A long but not difficult hike, with very moderate incline, from 18km to 20km (depending how far around the lake you go) in and out. The last 3km are the most beautiful and interesting so don't give up on the 6km through the forest...The whole trip took us about 8 hours, including photographing and an hour long luch at the lake.
On the way to the lake you will pass a couple of forks leading to the Black Tusk and Taylor Meadows as well as a giant slide and two additional lakes - Lesser Garibaldi Lake and Barrier Lake.
Barrier Lake - the frist on you see on the trail; soon after the fork.
Garibaldi Lake was still frozen but you could see a beginning of something moving around the edges...Should come back in a month or two.
It was very warm and sunny; do not forget your sunscreen especially if you are planning to linger by the lake like we did.
Turn right off Hwy 99 just after you cross the Rubble Creek Bridge, 37 km north of Squamish or 19 km south of Whistler onto a paved road that leads 2.5 km to the Garibaldi Lake parking lot.
The view from the ferry on Mt. Baker
Gary Oaks Winery
Ganges Harbour
Ruckle Provincial Park - a small shady park with a few nice trails and a beautiful view on the water traffic and the neighbouring islands.
Quite a few tidal pools you can observe on the rocks in Ruckle Provincial Park with colorful starfish and other creatures and plants.
On our way back to Vancouver we stopped on Vancouver Island to see whats happening in Victoria on Canada Day. I had great memories of Victoria based on my previous visit a few years back and this time I couldn't really pinpoint what was it that left such a good impression. The city if fairly boring and an hour is sufficient to see all it has to offer. I think the appeal of the area stems from the nature rather then from Victoria itself.
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