Oct 10th, 2022: Jane Lakes consist of three lakes that are well hidden in the vast wilderness adjacent to Whistler’s Interpretive Forest. West Jane Lake, East Jane Lake and Little Jane Lake are all so engulfed in the forest that they remain unseen until just a few metres away from the shore. So hidden in fact, that when you do catch a glimpse of West Jane Lake, the biggest of the three, you can’t help but be shocked at the sudden sprawling view.
Whistler & Garibaldi Hiking
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It's not so much the grand size of West Jane Lake, though it is shockingly, unexpectedly, wonderfully huge. But the absolutely perfect reflection off the mirror-like surface of the lake to show Black Tusk as you’ve never seen it before. The wondrous geologic anomaly that captivates hikers in Garibaldi Park, skiers on Whistler Mountain and everyone that has driven almost anywhere in Whistler, is now both surprisingly close and perfectly twinned by the mirror reflection off the water. West Jane Lake is just 700 metres long, but the first vantage point you get when you see it through the trees seems to magnify it. You kind of expect a small lake, like Newt Lake on Cougar Mountain, or Alpha Lake in Creekside. But this lake has sections of vertical cliffs and a substantial and unbroken wilderness around it. The forest is so deep around the lake that, even if there were other people around, you would never spot them. No visible trails across the lake, no cut trees, no other hikers. Nothing at all. Just absolute silence. Fall hiking in Whistler has a subtle serenity that you just don't get in the much busier summer months.
Jane Lakes is a surprising contrast to Whistler Interpretive Forest which border cuts across the eastern end of East Jane Lake. Here at the western edge of West Jane Lake you have pristine wilderness and perfect solitude. The Interpretive Forest exhibits wide sections of cut forests and interpretive signs depicting the replanting of several areas. The once thickly forested 8 kilometre drive to the Cheakamus Lake trailhead, used to be a deep dive into British Columbia’s Coastal Rainforest. This past spring the dark, serene forest was gutted and transformed into a haunted wasteland of tree stumps. A preventative measure to create a defensive zone to halt a forest fire that could potentially sweep through the valley. Both strategically prudent and expensive, measures like this hedge bets against forest fire catastrophes in the near future, but slash and tear the beauty out of a forest in the present.
Jane Lakes Beautiful Wilderness
Jane Lakes have somehow remained a perfect wilderness, despite laying in the shadow of a giant chainsaw. The chainsaws revved up a dozen years ago, but a small but resonating outcry centred around the environmental effect on the fish population but the kibosh on that. A similar, but much less vocal objection to the logging above Parkhurst and around the Wedgemount Lake trailhead fell on deaf ears. Out of sight and out of mind, the “new” trailhead parking for Wedgemount Lake is startling to say the least. The sound of cutting and falling trees is a bit unnerving as you get out of your car at the modified trailhead, relocated a couple years ago.
Though you do see quite a few big tree stumps along the new Jane Lakes West trail, decades have passed since then and the forest has regrown quite a bit. The old Jane Lakes Forest Service Road is now the Jane Lakes West trail. Barricaded with boulders and a deep and wide trench in the last few days, it is now a great hiking and biking trail to the lake. The 4.1 kilometre trail has been worked by an excavator and dozens of creek beds have been dug across the old road. A considerable amount of work has gone on over the summer which you quickly notice while hiking the trail. Every couple minutes you come across a brand new trench across the trail with a small creek flowing through. Soon, these creeks will be torrents of water and you can’t help but wonder how the water moved before these trenches. With a couple years of forest growth and bridges across these creeks, it is easy to visualize this trail being quite beautiful.
The Jane Lakes West trail already has some great viewpoints and highlights. Several areas along the trail, you emerge from the trees and get a great view down the valley. The unmistakable, jagged peak of Mount Fee is nicely visible from several places. The trail also cuts through large boulder fields from crumbling cliffs. Further along you come to, and actually trip over a stunning remnant of a geologically recent phenomenon called the Cheakamus Valley basalts. During the end of the last ice age, basaltic lava flows pools against the retreating glacier that filled Cheakamus Valley. The rapid cooling of the lava resulted in sets of intersecting, closely spaced fractures that formed regular arrays of angular, six sided columns of stunning symmetry. At several places along the trail, you come to a cliff wall of these bewildering columns of rock known as columnar jointing. These alien looking walls are in various stages of crumbling and breaking apart and the Jane Lakes West trail is possibly the best place around to touch and admire them.
More hiking info, directions and maps for Jane Lakes..
Guides to the Best of Whistler
Best Free Whistler Camping
Whistler is surrounded by an immense wilderness dotted with spectacular, hidden lakes and amazing places to set up a tent. Decades of logging activity has left a network of forest service roads that has opened easy access to these places. Some of these you can drive to and some you may need a 4x4 to comfortably get to. Some places to camp for free you can drive to, some require a short hike and others are fairly long hikes to reach. Beautiful Callaghan Valley is home to several incredible and free places to camp. Callaghan Lake has a great free drive-to campsite just steps from this spectacular alpine lake. If you have a canoe, you can paddle to the end of Callaghan Lake and hike the short, but steep trail up to Cirque Lake. This gorgeous lake is deep in the alpine wilderness... Continued here.
Kid Friendly Whistler Hiking Trails
There are plenty of excellent, kid and family friendly hiking trails and destinations in and around Whistler. Kid and family friendly generally means an easy and somewhat short trail that a toddler can happily manage. Some of these trails are flat enough to be stroller friendly, such as Brandywine Falls, Whistler Mountain and Blackcomb Mountain. Others such as Logger’s Lake, Cheakamus River and Madeley Lake have short enough trails to reach them that you can manage with little kids that don't want to hike too far. Some of these hikes and walks are popular and close to Whistler Village, like Whistler Mountain, Blackcomb Mountain, Lost Lake Park, Rainbow Park and Meadow Park. Others are a beautiful, but far drive into the mountains and tricky to find... Continued here.
Best Dog Friendly Hiking Trails
Whistler is very dog friendly and the number of wonderful hiking trails that your dog will love is huge. The massively varied hiking trails range from easy, short, close to Whistler Village to challenging, long and deep in the endless wilderness around Whistler. You can find dog friendly trails in and around Whistler Village that take you through deep, dark and magical forests. Or you can drive beyond Whistler Village and take your dog to spectacular alpine lakes. Some requiring little or no hiking, while others are found after hiking challenging and long trails. Many of these places are comparatively quiet and often you and your dog will have the the wilderness to yourselves. In and around Whistler Village you have Lost Lake with its spider web of trails... Continued here.
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