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Sloquet Hot Springs is a wonderfully wild set of shallow, man-made pools fed by a small, all natural, and very hot, waterfall. The pools stretch from the waterfall to the large and crashing Sloquet River. The large, spread out campsite for the hot springs lies a short 5 minute walk from the springs. You have to follow a dark and quickly descending trail toward the crashing river.
As you near, you can smell the unusual, but kind of nice hot springs scent, and you see steam rising all around you, some steam rising, bizarrely, out of the grass clearing on the edge of the river. On your left a rising cliff, on your right the crashing river. The path narrows and steepens, leading to a large fallen tree which the trail seems to run to. So huge though as to not worry you walking the length of. Then, there it is. The massive fallen tree flanks it. Nestled between the tree and a cliff, in a large triangular area, with the river forming the third side are the Sloquet Hot Springs. Sloquet Hot Springs is 142 kilometres from Whistler, which translates to well over 3 hours of driving. Much of the driving is along the In-Shuck-Ch Forest Service Road, which runs the length of the very scenic Lillooet Lake and river. This gravel road takes you well into the wilderness, far from civilization and past quite a few nice sights along the way. Though you will often find the campsite a loud and chaotic place with music playing and two or three campsite parties, the hot springs, a couple hundred metres away, serene and tranquil. This is one of the accidental beauties of Sloquet Hot Springs.
The campsite and the hot springs are separated by this steep, short trail and deep forest keeps them apart from each other. The tailgate parties that sometimes erupt at the campsite are far removed from the hot springs oasis wedged between the river, cliff and forest. Sloquet is quite a contrast to its closest, well known neighbour, Skookumchuck Hot Springs. Skookumchuck is shabby, institutionalized and far from natural. Sloquet is beautiful, natural and serene. It consists of seven pools formed with rocks positioned to segment pools out of what must have been one huge pool. Recently, in late 2013, dozens of volunteers did a massive cleanup of the pools, forming them into a more natural and even more beautiful place to be. More info for Sloquet Hot Springs...
More Sloquet Hot Springs info here...
P
lants 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.
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Meager Hot Springs
Skookumchuck Hot Springs
Sloquet Hot Springs
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Brandywine Falls
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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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