Madeley Lake is a beautiful, remote mountain lake hidden high up in the Callaghan Valley. From Whistler Village expect to take 40 minutes to drive there. You can drive directly to the lake, however the access road is pretty bad with deep waterbars. An average 4x4 can make it quite easily, though most cars with have great difficulty driving over the numerous deep water cut gouges in the road.
Located near Alexander Falls, Madeley Lake is surrounded by other great sights. Whistler Olympic Park is nearby as well as Callaghan Lake Provincial Park. The turnoff to Callaghan Lake just past Alexander Falls is the same turnoff you take to get to Madeley Lake. Madeley Lake is your first right after crossing the bridge, while Callaghan Lake is 8 kilometres up this bumpy logging road. The old logging road takes you along the left shore of Madeley Lake passing a couple good canoe/kayak launching spots. The end of the road comes just before a disintegrating bridge blocked by a huge boulder. The short trail to the Madeley Lake campsite is found just across this bridge on the right. The campsite is largely unmaintained and is very rustic and beautiful. An ancient outhouse, picnic tables and several metal fire pits dot the campsite with several large tent clearings. Emerging from the deep forest of the campsite you come to a gorgeous gravel beach. South facing, the beach is always sunny and magically serene. The campsite at the end of Madeley Lake is very basic, though wonderfully remote feeling and rustic. The sun rises over the lake in the morning and you are bathed in sun most of the day. In previous years you could also camp at the nearby Alexander Falls, however this is no longer allowed. Also, keep in mind that this whole area in the winter is taken over by Callaghan Country and Whistler Olympic Park so access via skis comes with a usage charge. Another campsite option in the area is the beautiful and large campsite area at Callaghan Lake Provincial Park nearby. Both the Madeley Lake campsite and the Callaghan Lake campsite are free.
Logger’s Lake is an amazing little lake hidden up in the deep forest above the more well known Cheakamus River. The lake, almost unbelievably exists in a ...
Bivouac or Bivy: a primitive campsite or simple, flat area where camping is possible. Traditionally used to refer to a very primitive campsite comprised of ...
Northair Mine is wonderful, hidden world high up in Callaghan Valley. It was a gold mine run by the Northair Group from 1976 until was abandoned in 1982 ...
Waterbar and Cross-Ditch: the purpose of a waterbar or cross-ditch is to capture and redirect surface water from the road and channel it across the road ...
Charles Townsend moved from England to Vancouver in the early 1920's where he met Neal Carter while studying at UBC. They worked together in the summer of 1923 as ...
When hiking to Parkhurst Ghost Town, the first area you will encounter after you cross the disintegrating bridge over Wedge Creek is the wye. In railroad ...
Porteau Cove is a beautiful little stop on the drive to or from Whistler. You will notice the lack of convenient washroom stops on the way to or from ...
Chimney: a gap between two vertical faces of rock or ice. Often a chimney offers the only viable route to the summit of a mountain. An example of this is Black ...
Columnar Jointing: bizarre looking columns of oddly angular rock formations that can be found in many places around Whistler and worldwide. Generally ...
April in Whistler is a wonderful time of year. The winter deep freeze ends and T-shirt weather erupts. The village comes alive with overflowing patios and ...
May is an extraordinarily beautiful time of year in Whistler. The days are longer and warmer and a great lull in between seasons happens. Whistler is fairly ...
June is a pretty amazing month to hike in Whistler and Garibaldi Park. The average low and high temperatures in Whistler range from 9c to 21c(48f/70f). ...
July is a wonderful time to hike in Whistler and Garibaldi Provincial Park. The weather is beautiful and the snow on high elevation hiking trails is long ...
Hiking in Whistler is spectacular and wonderfully varied. Looking at a map of Whistler you see an extraordinary spider web of hiking trails that are unbelievably numerous. Easy trails, moderate trails and challenging hiking trails are all available. Another marvellous ...
Squamish is located in the midst of a staggering array of amazing hiking trails. Garibaldi Provincial Park sprawls alongside Squamish and up and beyond Whistler. Tantalus Provincial Park lays across the valley to the west and the wonderfully remote Callaghan Valley ...
Clayoquot Sound has a staggering array of hiking trails within it. Between Tofino and Ucluelet, Pacific Rim Park has several wilderness and beach trails, each one radically different from the last. The islands in the area are often Provincial parks on their own with ...
Victoria has a seemingly endless number of amazing hiking trails. Most take you to wild and beautiful Pacific Ocean views and others take you to tranquil lakes in beautiful BC Coastal Rainforest wilderness. Regional Parks and Provincial Parks are everywhere you turn in ...
The West Coast Trail was created after decades of brutal and costly shipwrecks occurred along the West Coast of Vancouver Island. One shipwreck in particular was so horrific, tragic and unbelievable that it forced the creation of a trail along the coast, which ...