Elfin Lakes in Garibaldi Provincial Park is a magical place. It has such diverse-looking scenery in every single season. Last time, I went on a snowshoe adventure to the Elfin Lakes through a winter wonderland. This time, I went during shoulder season just as the colours were changing and it was absolutely beautiful.
Along on the adventure was Sara, my long-time pen-pal from Ontario, and Darian, one of my favourite travel buddies from Saskatchewan. They’ve both recently moved to Vancouver for school so I was very excited to show them what the West Coast is all about! And, apparently that’s the rain…
On the hike up, we were greeted by rain showers. It was so misty that we could not see the surrounding mountains and views, let alone fifty feet in front of us. It seems as if every hike I go on with Darian we have the most unfortunate weather. However, there’s always something quite mystical about hiking in the fog.
The hike up itself was the perfect distance. It took us about 3.5 hours with our overnight packs to get to the hut. After exploring the surrounding area and the lakes, we cooked our dinner and played a few card games before calling it a night.
The next day the sun was peaking out, the fog started to clear and it was gorgeous! While everyone else hiked out early, we spent the rest of the morning just hanging out. We had brunch and tea sitting on the deck, enjoying the tranquil views of the surrounding mountains.
Breakfast at Elfin Lakes Shelter – by Darian Weber
At about noon, we reluctantly packed up our bags and said our fair-wells to Elfin Lakes. It was like a completely different hike on the way down. We could see the beautiful rolling hills, the reds and orange of autumn and the stunning mountains in the backdrop. This was Sara’s first backcountry adventure and I think my favourite part of the trip was how overwhelmed Sara was with the beauty of the terrain.
Believe it or not, this was my first ever girls-only backpacking trip! I had such a blast showing my out-of-town friends the beauty of BC.
If you’re interested in camping at Elfin Lakes, please remember that both tenting and staying in the shelter now requires reservations through BC Parks. If you don’t manage to get a reservation in the summer, I highly recommend shoulder season camping as there are much less people willing to brave the colder weather after labour day.
Hikers: Darian, Sara and Josie
Camera Specs: Canon 70d, Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5 lens, Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM lens