June Hiking Update!
Looking forward to summer hiking opening up in Whistler as the mountain trails emerge from the deep winter snow? Check out our Whistler hiking guide for June! Escape to the wilderness and rent gear today at WeRentGear Whistler.
The Rainbow Trail is a convenient and popular trail near Whistler Village that takes you to Rainbow Lake as well as the Rainbow-Sproatt Flank Trail, Rainbow Falls, Hanging Lake, Madeley Lake, Beverley Lake, Rainbow Mountain... and even Whistler Olympic Park if you are determined. It is a consistently uphill and very beautiful trail with several water (bridge) crossings and waterfalls on the way to the picture-perfect lake. There are a few views of the valley across to Whistler Mountain, Blackcomb Mountain, and Wedge Mountain.
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 Joffre Lakes Keyhole Hot Springs Logger’s Lake Madeley Lake Meager Hot Springs Nairn Falls Panorama Ridge Parkhurst Ghost Town Rainbow Falls Rainbow Lake Ring Lake Russet Lake Sea to Sky Trail Skookumchuck Hot Springs Sloquet Hot Springs Mount Sproatt Taylor Meadows Train Wreck 
Wedgemount Lake Whistler Mountain
January February March April May June July August September October November December
Alexander Brandywine Blackcomb Callaghan Cirque Joffre Keyhole Logger's Madeley Panorama Sproatt Parkhurst Rainbow Russet Train Wreck Wedge Glacier Wedgemount Whistler
Rainbow Lake itself is in a gorgeous alpine valley with branching trails that extend further beyond the lake in at least three directions. Along with the waterfalls, bridge crossings and valley views, the Rainbow Trail passes through deep forest with some impressively huge trees. Plenty of birds can be heard and seen along the trail and though black bears frequent the area, they are infrequently spotted due to their migration down into the valley. Cougars are also known to roam around this area, though also rarely spotted. As recently as 2014 signs of cougar activity were identified on the Flank Trail near where it branches off from the Rainbow Trail. In September 2018 an extremely rare sighting of a grizzly bear near Rainbow Mountain caused some concern for hiker safety in the following weeks. An very rare occurrence attributed to increased trail use in the area. The Rainbow Trail has a small side trail that takes you to Rainbow Falls. Not far from the trailhead, the small Rainbow Falls sign is easily missed. It is located about five minutes into the Rainbow Trail and your best bet to find it is to keep bearing right along the first couple trail branches. Don't worry about getting lost here though as all the trails reconnect further along the trail when you briefly exit the forest at the water treatment building. Unfortunately, Rainbow Lake is the water supply for Whistler, so you cannot swim, fish or camp near the lake. There is decent camping available nearby at Hanging Lake as well as Beverley Lake in the direction of Rainbow Mountain.
Getting to the Rainbow Trailhead
Rainbow Lake is well within walking and biking distance from Whistler Village. It takes about an hour to walk from Whistler Village to the trailhead or about 20 minutes by bike. To walk or bike to the trailhead you take the Valley Trail from Whistler Village down to the end of Lorimer Road then continue of the Valley Trail to Rainbow Park. From there it is just a 10 minute walk away along Alta Lake Road. Taking a bus to the trailhead is not a great option as no buses go very close. You can take a bus from the Village down to Whistler Cay, near the end of Lorimer Road, then start walking along the Valley Trail, but it only saves you about 30 minutes walking. Driving directions to trailhead: Zero your odometer at Village Gate Boulevard(in Whistler Village), drive north on Highway 99. At 3.9km turn left onto Alpine Way, then at the next stop sign turn left onto Rainbow Drive. Continue straight until at 7.3km you will see the trailhead sign, "Rainbow Trail" on your right, half buried in snow most of the winter. There is room for several cars to park, but be careful if the parking area is packed with snow, you may be able to get in, but not be able to get out easily. Keep that in mind and park in a way that allows you to get out easily. Hike up the Rainbow Trail and to reach Rainbow Falls, bear right at the two obvious forks in the trail. Signs do not indicate where the falls are, but there are several orange trail markers on the trees on the way. Rainbow Falls are found before the water treatment building and the beautiful bridge over the river is just after the treatment building.
More info, details, maps and directions to Rainbow Lake
Whistler & Garibaldi Park 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 Joffre Lakes Keyhole Hot Springs Logger’s Lake Madeley Lake Meager Hot Springs Nairn Falls Panorama Ridge Parkhurst Ghost Town Rainbow Falls Rainbow Lake Ring Lake Russet Lake Sea to Sky Trail Skookumchuck Hot Springs Sloquet Hot Springs Mount Sproatt Taylor Meadows Train Wreck Wedgemount Lake Whistler Mountain
Alexander Brandywine Blackcomb Callaghan Cirque Joffre Keyhole Logger's Madeley Panorama Sproatt Parkhurst Rainbow Russet Train Wreck Wedge Glacier Wedgemount Whistler
Best Hiking by Month
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 ...
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August hiking in Whistler definitely has the most consistently great, hot weather. You can feel the rare pleasure of walking across a glacier shirtless ...
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September hiking in Whistler is possibly the best month of all. The snow has melted far up to the mountain tops, yet the temperatures are still quite ...
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Hiking in Whistler in October is often unexpectedly stunning. The days are much shorter and colder but the mountains are alive with colour from the fall ...
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Best Whistler Waterfalls
Alexander Falls is a very impressive 43 metre/141 foot waterfall just 30 to 40 minutes south of Whistler in the Callaghan Valley. Open year-round and ...
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Rainbow Falls is located just a short hike from the start of the Rainbow Trail to Rainbow Lake. The trailhead is along Alta Lake Road on the far side of ...
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Nairn Falls is a wonderful, crashing and chaotic waterfall that surrounds you from the deluxe viewing platform that allows you to safely watch it from ...
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Whistler Train Wreck is a hidden little world of brightly graffiti painted, wrecked train cars along a gorgeous stretch of Cheakamus River. One ...
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Whistler Hiking Trails
Jane Lakes are a very remote feeling set of lakes in the beautiful wilderness near Cheakamus Crossing. Consisting of three lakes, West Jane Lake, East Jane Lake and Little Jane Lake, they have a great ...
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Russet Lake is a surreal little paradise that lays at the base of The Fissile, in Garibaldi Provincial Park. The Fissile is the strikingly bronze mountain visible from Whistler Village. From the Village ...
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Meager Hot Springs(aka: Meager Creek Hot Springs) is located 93 kilometres northwest of Whistler, was beautifully developed into gorgeous pools, with a caretaker and usage charge. At its height of ...
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Newt Lake is beautiful little lake high up on the far side of Cougar Mountain near Ancient Cedars. Its location is a wonderful mix of unexpected characteristics that combine to make it a gorgeous place to ...
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