Fall Hiking in Whistler!
Fall is here and hiking in Whistler is spectacular! Check out our Best Whistler Hiking by Month for inspiration!
Alexander Falls is a very impressive 43 metre/141 foot waterfall just 30 to 40 minutes south of Whistler in the Callaghan Valley. Open year-round and located just before Whistler Olympic Park where several of the 2010 Olympic events were held. There is a nice viewing platform on the edge of the cliff across from the falls which crash fantastically into the valley below.
Very scenic drive to get there with bear sightings- Impressively beautiful falls in the wilderness
- Amazing place for a picnic or glass of champagne
- Lots of other sights to see in the Callaghan Valley
- Effortless sightseeing as you drive to viewpoint
- Beautiful & free camping nearby
- Interesting history & information display
Not much to see except the falls- Camping is no longer allowed
- No visible connecting route to base of the falls
The parking area and viewing platform at Alexander Falls is one big area just 40 metres from the main road, just before Whistler Olympic Park. The adventurous can find the obscure trail that leads to both the top of the falls as well as, with great difficulty, to the base of the falls. Alexander Falls is certainly one of the nicest spots for a picnic in Whistler. The picnic areas are numerous, the surrounding forest is gorgeous and wild and Alexander Falls crashes loud and beautiful in the background. Several picnic tables are located in forested clearings that were once used as campsites, so if you have a big group, you will have lots of room to spread out and enjoy the surroundings. The free parking lot at Alexander Falls is enormous. Keep in mind that it is a day-use only parking area and camping or campfires are prohibited. If you are looking for a place to park overnight in the area the possibilities are endless. Callaghan Valley is very wild, devoid of people and the spider-web of logging roads that cover the valley run for hundreds of kilometres. Continued here...
More Sights Near Alexander Falls
The Callaghan Valley is home to some other great places to visit. Just past the Alexander Falls parking lot on your left you will see a sign for Callaghan Lake Provincial Park. If you turn left here you can either drive straight up a very bad logging road for 8.5 kilometres to Callaghan Lake. Callaghan Lake Provincial Park has only a couple short trails. There is, however, a the Cirque Lake trail at the end of the lake takes you to paradise! Cirque Lake is found high above Callaghan Lake and up quite a steep, but short 2 kilometre trail. Well worth the hike, but you have to have a canoe/kayak to get to the trailhead. If you want a quick look at a very pretty mountain lake, take the first right at the start of this logging road that takes you to Madeley Lake. On a sunny summer day, few places in Whistler are more serene and beautiful. A short trail from the end of the road, behind the lake takes you down to a lovely and sunny shore of this crystal clear lake. It is also a free campground that is very nice. Northair Mine is close by and a very interesting place to see, though you need a 4x4 to get up the increasingly deteriorating forest service road.
Callaghan Lake Near Alexander Falls
Callaghan Lake is a big and beautiful, remote lake high up beyond Alexander Falls. A free, drive-to campsite and parking area are located on one end of the lake and the rest of the lake is wild and untouched wilderness. There are few trails around the lake and most visitors travel by canoe, kayak or paddleboard. There is one significant trail to hike at the far end of Callaghan Lake and it is very nice. The somewhat hard to find trail starts at the far end of the lake and takes you up to a stunning glacier carved lake appropriately called Cirque Lake.
Cirque Lake Near Alexander Falls
Cirque Lake gets its name from the term 'cirque', which is a glacier-carved bowl or amphitheater in the mountains. To form, the glacier must be a combination of size, a certain slope and more unexpectedly, a certain angle away from the sun. In the northern hemisphere, this means the glacier must be on the northeast slope of the mountain, away from the suns rays and the prevailing winds. Thick snow, protected in this way, grows thicker into glacial ice, then a process of freeze-thaw called nivation, chews at the lower rocks, hollowing out a deep basin.
Madeley Lake Near Alexander Falls
Madeley Lake is a beautiful alpine lake just a 10 minute drive past Alexander Falls. A free, serene and hidden feeling campsite hides in the forest at the far end of the lake. Whistler Olympic Park has recently wrestled control over the access road and in 2020 and barricaded the access road. They attempted to require an access fee to the lake and quickly backtracked when they realized their quiet takeover of Madeley Lake would cause a public outcry and force the Resort Municipality of Whistler to coerce Whistler Olympic Park to return free access to the decades old regional park. The sign on the gate that stated "WARNING ENTERING WHISTLER OLYMPIC PARK CORE AREA YOU ARE REQUIRED TO HAVE A TICKET OR YOU ARE TRESPASSING" was quickly removed by WOP shortly after it was discovered by the public last June(2020). You may or may not encounter this gate, depending on how aggressive Whistler Olympic Park is in blocking access to the public, though hopefully public pressure will force them to relent.
Northair Mine Near Alexander Falls
Northair Mine is a strangely beautiful old goldmine near Alexander Falls. Abandoned several decades ago, the cement foundations are now adorned in colourful graffiti and stunning murals. In 2019 Kups, a professional Whistler muralist, painted a stunning mural across one of the largest and broadest cement walls. Along with the beautiful and surreal foundations, Northair Mine is also home to a surprisingly beautiful lake.
Alexander Falls Directions
Cell coverage is reliable on the road and at the viewpoint to Alexander Falls so you will be able to access the internet if you have a data plan, however saving this map to your smartphone or tablet might be helpful. From Whistler Village: Drive south on Hwy 99(Sea to Sky Highway), 13.8 kilometres from Village Gate Boulevard, turn right onto Callaghan Valley Road at the sign to Whistler Olympic Park. Follow this road for 9.6 kilometres, keep an eye out on your left for a little sign that directs you to Alexander Falls. The sign/turnoff is just before Whistler Olympic Park.
Alexander Falls Provincial Park Continued Here...
Callaghan Lake Provincial Park is a relatively untouched wilderness of rugged mountainous terrain. The valley walls were formed by relatively recent glaciation. Evidence of ...
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The Rainbow Trail is a convenient and popular trail near Whistler Village that takes you to Rainbow Lake as well as the Flank Trail, Rainbow Falls, Hanging Lake, Madeley ...
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Nairn Falls is a wonderful, crashing and chaotic waterfall that surrounds you from the deluxe viewing platform that allows you to safely watch it from above. The beautiful, green ...
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The short, scenic and easy hiking trail to Rainbow Falls is located just a short, half kilometre from the Rainbow Lake or Rainbow Trail trailhead. The trail begins by ...
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Books With Whistler History and Wildlife
Plants of the Whistler Region is an excellent book that includes great pictures and descriptions of most trees you will find in Whistler. Small enough to fit in your pocket and comprehensive enough to identify most things you will encounter growing in the forests of Whistler. Along with conifer trees and broadleaf trees the book has chapters on flowers, berries, ferns and shrubs. You can find Plants of the Whistler Region on Amazon, the Whistler Library and at Armchair Books in Whistler Village. The author Collin Varner has a wonderful series of Plants of.. books on various regions beyond Whistler. Plants of Vancouver and the Lower Mainland, Plants of the Gulf and San Juan Islands and Southern Vancouver Island, and Plants of the West Coast Trail. In the last couple years he has started a new series of books. The Flora and Fauna of Coastal British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest and Edible and Medicinal Flora of the West Coast: British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest. A Passion for Mountains by Kathryn Bridge is a fascinating look at Don and Phyllis Munday's prolific exploration of the mountains in BC. Based out of Vancouver, they were dominant figures of the climbing community in the early 1900's. In 1923 they visited their friend Neal Carter in Alta Lake(Whistler) and explored the mountains around the valley.. many for the first time!
Col: a ridge between two higher peaks, a mountain pass or saddle. More specifically is the lowest point on a mountain ridge between two peaks. Sometimes ...
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Whistler spruce is a hybrid of the Sitka spruce and the interior Engelmann spruce. Sitka spruce trees thrive in the rainforests of the Pacific Northwest ...
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Neal Carter (14 Dec 1902 - 15 Mar 1978) was an early explorer of the Coast Mountains around what would eventually be called Whistler Valley. In the summer ...
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The rocky and narrow row of islands in Garibaldi Lake just offshore from the Garibaldi Lake campsite are known as Battleship Islands. Named by the ...
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The Barrier formed as a result of huge lava flows from Clinker Peak on the west shoulder of Mount Price during the last ice age. About thirteen thousand ...
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Corrie Lake is the surreal looking lake that can be seen across the valley from Whistler Mountain. While hiking the High Note trail along Whistler ...
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Green Lake is the marvellously vivid, green coloured lake just north of Whistler Village. Driving north on the Sea to Sky Highway, Green Lake appears ...
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The Garibaldi Volcanic Belt is a line of mostly dormant stratovolcanoes and subglacial volcanoes largely centred around Whistler and extending through much ...
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Whistler & Garibaldi Hiking
Alexander Falls 
Ancient Cedars 
Black Tusk 
Blackcomb Mountain Brandywine Falls Brandywine Meadows Brew Lake Callaghan Lake Cheakamus Lake 
Cheakamus River 
Cirque Lake Flank Trail Garibaldi Lake Garibaldi Park Helm Creek Jane Lakes Joffre Lakes Keyhole Hot Springs Logger’s Lake Madeley Lake Meager Hot Springs Nairn Falls Newt Lake Panorama Ridge Parkhurst Ghost Town Rainbow Falls Rainbow Lake Ring Lake Russet Lake Sea to Sky Trail Skookumchuck Hot Springs Sloquet Hot Springs 
Sproatt East Sproatt West Taylor Meadows Train Wreck 
Wedgemount Lake Whistler Mountain
January February 
March April May 
June July August 
September October November December
Blackcomb Mountain holds an impressive and ever growing array of hiking trails. From the moment you arrive at the Rendezvous Lodge, you see hiking trails ascend into the distance. The Rendezvous Lodge is ...
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Newt Lake is beautiful little lake high up on the far side of Cougar Mountain near Ancient Cedars. Its location is a wonderful mix of unexpected characteristics that combine to make it a gorgeous place to ...
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Logger's Lake is an amazing little lake hidden up in the deep forest above the more well known Cheakamus River. The lake, almost unbelievably exists in a long extinct volcano. However, as soon as you see ...
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Cheakamus River is a beautiful, crashing, turquoise coloured river that flows from Cheakamus Lake, through Whistler Interpretive Forest at Cheakamus Crossing, then down past Brandywine Falls to Daisy Lake. ...
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