular every time. Do take some time to enjoy the vistas. The trail is dog-friendly and I’ve seen many golden retrievers enjoying a cold plunge into the lake. You’ll definitely start to feel the distance in the last few km going back down.