Whistler Parks and Lakes IconLakeside Park on the shore of Alta Lake in Whistler is a beautiful beach park just a short distance from Whistler Village.  Located on the Valley Trail, it is just 2 kilometres or a 30 minute walk, or 10 minute bike ride away.  Similar to the popular Rainbow Park across the lake, Lakeside has a concession stand for food and drinks, picnic tables, BBQ stands, canoe and kayak rentals a huge grass field, pier, a sandy beach and an elaborate little kids play are.

Whistler & Garibaldi Hiking

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Whistler Parks & Lakes

Whistler Parks and LakesAlpha Lake Park  Whistler Parks and LakesAlta Lake Park  Whistler Parks and LakesBlueberry Park  Whistler Parks and LakesGreen Lake Park  Whistler Parks and LakesLakeside Park  Whistler Parks and LakesLost Lake Park  Whistler Parks and LakesMeadow Park  Whistler Parks and LakesNita Lake Park  Whistler Parks and LakesRainbow Park  Whistler Parks and LakesWayside Park

Swimming and relaxing are the main draws to Lakeside Park, but fishing off the piers is a common sight as well.  The Lakeside pier is just one of many places on the lake good for fishing, but generally fishing on Alta Lake is best done by boat.  There is a proper boat launch on Lakeside Drive just a couple hundred metres north of the beach.  Alta Lake is catch and release only as is the nearby Green Lake, and there is a bait ban on the lake.  The two small lakes adjacent to Alta LakeAlpha Lake and Nita Lake you can keep what you catch and they are stocked with hundreds of fish every June.  Lost Lake on the other side of Whistler Village, you can keep what you catch as well as at Logger’s Lake near Cheakamus Crossing.  The beach at Lakeside is south facing making it a fantastic place to watch the sun set over the towering Mount Sproatt across the lake.  If you are looking for a quiet place to relax the main beach may be too chaotic for you, however there is a beautiful place to escape the noise just a 5 minute walk away.  To the left of the beach, cross the small bridge, follow the Valley Trail and keep your eyes out on the right for a trail veering off the main trail into the trees.  This leads to a beautiful cement deck built on a rock prominence at the edge of the lake.  Occasionally used for weddings, the area is quiet, surrounded in forest and with great views of Alta Lake through the trees.

Best Whistler Parks - Lakeside Park

If you continue along the trail past this beautiful area you come to a small one room log cabin in the trees near the edge of the lake.  With no doors and windows it is has the feel of an elaborate kids fort.  Beyond this the trail joins again with the Valley Trail heading south through the forest at the edge of Alta LakeWayside Park is just a 5 minute bike ride or 15 minute walk from here.  The beautiful Valley Trail system that runs through much of Whistler and connects almost all of the local parks is a great way to explore.  At every fork in the trail there are elaborate signs pointing to what you will find in each direction and even the distance in kilometres.  There are plenty of routes you can follow on bike or foot throughout Whistler, but the circle route around Alta Lake is a great one to start with.

Best Whistler Parks - Lakeside Park

If you start at Whistler Village, continue to Lakeside Park, then to Wayside Park, then around the end of Alta Lake, turn right.  Walk along the edge of the lake and in a couple hundred metres you will pass a house on your right, just about 50 metres past this you will see a trail into the trees.  Follow this and bear right.  This leads to Alta Lake Park, a cute little forest park with a surreal set of giant, oversized chairs on the lake, odd car wrecks along the trail, and yet another beautiful pier on Alta Lake.

Best Whistler Parks - Lakeside Park Viewpoint

If you continue back on the Valley Trail along Alta Lake you will cross the train tracks and come to Alta Lake Road.  Continue along Alta Lake Road, keeping Alta Lake on your right.  You will get some terrific views of the lake and after 1.3 kilometres look for Rainbow Park on your right.  This gets you back on the Valley Trail and around the top end of Alta Lake and to the River of Golden Dreams at the end of Lorimer Rd.  From here the Valley Trail splits into two directions.  Left goes to Meadow Park and right moves you toward Whistler Village again via the Whistler Golf Course.  If you keep following the excellent signs at each juncture you will find your way OK.

Lakeside Park in Whistler Map

Best Whistler Parks Map

Walking, jogging or biking via the beautiful Valley Trail from Whistler Village is the nicest way to get to Lakeside Park, however driving is convenient and easy.  The huge parking lot for the park is easy to find.  From the Village drive south on the Sea to Sky Highway and look for the Lakeside Park sign on your right at Hillcrest Drive, take the first right again on Alpine Crescent and the parking entrance is immediately on your left.  As with all the other parks in Whistler, parking is free, well laid out and just a stones throw from the beach.  If you have a boat or canoe that you'd rather not carry to the beach, there is a proper boat launch just down the road at the junction of Lakeside Road and Carleton Way.  You will also find road side parking on Lakeside Road if you want to park near where you launch.  Always watch for no parking signs, but currently this is a free and convenient place to park.

Best Whistler Parks - Lakeside Park View

Dogs are welcome at Lakeside Park, however it is far from the best option for you dog in Whistler.  Alpha Lake Park and Lost Lake Park both have fantastic, dog park sections where you won't have to worry about your dog running around disturbing anyone.  Blueberry Park just a short walk from Lakeside Park is very dog friendly as it is for the most part a wilderness forest on Alta Lake.  There are several dog friendly hiking trails in Whistler such as Sea to Sky Trail, Whistler Train Wreck, Nairn Falls Provincial Park, Ancient Cedars.

Best Whistler Parks - Lakeside Park View

Lakeside Park has proper washroom facilities near the main beach.  Washrooms are located at most Parks along the Valley Trail and they are accessible during daylight hours.  Along the route mentioned above that takes you around Alta Lake, starting and finishing at Whistler Village there are numerous washrooms.  Wayside Park has proper washrooms, Alta Lake Park does not, Rainbow Park has proper facilities, there is an outhouse near the Valley Trail/Lorimer Rd junction and public restrooms at the top end of the Whistler Golf Course on the Valley Trail.

Whistler Parks & Beaches!

Nita Lake is a tranquil little lake located in Creekside, just 4 kilometres south of Whistler Village.  Whistler's beautiful Valley Trail runs right along ...
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Lost Lake is a tranquil and secluded lake that hides in the forest extending from Whistler Village.  Just a 20 minute, leisurely walk or 5 minute bike ride ...
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Blueberry Park is a very scenic park on Alta Lake that most Whistler locals don't even know about.  If you have been to Rainbow Park you would have noticed several ...
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Green Lake is stunning, vivid turquoise coloured lake just north of Whistler Village.  The Sea to Sky Highway runs along the edge of the lake for most of ...
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Whistler's Best Hiking Trails!

Mount Sproatt, or as it is known locally as just Sproatt, is one of the many towering mountains visible from Whistler Village. Above and beyond Alta Lake, directly across from Whistler Mountain and ...
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Ring Lake is a fantastically serene and wonderfully remote lake similar to Cirque Lake, but considerably farther to hike to reach it. The 10 kilometre(6.2 mile) hike takes you through a rarely hiked forest, ...
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Cirque Lake is a wild and beautiful lake that hides high above and beyond Callaghan Lake in Callaghan Lake Provincial Park.  What makes Cirque Lake special among the other sensationally beautiful lakes in the ...
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Russet Lake is a surreal little paradise that lays at the base of The Fissile, in Garibaldi Provincial Park. The Fissile is the strikingly bronze mountain visible from Whistler Village. From the Village ...
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Whistler & Garibaldi Park Best Hiking by Month!

Hiking in Whistler in October is often unexpectedly stunning.  The days are much shorter and colder but the mountains are alive with colour from the fall ...
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November in Whistler is when the temperatures plummet and the first heavy snow falls in the alpine and often in Whistler Village.  The hiking opportunities become ...
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December hiking in Whistler is mainly done on snowshoes, though not always. If it hasn't snowed much recently then trails such as Whistler Train Wreck and ...
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There are plenty of beautiful and free snowshoe trails in Whistler and Garibaldi Provincial Park.  From the surreal paintings of Whistler Train Wreck to ...
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The Amazing West Coast Trail

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