At BC Mountaineering Club, I had posted a 3-day trip to climb some routes in the Mount Rexford area for Aug 6-8, but it got postponed due to bad weather. Oudi suggested we do a day trip on Saturday and hike up to Lake Lovely Water. The forecast was for rain throughout the day, not ideal, but okay for a good workout on a relatively remote trail.
Lake Lovely Water is an alpine lake at around 1150 m, and the trail starts from the west side of the Squamish River. Crossing the river is an adventure in itself and can be the most challenging part of this hike.
Oudi and I left Vancouver around 6 am and parked in at a pullout on Squamish Valley Road. There seemed to be a trail from this pullout going to the river from the tracks we had downloaded. But it was overgrown, and we decided to walk back to the yellow gate.
The road past the yellow gate that leads to the river is on Squamish Nation territory. As a courtesy, I had called the Squamish Nation office the day before and sought permission to access the river. It took us about 20 minutes to get to the river.
Oct 10, 2023 Update: Based on the request from Environment and Climate Change Canada (see comment at the bottom of the page), I have taken out the section related to the river crossing. Please cross the river responsibly.
Lake Lovely Water Trail
Once on the other side of the river, the trail follows the riverbank for half a km and then continues left into the forest. Soon, we saw some markers, and it was easy to follow the trail.
It’s a dense old-growth forest, and hiking through it was a fantastic experience. Now and then, we would stop, look around and admire the beauty of this special place.
Higher up, we were hiking next to a roaring creek and saw some beautiful waterfalls.
The trail is rugged and steep and gets even more challenging past the big waterfall.
It took us about three hours from the west side of the river to get up to the lake. From the river, it was a 6.5 km hike with close to 1150 m elevation gain.
Descent
It was rainy and windy at the lake, so we got back on the trail, changed into some dry clothes and started our hike down. It was close to 1 pm, and we wanted to be down in time to cross the river in the canoe.
We took our lunch break at the waterfall on our way down. It was a beautiful spot.
After a long break, we were back on the trail and got down at a good pace.
Once we had crossed the river, it was a short walk back to the car. Car to car, it had taken us about nine hours to hike just over 16 km with a total vertical of about 1250 m, plus the river crossing. It was a unique hike with some great views and an excellent workout.
Resources:
Tantalus Provincial Park: BC Parks Website
GPX Tracks in GAIA
Weather Forecast: Yr.No | Spot WX | Windy
Leave a Trip Plan: AdventureSmart
Disclosure: I am not affiliated with any of the above organizations.
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Hello,
I am contacting you as a representative of Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC). ECCC owns and operates a cableway across the Squamish River that you have referenced on your website:
• Lake Lovely Water Hike (shashishanbhag.com)
This cableway is owned by the Federal Government of Canada and is located on Squamish Nation territory. Unauthorized passage through Squamish Nation land and unauthorized use of this cableway are both illegal. Your website provides detailed instructions on how to perform these illegal activities and promotes these illegal activities to the wider public.
The unauthorized use of this cableways has jeopardized the safety of my staff and cost our organization more than $80,000 in repairs over the last two years alone. I do not speak for the Squamish Nation, but I am confident they will have similar misgivings over the unauthorized use of their land.
In an effort to reduce the illegal access and use of this cableway, I request that you remove all references of the cableway, instructional material, and promotional material from your website.
Please have this material removed as soon as possible. I will check your website again in two weeks (October 2, 2023) to determine if any action has been taken. Failure to act on this issue may result in the following steps:
• Involving the ECCC legal department to investigate possible litigation.
• Involving the Squamish RCMP to investigate the potentially criminal activities documented on your site.
I trust you will make the responsible decision and thank you in advance for your help on this matter.
Thank you for sharing the concerns Michael. I have updated the post.