Garibaldi Park Whistler A to Z: ARRTITwentyone Mile Creek begins its long and steep journey from Rainbow Lake, high up and between Mount Sproatt and Rainbow Mountain.  Cutting between the two mountains, Twentyone Mile Creek flattens out somewhat, passes under Alta Lake Road, then winds its way through a deep and dark forest before flowing into the River of Golden Dreams near the end of Lorimer Road.  This hidden forest extends from Rainbow Park to Emerald Forest and between Alta Lake Road and the River of Golden Dreams.

Whistler & Garibaldi Hiking

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If you look closely at one of the parking lots in Rainbow Park, you will see a small trail sign for the wonderful trail that takes you through this secluded forest, all the way to Emerald Forest.  A River Runs Through It is an insanely winding trail that follows a dizzying route through this captivating forest with Twentyone Mile Creek running through it.  A popular, though brutally challenging bike trail, A River Runs Through It has numerous, elaborate ramps, small bridges, and one large bridge that spans Twentyone Mile Creek.  A River Runs Through It has a couple shortcut trails that cut a couple kilometres off of it to make it a more manageable and enjoyable hiking trail.  If you add in another two connecting trails, you can turn A River Runs Through It into a beautiful 6 kilometre circle route.  You can start this circle route from a couple spots on Alta Lake Road, or at Rainbow Park, or at the end of Lorimer Road.  The end of Lorimer Road starting point has the advantage of being very close to Whistler Village.  You can drive to this starting point from Whistler Village in 3 minutes, or bike there in 8 minutes, or walk there in 22 minutes.  From the end of Lorimer Road you get on the Valley Trail, cross the bridge over the River of Golden Dreams, then cross the train tracks and enter Emerald Forest on your left.  Climbing up the trail that skirts the gravel pit leads you to the top of the gravel pit and you then enter the deep, dark, emerald coloured forest. 

Emerald Forest To A River Runs Through It

Emerald Forest in Whistler

Emerald Forest to A River Runs Through It

This trail takes you 1.4 kilometres through Emerald Forest before bearing left and descending down to the old access road.  Directly across this road is the start of A River Runs Through It North.  If you don't see it, you may have come out of Emerald Forest too early and just need to follow the old road to the right and you will spot the sign for A River Runs Through It on your left.  If you come out to Alta Lake Road, you have gone too far.  The trail quickly descends into the wonderfully dark and wild forest.  One kilometre in you come to your first shortcut by connecting onto Bart's Dark Trail.  This 0.8 kilometre section cuts out a much longer and windier section of A River Runs Through It.  Bart's Dark Trail leads to the narrow bridge across Twentyone Mile Creek.

Twentyone Mile Creek Passes Under Alta Lake Road

A River Runs Through It

A River Runs Through It Bridge Over Twentyone Mile Creek

A River Runs Through It Bridge

Twentyone Mile Creek at Alta Lake Road

A River Runs Through It Pool

Old Deadfall Across Twentyone Mile Creek

A River Runs Through It

A River Runs Through It Map

From here A River Runs Through It continues its wildly meandering course through the forest.  This is a nice 2.4 kilometre walk in the woods that takes you through this very scenic forest to a bunch of nice creek views.  If you prefer to take another shortcut, you will see, just after the bridge crossing, the Rainbow Express trail cut through the forest in a fairly direct 300 metre route to reconnect to A River Runs Through It South.  This last section of A River Runs Through It is just 0.8 kilometres long and emerges at Rainbow ParkRainbow Park is one of Whistler's countless gorgeous lakeside parks and here you will find washrooms, a sandy beach, a huge wharf, and one of Whistler's best views of Wedge, Blackcomb and Whistler mountains.  The Valley Trail disappears into the forest along Alta Lake and emerges at Lorimer Road in just 1.5 kilometres, completing the 6 kilometre circle route.

A River Runs Through It Map v2

More Whistler & Garibaldi Park Hiking A to Z!

Coast Douglas-fir trees are medium to extremely large trees that you will encounter in Whistler and Garibaldi Park. They are the second tallest conifer ...
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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 ...
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Every unusual phenomenon in the forest seems to have a name, but one natural work of art seems to be without a commonly used name.  Big trees with ...
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Parkhurst Ridge is an incredible place for a lot of reasons.  Of course, the view is spectacular with Green Lake's absurdly vivid green coloured water.  ...
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Bushwhack is a term often used in Canada and the United States to refer to hiking off-trail where no trail exists.  Literally means 'bush' and 'whack'.  To ...
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Columnar Jointing: bizarre looking columns of oddly angular rock formations that can be found in many places around Whistler and worldwide.  Generally ...
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Accumulation Zone: the area where snow accumulations exceeds melt, located above the firn line.  Snowfall accumulates faster than melting, evaporation and ...
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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 ...
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Amazing Hiking Trails in Whistler

The Best Whistler & Garibaldi Park Hiking Trails!

Cheakamus River is a beautiful, crashing, turquoise coloured river that flows from Cheakamus Lake, through Whistler Interpretive Forest, then down past Brandywine Falls to Daisy Lake, then all the way to ...
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Helm Creek is a cute, meandering creek that winds its way from beyond Black Tusk, down the valley to the wonderful campground that takes its name. From the Helm Creek campground, Helm Creek descends further ...
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Garibaldi Lake is the centre and base for much of the hiking in Garibaldi Provincial Park. The Garibaldi Lake campsite is located on the amazing, turquoise shores of this massive and mostly still wild ...
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Ancient Cedars is a nice, easy/moderate 2.5 kilometre (1.6 mile) hiking trail on the far side of Cougar Mountain, just 13.1 kilometres north of Whistler Village. A small, untouched grove of huge western ...
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Whistler & Garibaldi Park Best Hiking by Month!

December hiking in Whistler is mainly done on snowshoes, though not always. If it hasn't snowed much recently then trails such as Whistler Train Wreck and ...
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There are plenty of beautiful and free snowshoe trails in Whistler and Garibaldi Provincial Park.  From the surreal paintings of Whistler Train Wreck to ...
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February is a great month for snowshoeing in Whistler and Garibaldi Park. The days slowly get longer, but the temperatures stay consistently cold.  Expect ...
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March is usually a snowy month in Whistler, though in 2024 not a whole lot of snow has fallen. Snowshoes are already not necessary for lots of trails in and ...
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Rent Hiking Gear Whistler and Garibaldi Park

Explore BC Hiking Destinations!

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