Corrie Lake is the surreal looking lake that can be seen across the valley from Whistler Mountain. While hiking the High Note trail along Whistler Mountain it slowly comes into view, seemingly hanging in the forest on an otherwise steep sided, broad mountain. The broad mountain that Corrie Lake sits within is called Corrie Ridge, which extend from Corrie Peak to Gentian Ridge. The ridge is named Corrie Ridge because Corrie Peak is the highest peak along the ridge.
Corrie Lake, Corrie Peak, Corrie Ridge, Corrie Glacier and Corrie Creek all derive their name from the observation in 1916 by provincial botanist John Davidson who compared the lake to the corries of Lochnagar and Braeriach in the Cairngorms of Scotland. Corries are glacier carved lakes usually found on the north facing slopes of mountains in the northern hemisphere. Corries in the western world are more commonly called cirques, though corrie is generally used in the United Kingdom. A corrie or cirque results from a north-facing glacier repeatedly gouging out a hollow where a lake forms. Every year as more rock is gouged out, the deeper, thicker and heavier the glacier gets and therefore the gouging force progressively increases. Interestingly, this process tends to confine itself to a somewhat standard size. Generally corries/cirques settle into a circumference of just under one kilometre. The back wall of the corrie/cirque gets steeper due to freeze-thaw weathering and plucking and the base becomes deeper due to erosion. The glacier is heavier as it moves downhill causing it to move in a circular motion known as rotational slip as it moves out of the hollow it created. The lake produced by this geologic process is circular in shape. Cirque is derived by the French from the Latin word for circus, which translates to English as circle. Corrie Lake has a somewhat circular shape and Cirque Lake in Callaghan Valley has an even more symmetrical shape to it.
Cirque Lake is a wild and beautiful lake that hides high above and beyond Callaghan Lake in Callaghan Lake Provincial Park. What makes Cirque Lake special among the other sensationally beautiful lakes in the Whistler area is both its location and geologically formed shape. It sits high above Callaghan Lake, which itself is a gorgeous, mountain lake. The remoteness of Callaghan Lake is a bit of a mirage due to the fact that you can drive right to it!
More Whistler & Garibaldi Park Hiking A to Z!
Bench: a flat section in steep terrain. Characteristically narrow, flat or gently sloping with steep or vertical slopes on either side. A bench can be ...
Scree: from the Norse “skridha”, landslide. The small, loose stones covering a slope. Also called talus, the French word for slope. Scree is mainly formed ...
Whistler can be expensive. Everything worth doing seems to cost a lot of money. But if you step back from the noise and crowds you may spot some secret ...
Moraines are glacially deposited ridges of debris that accumulate at the sides or terminus of a glacier. Lateral moraines form at the sides of glaciers ...
Mount Garibaldi is the huge, potentially active volcano that Garibaldi Provincial Park is named after. Mount Garibaldi also lends its name to the Garibaldi ...
Cornice: a wind deposited wave of snow on a ridge, often overhanging a steep slope or cliff. They are the result of snow building up on the crest of a ...
Armchair Glacier is one of the many easily identifiable mountain features around Whistler. Along with Wedge Mountain and Black Tusk, Armchair Glacier has a ...
Brandywine Falls is one of the must see sights on the drive to or from Whistler, and arguably the nicest of Whistler’s numerous beautiful waterfalls. Located about halfway between Squamish and Whistler, the ...
Callaghan Lake Park is a relatively untouched wilderness of rugged mountainous terrain. The valley walls were formed by relatively recent glaciation. Evidence of this can be seen in the considerable glacial ...
Madeley Lake is a gorgeous mountain lake located high up in the Callaghan Valley just a short drive past Alexander Falls. From Whistler Village it takes about 50 minutes to drive the 27.4 kilometres to get ...
Brew Lake is beautiful mountain lake just a short drive south of Whistler and is relatively unknown and seldom hiked. Laying at the base of Mount Brew, Brew Lake lays in a massive alpine valley of enormous ...
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 ...
February is a great month for snowshoeing in Whistler and Garibaldi Park. The days slowly get longer, but the temperatures stay consistently cold. Expect ...
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 ...
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 ...
Corrie Lake is the surreal looking lake that can be seen across the valley from Whistler Mountain. While hiking the High Note trail along Whistler Mountain it slowly comes into view, seemingly hanging in the forest on an otherwise steep sided, broad mountain. The broad mountain that Corrie Lake sits within is called Corrie Ridge, which extend from Corrie Peak to Gentian Ridge. The ridge is named Corrie Ridge because Corrie Peak is the highest peak along the ridge.
Alexander Falls 
Ancient Cedars 
Black Tusk 
Blackcomb Mountain 
Cheakamus River 
Cirque Lake 
Sproatt East 
Wedgemount Lake 
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