Garibaldi Provincial Park: Elfin Lakes, Mamquam Lake, the Gargoyles and Columnar Peak (4 days / 50 km)
Elfin Lakes is one of the most iconic hiking locations in British Columbia and is a must-do on any backpacking trip along the scenic Sea to Sky highway. Elfin Lakes is a spectacular backpacking trip in its own right. While it is doable as a day hike, at least one night at the backcountry campground or hut is recommended to experience waking up to the quintessentially BC view of sunrise colours juxtaposed against snow-capped mountains.
From Elfin Lakes, there are a plethora of trail options to extend the trip into 3 or 4 days, including trails to The Gargoyles, Columnar Peak, Diamond Head, the Opal Cone, Rampart Ponds, and Mamquam Lake. We opted to make our trip 4 days and 3 nights. On day 1, we hiked to Elfin Lakes where we camped. On day 2, we hiked to Rampart Ponds to set up camp and then onto Mamquam Lake for a refreshing dip. On day 3, we opted to spend another night camping at Elfin Lakes and enjoyed an afternoon swim followed by a leisurely golden hour walk around the lakes. On day 4, we rose early to hike up to the Gargoyles and Columnar Peak, before returning to Elfin Lakes to break camp and hike back down to the trailhead.
Trip Completed: August 2024
Trip Summary
Total Distance: 50 km, including hiking from Elfin Lakes to the Gargoyles and Columnar Peak on day 4. Without this additional hike, the total distance was 44 km. (These are the distances recorded on my Garmin. Gaia GPS plots the aggregate distance as 48 km.)
Elevation Gain: 2,501 m. 1,968 m excluding the Gargoyles and Columnar Peak. (These are the elevation gains recorded on my Garmin. Gaia GPS plots the aggregate elevation gain as 2,620 m.)
Difficulty: Strong beginner/intermediate to Elfin Lakes. Intermediate/advanced to Rampart Ponds and Mamquam Lake. This difficulty rating is based on distance, elevation gain/loss, and terrain. Advanced navigation skills are not required.
Location: The Diamond Head area of Southern Garibaldi Provincial Park, near Squamish, BC. An AWD or 4WD is recommended to reach the trailhead.
Traditional Territory: This route takes place on the traditional territory of Skwxwu7mesh (Squamish) Nation (source).
Maps & Resources
Guidebook: We didn’t use a guidebook. Friends of ours who hike in the area recommend ‘Backpacking in Southwestern British Columbia’ by Squamish local, Taryn Eyton.
Map: We didn’t bring a physical map and instead relied upon maps downloaded to our phones. We found the trail easy to navigate and didn’t need a physical map or compass.
AllTrails maps:
For Gaia GPS users, I have created a single map plotting this whole route:
Interactive Map: Click here to view and modify this route using the interactive Route Planner
Permits & Reservations
Campsite Reservations: Bookings for backcountry campgrounds and the Elfin Lakes backcountry hut are required and can be made through BC Parks Online Reservations. Backcountry camping and hut reservations can be made up to four months in advance, from 7 am PST.
Permits: Backcountry camping reservations act as your permit. A separate permit is not required. It is recommended to have two printed copies of your reservation, one to leave on display in your car, and one to keep with you.
For those thinking of a day hike on this trail, a day-use pass is also required. Day-use passes are available through BC Parks Online Day Use Registration up to 2 days in advance, from 7 am PST.
Know Before You Go
Season: The best time to travel is July – September.
Winter camping is permitted by reservation in Garibaldi backcountry campgrounds and huts so this is also an option as a winter hiking/snowshoeing route from November – April. The Diamond Head area of Garibaldi Provincial Park is an intermediate to advanced ski touring area.
Cell Reception: There was intermittent cell reception at the trailhead and close to the BC Parks ranger station at Elfin Lakes. There was no cell reception between Elfin Lakes and Mamquam Lake or the Gargoyles / Columnar Peak.
Water: There are no water sources at the trailhead or on the trail up to Elfin Lakes. At Elfin Lakes, the upper lake is designated for drinking water only, whilst the lower lake is designated for swimming. From Elfin Lakes to Mamquam Lake, water can be collected from two creeks, Ring Creek and Zigzag Creek, which the trail crosses over by bridge, from four ponds at the Rampart Ponds campground, and from Mamquam Lake. All water collected en route should be filtered, boiled or treated before drinking. We used a Katadyn Be Free filter bottle and carried water purification tablets as a backup option.
Wildlife: Black bears are very active in Garibaldi Provincial Park. We saw a black bear on day 3 of our trip and plenty of bear scat along the trail. Be bear aware, carry bear spray, keep a ‘bare’ campsite, and familiarise yourself with BC Parks’ wildlife safety advice. Elfin Lakes and Rampart Ponds campgrounds both have bear hangs/lockers to secure food, toiletries, garbage, and any other items which have a scent and may be a bear attractant.
Waste: There are pit toilets at the Diamond Head parking lot, Red Heather Meadows shelter, Elfin Lakes campground, and Rampart Ponds campground. For the campgrounds, bring your own toilet paper and hand sanitizer. There are no garbage cans at the trailhead or en route. All garbage must be packed out.
Other: Mountain bikes are permitted as far as Elfin Lakes but no further, so it is possible to bikepack part of this trail. Dogs are not permitted anywhere within Garibaldi Provincial Park so will need to be left at home. There were lots of mosquitos at both campgrounds and at Mamquam Lake. Be sure to pack insect repellant. We were quite envious of fellow campers who had bug net hats!
Outfitters & Shuttles
Outfitter: We did not use an outfitter as we had all of our own hiking and camping gear. The closest town to the trailhead is Squamish, and it may be possible to hire gear from here if required from companies such as Spearhead Outfitters.
Shuttle: This route starts and ends at the same place so a shuttle is not required. The trailhead is not accessible by public transport. For those who don’t have a car, it is 19 km from downtown Squamish to the Diamond Head parking lot where the trail begins. It may be possible to arrange a taxi / private transfer from Squamish to the trailhead. Squamish itself is accessible by bus from Vancouver.
Trip Report
Day 1: Diamond Head Parking Lot to Elfin Lakes
Driving to the trailhead: We drove to the trailhead from Whistler where we had been camping and hiking for a few days. After breaking camp and preparing our packs (which always takes so much longer than we think it will), we drove south on the Sea to Sky Highway to Squamish where we grabbed a late breakfast and cup of tea from Tim Horton’s and picked up a few last minute trip essentials (lots of sanitizer) from Canadian Tire. From Squamish, it is a 19 km drive to the trailhead, much of which is on a forest service road which is in fairly good condition.
Our car is a small SUV (Nissan Rogue) with AWD and managed the FSR with ease. The majority of the cars in the car park had AWD / 4WD, but there were several 2WD cars which had made it up there. A BC parks ranger was stationed on the FSR leading up to the trailhead to check reservations, so ensure you have a valid reservation before attempting the trail. There are pit toilets at the trailhead for a comfort break before you set off.
Trailhead to Elfin Lakes: The trail is both well-maintained and well-marked, making it very easy to follow. Bikes are permitted as far as Elfin Lakes, so hikers need to keep an eye and ear out for mountain bikers. The first 7 km of the trail is a continuous, gradual incline, over which you gain 600+ metres of elevation. This part of the trail winds through dense forest up to the Red Heather Meadows where it starts to open out. Red Heather Meadows has a day-use shelter and a pit toilet so it offers a good opportunity for a rest/comfort break if needed. Shortly after the Red Heather Meadows, the trail forks.
In the summer, hikers should take the left fork, which is a shorter route on which bikes aren’t permitted. The right fork is for mountain bikers and for winter use. After Red Heather Meadows, the trail emerges above the treeline and offers stunning panoramic mountain views on clear days, but leaves you open to the elements. The weather at this elevation is very changeable, so pack waterproofs as well as sunscreen and a cap, even in the summer. The final 3.5 km of the trail is undulating, but mostly downhill, down to Elfin Lakes. The final few kilometres to Elfin Lakes become rockier, but the terrain is still strong and beginner / intermediate-friendly.
We started hiking at 1:25 pm and made it to Elfin Lakes Campground in 2 hrs 30 mins, including a couple of water breaks. We find we are generally quick hikers and, even when carrying 15kg+ packs, overtook quite a few other backpackers en route.
It was unfortunately very drizzly with low cloud coverage on the first day of our trip, so much so that we didn’t spot the lower lake until it was only a few meters away! As a result, we didn’t get to enjoy any views from the trail or campground. We had originally planned to do a sunset hike up to the Gargoyles, but visibility was too poor. Instead, we fired up our JetBoil to make a cup of tea and a Happy Yak ‘Chili Fiesta’ for dinner. My partner also went for a quick swim in the lower lake, and we then stowed away in our tent and read our Kindles.
Campsite: Elfin Lakes Campground. This is a popular and fairly busy backcountry campground. It has 35 tent platforms, a backcountry shelter which sleeps 33 people in 11 double bunks and 11 single bunks, a day-use shelter with indoor picnic tables, outdoor picnic tables, 4 bear hangs, and pit toilets. Water can be collected from the upper lake, and should be filtered, boiled, or treated before drinking.
Elfin Lakes Shelter: The Elfin Lakes shelter includes picnic tables, propane burners with propane supplied by BC parks, counters, a propane heater, solar-powered lights, and pit toilets. During the summer months, helicopter resources are limited due to wildfire efforts. As such, BC Parks may not be able to resupply the shelter with propane frequently. Before you go, ensure you check for any advisories on propane levels and whether you need to bring your own stove and fuel.
| Total Distance | 10.6 km |
| Elevation Gain | 679 m ascent // 195 m descent |
| Campsite Reservation | Backcountry Reservation: Elfin Lakes Campground |
Day 2: Elfin Lakes to Rampart Ponds and Mamquam Lake
We awoke on the second morning of our trip hopeful that we’d unzip our tent to find the clouds had lifted and we’d be able to gaze upon the towering mountains surrounding the campground. Alas, we instead found the cloud was even thicker. We broke camp, made oatmeal for breakfast and lingered over our morning tea/coffee, before hitting the trail at 11:15 am, optimistic that the cloud would dissipate on our way to Rampart Ponds. It did not.
Elfin Lakes to Rampart Ponds: The trail from Elfin Lakes to Rampart Ponds is undulating, with a total ascent of 456 m, and a total descent of 430 m on the outbound journey. When you first leave Elfin Lakes, the trail is exposed, quite wide and a little bit rocky but not particularly technical. Take a right out of the campground, and when you come to a junction, keep right again and follow signs to Mamquam Lake. The left fork takes you to the Gargoyles, Columnar Peak, and Diamond Head. After about 1 km, you descend into a more sheltered forest, and the trail narrows. For stretches, the trail is only passable in a single file.
Two kilometres out from Elfin Lakes, the trail emerges from the trees and descends into the first of two valleys the trail passes through. The first valley leads down to Ring Creek. When we hiked the trail during mid-August, the first part of the trail leading down to Ring Creek was abundant with wildflowers, which were a welcome kaleidoscope of colour amongst the dreary clouds. The trail here becomes quite steep, narrow, and technical in places, and culminates in a steep staircase down to a narrow but sturdy metal bridge crossing Ring Creek.
After crossing Ring Creek, the trail travels uphill following the creek north to a series of switchbacks that lead to the Opal Cone junction. At the junction, the left fork leads to the Opal Cone, and the right fork continues on to Rampart Ponds campground and Mamquam Lake. We had hoped to detour via the Opal Cone, but visibility was still poor so we carried on straight to Rampart Ponds. From the Opal Cone junction, the Mamquam Lake trail takes you through an otherworldly volcanic plain which is like a moonscape. This starts about 6 km from Elfin Lakes.
On a clear day, this is a great spot for viewing the Lava Glacier. When researching this trip, I read that this area can be flooded by glacier melt, and may require wading across up to waist-deep waters. In mid-August, the trail through this plain was dry, with no flooded sections, but keep this in mind if you’re planning on doing this trail in the spring. At a couple of points along the trail, there are washouts to navigate. They are manageable but do require a bit of scrambling with your hands in places.
After the volcanic plain, the trail descends to cross Zigzag Creek by way of another narrow but sturdy metal bridge. You hit Zigzag Creek just under 8 km from Elfin Lakes. From Zigzag Creek, the trail continues uphill for 1.5 km to Rampart Ponds. The final part of the trail becomes rocky with sections of loose scree.
The trail from Elfin Lakes to Rampart Ponds is much quieter than from the trailhead up to Elfin Lakes. We were the first people to arrive at Rampart Ponds and had our pick of the tent pads. It took us 2 hours 50 to reach Rampart Ponds campground, including water and granola bar stops. Whilst the total elevation gain was less than on day 1, we found this part of the trail was more challenging than the first stretch to Elfin Lakes due to the more technical terrain and changes in elevation.
Roundtrip from Rampart Ponds to Mamquam Lake: The trail to Mamquam Lake from Rampart Ponds campground is a short and steep descent through a forest to the lakeshore and a steep uphill hike on the way back. There had been a fair amount of rain when we hiked, and the trail was slippery in places. We didn’t see a single other person either on the trail or at Mamquam Lake. We made the most of the privacy and chanced a refreshing skinny dip in the lake.
The lake bed slopes gradually and stays shallow for a long way out. We gave up wading out deep enough to go for a proper swim just in case anyone else did emerge from the trees, and also because we were being followed by some particularly tenacious mosquitos. After hiking back to the campground, we made a cup of tea and enjoyed a slice of banana bread before retiring to our tent again to hide from the drizzle.
We ascended and descended 263 m in total and the roundtrip, including time to swim, change, filter water and replenish our water bottles, took 1 hr 30.
Campsite: Rampart Ponds backcountry campground. This is a much smaller and quieter campground than Elfin Lakes and feels much more remote. It has 12 tent pads, a pit toilet, and bear lockers. Water can be collected from 4 nearby ponds, or from Mamquam Lake, and should be filtered, boiled, or treated before drinking.
| Total Distance | 12.3 km |
| Elevation Gain | 737 m ascent // 705 m descent |
| Campsite Reservation | Backcountry Reservation: Rampart Ponds Campground |
A narrow but sturdy bridge across Ring Creek
Day 3: Rampart Ponds to Elfin Lakes
We woke on day 3, delighted to finally see the clouds starting to lift! When we arrived at the campground the day before, the clouds had been so heavy we hadn’t been able to see the ponds. In the morning, we not only enjoyed a view of the ponds but also the mountains encircling the campground. After crossing Zigzag Creek and climbing uphill to the volcanic plain, we were treated to stunning views of the Lava Glacier.
The Opal Cone was still partially covered in clouds, so we decided to make our way straight back to Elfin Lakes Campground. This was the right decision as we were treated to some fantastic wildlife sightings further down the trail. We saw a couple of marmots up close on the descent to Ring Creek and, looking back over the valley as we hiked uphill from the creek, we spotted a black bear. We were a safe distance away and were in a great spot to linger for a few minutes and watch the bear foraging and meandering along the other side of the valley.
As with day 2, the trail was undulating with a lot of ups and downs (just in reverse). On the way back to Elfin Lakes, we ascended 426 m and descended 459 m in total. The trail felt easier heading back, partly because we descended more overall, but also because the clouds had lifted enough for us to take in the views and really enjoy the scenery around us.
We arrived back at Elfin Lakes after 2 hrs 50, including water breaks, a snack stop, time to watch the marmots and bear we saw on trail, and time chatting with a few other hikers we met en route. After setting up camp, we went for a much-needed swim in the lower lake. The lower lake is large enough and deep enough to swim good-sized laps. Wild swimmers will love it! After our swim, we made dinner and went for a golden hour walk around the lakes to take in the glorious scenery which had been hidden on our first night. It was simply stunning, and we finally saw why Elfin Lakes is rightly so popular!
Campsite: Elfin Lakes Campground. See day 1 summary for more info.
| Total Distance | 8.7 km |
| Elevation Gain | 449 m ascent // 481 m descent |
| Campsite Reservation | Backcountry Reservation: Elfin Lakes Campground |
Day 4: Elfin Lakes to the Gargoyles and Columnar Peak, then Diamond Head Trailhead
Elfin Lakes to the Gargoyles and Columnar Peak: Our original plan to do a sunset hike to the Gargoyles and Columnar Peak on day 1 of the trip was thwarted by bad weather, so we were pretty excited when we awoke on day 4 to see the sun breaking through the clouds. We decided to squeeze this hike in before heading back. We set out on the same trail as we did on day 2, but took the left fork for the Gargoyles and Columnar Peak, rather than the right fork for the Mamquam Lake trail.
After leaving Elfin Lakes, the first 750 m of this trail is downhill, the uphill then starts and it gets progressively steeper and more technical until you reach a saddle. The trail up to the saddle starts off in patches of trees and becomes exposed as it gets steeper. The ground itself was crumbly, making the going hard in places, especially coming back down.
From the saddle, it is a left turn for Columnar Peak and a right turn for the Gargoyles. We headed to the Gargoyles first. This was the steepest trail we encountered on the whole trip, particularly the last 100 m or so to the summit. We had to use our hands to help get up in places and had to be careful coming back down.
The trail to Columnar Peak in the other direction on the saddle is not as steep as the one to the Gargoyles, but it is narrow. There are also patches of overgrown foliage which you need to find a way around / through. We made it to within 100 m away from the end of the trail but then hit a particularly overgrown patch which would have required crawling under low branches and over roots. As we had to get back to pack up and vacate our tent pad before noon, we decided to head back down from there.
The roundtrip up to the Gargoyles and Columnar Peak was 6.5 km with 533 m of elevation gain. This took us 2 hrs 15, including stops to take in the views, and to chat to a lovely couple we met making their way up as we were coming down. We otherwise had the trail to ourselves.
On getting back to Squamish after the hike, we discovered that we achieved the 6th fastest recorded time on Strava’s “Elfin Lakes to the Gargoyles’ segment with a time of 46:31. This has sparked my competitive nature, and I now want to go back and try to climb higher up the rankings!
Elfin Lakes to the trailhead: We took our time hiking from Elfin Lakes back to the trailhead so that we could take in the mountain views that we missed on day 1. The first 3.5 km is an undulating uphill climb with beautiful views of the surrounding mountains. The final 7 km descends back through Red Heather Meadows and forest.
It took us 2 hrs 10 in total from Elfin Lakes back to the trailhead, including a couple of stops for water.
| Total Distance | 16.5 km |
| Elevation Gain | 703 m ascent // 1187 descent |
| Campsite Reservation | N/A |
Reflections
Whilst we had to change our plans slightly due to poor weather and visibility on days 1 and 2, we managed to hike to nearly all of the places we had planned to other than the Opal Cone, found the trails easy to navigate, and were able to maintain a strong hiking pace.
Our highlights were having Mamquam Lake entirely to ourselves for a much-needed refreshing (skinny) dip on day 2, watching a black bear going about its day near Ring Creek on day 3, enjoying a golden hour walk around Elfin Lakes on our final evening of camping, and the rich variety of terrain and views on the trail. During our trip, we enjoyed hiking from lush temperate forests and through an abundance of colourful wildflowers, to barren, rocky moonscapes, and gazing upon tranquil alpine lakes, snow-capped mountains, and the majestic Lava Glacier.
Author Bio
Jasmine, originally from England, is now based in British Columbia. She is a lawyer by trade and is always planning her next adventure on the side. Outside of work, Jasmine loves spending as much time outdoors as possible, either horse riding, hiking, running, or dog walking.
Website: Travel and Adventure. Horse Riding. Running. Vegetarian Food.
Instagram: @roamrideandrun
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