Fall Hiking in Whistler!
Fall is here and hiking in Whistler is spectacular! Check out our Best Whistler Hiking by Month for inspiration!
Cheakamus River is the beautiful, crashing and turquoise coloured river that flows from Cheakamus Lake, through the Cheakamus Valley to Daisy Lake. Also a popular kayaking route, the main attraction to Cheakamus River is the wonderful and quite extensive network of hiking and biking trails that run along either side of it. Several trails run throughout the forest around the enormous 70 kilometre length of Cheakamus River.
Very easily accessible, park at various places- Public transit stop just steps from the trailhead
- Connect to Logger's Lake & Whistler Train Wreck
- Ideal trail running route & dog friendly
- An easy & family friendly trail
- Many great spots for a picnic
- Usually quiet & has little elevation change!
Trails are not overly exciting- Not as impressive as other Whistler trails
- No camping allowed in the area
Trails such as the Cheakamus Lake trail, the Whistler Train Wreck trail and the Sea to Sky Trail. For the most part, however, if you are talking about the Cheakamus River trails you are likely talking about the Farside and Riverside trails in Whistler's Interpretive Forest. Eight kilometres south of Whistler Village and surrounding the recently constructed neighbourhood of Cheakamus Crossing is Whistler Interpretive Forest. This beautiful forest surrounds the Cheakamus River and has been cut and replanted in several areas in the past decades. Hiking and biking trails have sprung up over the years making the area a wonderful place to explore. Unfortunately, the Interpretive Forest is day-use only, no camping is permitted. The main highlights of the Interpretive Forest are the beautiful Cheakamus River trails, and the extraordinary Logger's Lake. Logger's Lake, just a short hike from the Cheakamus River suspension bridge, sits within a 10000 year old, extinct volcano and is a hiking destination on its own. Logger's Lake is a beautiful, hidden hidden paradise for swimming. There are several excellent vantage points to see the river and the amazing Cheakamus River suspension bridge is one of the best. Located at one end of the Farside and Riverside trails, there is even a parking area nearby. This is also the parking area for Logger's Lake, making it a beautiful starting point to hike both area in an afternoon.
There are several excellent places to park to begin hiking or biking around the Cheakamus River. You can park at various places within sight of the river on either side of it just steps from a hiking trail. The Whistler Interpretive Forest trailhead parking just off the Sea to Sky Highway is large, easy to find and adjacent to the Sea to Sky Trail. This is an ideal place to park if you are biking the trails. If you are hiking, however, you might want to drive a couple hundred metres past and then turn left onto Cheakamus Lake Road. This gravel road almost immediately forks. Continuing strait takes you along the left side of Cheakamus River and taking the right fork follows the opposite side. There are excellent road and trail signs at this junction and the ones further along.
Cheakamus River Trail Map
The Cheakamus River trails consist of two trails that link via the suspension bridge at one end and the vehicle bridge in Cheakamus Crossing. These two trails, Riverside & Farside, lay at the heart of The Whistler Interpretive Forest which encompasses the surrounding areas of beyond Cheakamus River. These areas consist of the Riverside Trail, Farside Trail, Discovery Loop, Ridge Trail, Riparian Interpretive Trail, Crater Rim Trail, Craterview Loop, Plantation Loop, Biogeoclimatic Loop and Crater Lookout. The Riverside Trail(left side of Cheakamus River if looking from Cheakamus Crossing toward Cheakamus Lake is an easy to moderate, 2 kilometre multi-use trail with a a few steep switchbacks and a couple very scenic viewpoints over the river. At the suspension bridge it connects to the Farside Trail, an easy, multi-purpose trail that brings you back to where you started in Cheakamus Crossing.
More Cheakamus River Hiking Info...
Wedgemount Lake itself is a magnificent destination for a day hike or spectacular overnight beneath the dazzling mountain peaks and stars. Many sleep under the stars on one of the ...
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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 ...
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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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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 ...
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Two Fantastic Books About British Columbia!
Here are two excellent books on hiking and geology of British Columbia. Matt Gunn's Scrambles in Southwest British Columbia includes the various routes to the summit of Wedge Mountain as well as summit routes to the neighbouring peaks, Weart, Cook, Parkhurst and Rethel. Mount Weart is the second highest mountain in Garibaldi Park and is located just north of Wedge Mountain, separated by the Wedge-Weart Col. Published in 2005, Scrambles in Southwest British Columbia is still the best guide in print or online. Geology of British Columbia: A Journey Through Time by Sydney Cannings, JoAnne Nelson and Richard Cannings is a beautiful history of BC's geology and the 200 million year history of creatures living in this extraordinary corner of the world. The authors take us on a journey through time, describing the collisions of island chains called terrains, the sliding of plates, the erupting of volcanoes, and the movement of glaciers that created British Columbia as we know it today. They also describe the rich legacy of fossils left behind as a result of all this geological activity.
Russet Lake sits in a wide, glacier carved valley at the base of The Fissile. In the direction opposite The Fissile, up on a plateau less than a ...
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The Pacific yew or western yew is a coniferous tree that grows in Whistler and along the coast from Alaska to California. The Pacific yew’s unique ...
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Glacier Window: the cave-like opening at the mouth of a glacier where meltwater runs out. Glacier windows are often extraordinarily beautiful. A blue glow ...
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When hiking to Parkhurst Ghost Town, the first area you will encounter after you cross the disintegrating bridge over Wedge Creek is the wye. In railroad ...
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Erratic or Glacier Erratic is a piece of rock that has been carried by glacial ice, often hundreds of kilometres. Characteristic of their massive size and ...
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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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Bergschrund or abbreviated schrund: a crevasse that forms from the separation of moving glacier ice from the stagnant ice above. Characterized by a deep ...
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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
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June July August 
September October November December
Ancient Cedars is a nice, easy/moderate 2.5 kilometre (1.6 mile) hiking trail on the far side of Cougar Mountain, just 13.1 kilometres north of Whistler Village. A small, untouched grove of huge western ...
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Jane Lakes are a very remote feeling set of lakes in the beautiful wilderness near Cheakamus Crossing. Consisting of three lakes, West Jane Lake, East Jane Lake and Little Jane Lake, they have a great ...
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Madeley Lake is a beautiful, remote mountain lake hidden high up in the Callaghan Valley. From Whistler Village expect to take 40 minutes to drive there. You can drive directly to the lake, however the ...
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The trail to Whistler Train Wreck is an easy, yet varied route through deep forest, across a great suspension bridge over Cheakamus River, to a stunning array of wrecked train cars. The trail from your car to ...
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