For half of the year in Whistler, from mid November to April, jogging and trail running becomes difficult . During this time there are only a few areas of the that are plowed consistently. The Golf Course 5k is a beautiful 5 kilometre(3.1 mile) route around a great, scenic and convenient option to run year round, and right from Whistler Village! If you are not staying in Whistler Village, convenient and free parking can be found at the end of Lorimer Road.
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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Whistler Golf 5k Blueberry Hill 6k Lost Lake 6k Alta Lake 8k Fitzsimmons 9k Alta Green Lost 15k
If you are staying in Whistler Village you can reach the trail via the underpass under the Sea to Sky Highway near the Conference Centre in Whistler Village. This trail is very convenient from Whistler Village and you can easily start and finish your run from your hotel and continuously run on pedestrian only or Valley Trail paths. The map below shows the 5 kilometre Valley Trail that runs around the Golf Course. Whistler's Valley Trail extends in many directions from the Golf Course. As you run around this beautiful golf course you will run through an impressive grove of ancient cedars, see wonderful views of Rainbow Mountain, Mount Sproatt, Wedge Mountain, Whistler Mountain, Blackcomb Mountain, Overlord Mountain and The Fissile. Also, with the exception of the winter months you will likely spot a bear along the trail or on the golf course. They frequent the area from April to September, especially early morning and late in the day. Black bears in the Whistler area are generally very afraid of humans. If you encounter one on your run, you should back off and let it comfortably exit the area. The only possible danger with a bear encounter is if you get too close and surprise it. There have never been any unprovoked bear attacks in Whistler. There have only been incidents where a bear was accidentally cornered and it swiped at a person before fleeing.
Guides to the Best of Whistler
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.
No Car? No Problem! Whistler Trails
Whistler as a resort has a wonderful car-free core. The Village Stroll runs through the heart of Whistler Village and is entirely car free. If you are visiting Whistler or living here and you don't have a car, it's no problem. On foot or on a bike you can travel the extensive network of non-motorized trails. The Valley Trail snakes through Whistler Village and extends in several directions, all of which lead to beautiful parts of Whistler. The Sea to Sky Trail and the Lost Lake trails continue this massive, car-free network of trails running almost everywhere in Whistler. When it comes to many of the best hiking trails, getting to the trailheads on foot, by bike or public transit can be tricky at best or complicated and impractical at worst. Many trailheads are far from Whistler Village and... 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.
Bears Love Whistler Golf Course
If you start your run by turning left at the Whistler Golf Course parking lot you will immediately enter the forest with occasional glimpses of the golf course on your right. The wide, paved, two lane Valley Trail follows the edge of the golf course as it bends left and right as well as gradual ascents and descents. You gradually gain a slight bit of elevation as you reach one end of the golf course as you emerge from the forest as the Valley Trail bends right for about 20 metres along the edge of Blueberry Drive. Here you will catch your first stunning view of Whistler Golf Course and mountains in the distance. Wedge Mountain, with its starkly wedge shape fills the sky in the distance, poking above Blackcomb Mountain. On a sunny day this spot will stop you for a moment to take in this wonderful view. Wedge Mountain is the highest mountain in the Garibaldi Ranges and Blackcomb Mountain lays to its right in the foreground, and to the left are Parkhurst, Rethel and Cook.
The Valley Trail bends around the end of Whistler Golf Course and descends back into the forest once again. With the golf course on your right you get a few more great views before the trail begins to ascend up to the high point of the trail along the edge of Blueberry Hill. Looking across the golf course far below you get some great views of Blackcomb Mountain and Whistler Mountain, though the trees hide the view quite a bit. The Valley Trail then descends quite steeply and flattens out as you approach Crabapple Corner. A cute little food and beverage outlet that is open in the summer when the golf course is open. Built to serve golfers, but they welcome passers by as well. They have a few sandwich and fast food items as well as a huge selection of booze. They have some tables and chairs set out and the view is phenomenal. With the fairway spread out before you and Blackcomb Mountain and Whistler Mountain filling the sky. Stretched between the two you will see the Peak2Peak Gondola and Overlord Mountain and The Fissile in the background. Amazing!
After Crabapple Corner the Valley Trail meanders through the forest and over Crabapple Creek. You then come to a T junction and a big mapboard. Left takes you along Lorimer Road and the Valley Trail splits again, with Rainbow Park in one direction and Meadow Park in the other. Right continues around the end of Whistler Golf Course and through a beautiful forest of huge Western redcedars. Impressively huge, this end of the golf course faces south and is where you will catch great views on a sunny day. Emerging from the cedar forest you slowly ascend toward where you started at the clubhouse parking lot.
More Whistler Running
There are plenty of great running trails in Whistler. The Whistler Golf Course 5k is one of the easiest and most convenient. The Blueberry Hill 6k follows part of the same route along Whistler Golf Course, as well as an interesting and challenging section that runs up and over Blueberry Hill. Though only a kilometre longer than the golf course route, the Blueberry Hill 6k has some steep uphill and downhill sections. Much more challenging and rewarding than the golf course run, it requires a bit more routefinding and a couple streets to navigate through. The Whistler Golf Course 5k is easy, relaxing and you don't have to think about where you are going as the route is quite clear. The Lost Lake 6k is similarly easy to follow and quite a bit of nice scenery. As with the Whistler Golf Course 5k and the Blueberry Hill 6k, the Lost Lake 6k starts right from Whistler Village. The trail takes you out and around Lost Lake and back to the Village through an amazingly serene and relaxing forest. The Alta Lake 8k is another beautiful running route that starts and finishes in Whistler Village at the Whistler Golf Course clubhouse. It takes you around Alta Lake, through several beautiful lakeside parks and hardly a minute goes by without a gorgeous mountain, lake or forest view. The Fitzsimmons 9k also begins in Whistler Village and takes you around one side of Lost Lake before continuing out to and across Fitzsimmons Creek, where you then run alongside the river back to where you started in Whistler Village. The Alta Green Lost 15k is a beautiful combination of parts of the previous trails. It takes you from Whistler Village, around Alta Lake along the Alta Lake 8k route. Instead of bending back to Whistler Village, you continue running north, along the River of Golden Dreams until you reach Green Lake. After you run across the amazingly scenic boardwalk bridge across Green Lake, you cross Fitzsimmons Creek and run along the far shore of Lost Lake and back to Whistler Village.
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