You take the same route back to Whistler. Even if you feel hot while hiking uphill, you’ll cool down once you sit for a lakeshore picnic. It’s never really hot at 1640 meters, so bring a windbreaker and a warm layer. (Most of the icebergs melt by October though.) Actually, Iceberg Lake is usually frozen well into the summer, even until late July in colder years. The trail ends right under Rainbow Glacier which melts into the brilliant blue lake that’s full of floating and spinning mini-icebergs during the whole summer. It’s the most challenging section of the hiking trail, but you can stop often to enjoy the wonderful views.ĭon’t forget to look back as you hike up: To reach the lake you need to conquer a steep rock boulder field. This part of the trail is flat, so enjoy the views and this casual walking section before the steep ascent. There’s a large alpine meadow before the final ascent, and it’s full of wildflowers in late summer. You can see Rainbow Mountain and Rainbow Glacier, and you’re getting closer to them with each step. Once you hike above the forest, the landscape becomes truly spectacular: alpine meadows and peaks, snow-capped even in late summer. You need to take short detours to lookout points to see both of the largest waterfalls, and you find benches there, too. Two of them are large enough to be named (though they are not, as far as I know), the others are nice little cascades. Once you reach 19 Mile Creek, you can enjoy rushing creek views when crossing it, and there are about five waterfalls on your way up. Like Green Lake viewpoint, which is a short detour to a lookout, about half an hour after you started the trail. It runs in the forest for the most part, but it offers pretty sights from time to time. But many of them require long, exhausting and not super exciting forest grinds, with absolutely no view until the very top (looking at you, Garibaldi Lake Trail). There are lots of trails near Vancouver that lead up to fantastic views or magical lakes. Budget: Pangea Pod Hotel (capsule hotel at excellent location).Luxury: The Westin Resort & Spa (top location).So once you start the trail, it quickly becomes obvious, because it’s well-maintained and well-marked all the way up to the lake. But it soon joins a wide gravel path, then you need to take a left turn from there – this part has signs. The trailhead is exactly at the end of the dead-end road, but it’s a narrow path, overgrown by bushes, so you have to search for it in order to find it. There’s no dedicated parking lot for the Iceberg Lake hike, and it’s quite popular in the summer, so arrive as early as you can. If you can’t find a spot, search along Valley Drive. You can park there along the road, but obey parking signs to make sure you won’t get towed (parking is allowed only on one side of the road). The Iceberg Lake via 19 Mile Creek Trail is the usual route to the lake, and it starts at the end of Mountain View Drive. Whistler Train Wreck: A Fun, Family-Friendly, Year-Round Hike.12 Best Waterfalls Near Vancouver, British Columbia.Garibaldi Lake Hike, British Columbia: Is It Worth The Hype?.Want to find more wonderful hiking trails in the Squamish-Whistler area? Check out these posts, as well: It has 1008 meters elevation gain, which is not easy, but not that hard either – a fun challenge for the average hiker. Iceberg Lake trail is an easily reachable one, with the trailhead being in the village of Whistler. Iceberg Lake Trail, Whistler, BC – is this how the toilet looks like up there? what could I say? □ However, most of them are only accessible between July and September (maybe early October), they require you to cope with 1000+ meters elevation gain, and some of the trailheads are not reachable without a 4WD. The alpine meadows near Whistler offer lots of incredibly wonderful hikes. The Iceberg Lake hike has become one of our favorite summer day trips from Vancouver. Iceberg Lake is certainly lesser-known than Insta-star Garibaldi Lake, and even though it can’t compete with it in size, it can when it comes to beauty.
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