For the past few years, I have organized family-friendly summer trips with BCMC. I attended the Cathedral Lakes trip in 2023, and then I organized trips to Wedgemount Lake (2024) and Kees & Claire Hut (2025). This year, we planned a 3-night trip to Elfin Lakes Shelter from July 24-27.
I posted the trip on BCMC and had about 21 individuals join, including about 9 kids. Some people stayed for just a night or two, while others came in a day early. Initially, we had a group of 30 people, but because of bad weather, some people who had longer travel time or had young ones dropped out.
Elfin Lakes Trail
We left home around 7:30 a.m., and after a stop in Squamish, we reached the trailhead around 9:45 a.m. We didn’t have a problem finding parking at the Diamond Head trailhead, as the parking was managed using a day pass (or for people with a backcountry reservation).
In total, 11 people started the hike together around 10 am. But soon the group was spread out as the kids set a fast pace on the trail. It was Ananya’s first backcountry camping trip and carrying a heavy pack, but she did a great job hiking up with Kavya, Chloe and Elsa.
Ravi, Ananya’s dad, joined us for a day hike. He hiked ahead with the kids. Marcus and Regina hiked up together, while Kasturi and I were close behind them.
It took us just over an hour and a half to reach the Red Heather Hut. No one from our group was at the hut, so we continued our hike to Elfin Lakes shelter. From Red Heather, we took the well-marked summer (hiking) trail. We were at around 1500 m, hiking along the north side of Round Mountain; we got a good view of the shelter and the hike ahead.
Starting from the Diamond Head trailhead at around 980 m, we had now completed the majority of our elevation gain. We had a few more kilometres of rolling terrain till the trail drops to the Elfin Lakes and a few hundred metres to the Elfin Lakes shelter. It took us about three hours and ten minutes to reach the shelter from the parking lot. The kids had already been at the shelter for about twenty minutes or so.
Elfin Lakes Shelter
The shelter was built in the 1970s and sits at an elevation of 1470 m. Elfin Lakes Shelter is the largest Gothic arch hut in the Coast Mountains, and you can read more about it here. It is placed near the site of the Diamond Head Chalet, which was built in the 1940s by Ottar Brandvold, Emil Brandvold and Joan Mathews.
If you are interested in the history of the Diamond Head Chalet (Lodge), read this article from 1976 by Irene Howard and watch this video – (Part 1 and Part 2):
It has an overnight capacity of 33 people, and the nearby campsite can accommodate 35 tents. The hut is not as fancy as the Kees & Claire Memorial Hut, but it is a well-maintained shelter.
It has basic facilities including propane burners, some pots and utensils, bunk beds (11 double, 11 single) and pit toilets (separate building). There are 10L jugs in the kitchen, and people take turns bringing water from the lake. Propane also powers the heating (winter only) and lighting. All garbage needs to be packed out.
The bunk beds can be pretty tight for anyone taller than 5’8″. The lower bunk beds are double with the single bunk beds at the top. There are no mattresses, so everyone has to bring their sleeping pads as well as sleeping bags. Kavya and Kasturi had done an overnight snowshoeing trip to the shelter. For me and many others in our group, this was our first time staying here.
Diamond Head – Gargoyles
I had been training for my first ultra- Squamish 50k- and during the weekend at the shelter, I was planning to do some hikes/runs to get some more volume. It would be my final peak week before I taper for the race on August 16. Given the weather forecast, rain starting Saturday late morning, I wanted to do at least one hike after reaching the hut.
Celeste, Keith and Ravi had left for Gargoyles soon after reaching the hut, as Ravi still had to hike back down to the parking lot. Lorena and her son Joaquin also left for Gargoyles early in the afternoon. Kasturi decided to go to Gargoyles the next day with Elaine and her niece Kelsey.
Ben, who was joining this trip with his wife Martha and kids Leonora and Sebastian, was also doing the Squamish 50k. Ben and his family started later in the morning, so I knew it would be too late and not feasible for him to go out on a run. So after some rest, Marcus and I headed out with a plan to do Diamond Head.
Marcus wore his heavy hiking boots, but that didn’t slow him down. The poles did, so he ditched them shortly after we left the shelter. A few minutes later on the Mamquam Lake Trail, we were at a junction and continued straight on the Saddle Trail. We were soon at the Columnar Peak-Gargoyles saddle at about 1750 m.
Here we saw another trail runner coming down from Gargoyles and heading to Diamond Head, so we followed his trail. From the saddle, we dropped about 100+ m before starting the climb to Diamond Head. There were no trail signs, but with occasional cairns, it was easy to make our way up the mountain. Sections of snow were a welcome relief from the scree.
It took us about an hour and twenty-five minutes to reach the Diamond Head summit (2050 m). Atwell Peak was hidden in the clouds, but we had some amazing 360 views of the mountains and alpine lakes. After a brief rest, we made our way back down. Running/sliding down the snow was faster than pounding on the scree. Within 30 minutes, we were nearing the saddle, and it was only around 6:15 pm. We still had time, so we decided to go up the Gargoyles.
The short trail up the Gargoyles from the saddle was steep and had loose footing. Once we reached the top, GAIA maps showed that the summit was still farther along the ridge. So we continued to the narrow summit, with great views of the unique rock formation and the alpine lake.
On our way back, Marcus found an alternate route down the ridge, which was steep but offered a more stable trail with vegetation. It was an interesting way down the mountain, and we connected back on the trail in about 10-15 minutes. As we approached the shelter, we realized that we had an opportunity to finish our trip in three hours. So, we picked up our pace and made it back to the shelter with a minute to spare.
Total round trip of about 11.6 km with 1030 m of vertical in just under three hours. Felt pretty good. We wrapped up our outing with a quick dip in the first lake. Felt quite refreshing. I have a feeling that Marcus will soon be signing up for some trail races.
BCMC Group
By late afternoon, everyone had arrived at the shelter. Lindsey and her son Pelle had arrived a day earlier and were camping. We all met at the shelter later that evening, then made our way to the open area in front of the day-use shelter for a group photo. Just a few minutes before sunset, we had some great lighting and were lucky to have clear weather.
I have been with BCMC for about 10 years and have organized different types of trips. But these multi-day, family-friendly trips are probably my favourites. We have had participants from one year old to 77 years old join these trips, and everyone is so supportive of each other. Older kids babysit younger ones; adults pair up with other members for their adventures; and sometimes families join forces for a nearby hike, where the kids cheer each other on.
Over the last four years, individuals and families have joined us on these family-friendly trips, and we have built a strong relationship. Every year, we welcome more families, and it is a privilege to have these wonderful backcountry experiences. Without BCMC, this would not have been possible.
The weather was challenging, and we likely spent more time at the shelter than planned. But the group connected over food, games and stories. The girls did a great job with cooking and made pancakes and cheese quesadillas. They even went swimming in the lake when it was raining. Best part: none of the kids had any phones or tablets at the shelter.
Opal Cone
The second day (Saturday), I got up around 6:15 am. I was a bit sore from the Diamond Head/Gargoyles run but not too bad. After a light breakfast, I decided to go to Opal Cone and come back before it started raining around 10 am.
I had my running vest with two flasks, some gels and a water-resistant windbreaker. The Mamquam Lake Trail was easy to follow and had more runnable sections till I reached Ring Creek and its metal footbridge. This is the lowest point of the entire Elfin Lake – Opal Cone trail at around 1280 m. Past this creek, the trail gently climbs up, and I switched to hiking.
The valley was windy and beautiful. I made my way up the switchbacks to the ridge, then dropped down to the meadows, which had some beautiful wildflowers. From here, it was a short hike to the junction of the Opal Cone and Mamquam Lake trail.
I took the Opal Cone trail, hiking along a narrow ridge and then up a steep slope. There was a relatively easier way up the slope to the left, but I missed it on my way up. Once on the upper slopes of Opal Cone, the visibility was really bad, and I had to use GAIA maps to stay on the trail. There were sections of snow and some false summits with cairns, but I continued till I reached the Opal Cone summit as per GAIA.
It took me around an hour and thirty-five minutes to reach the summit (1730 m), but unlike Diamond Head, there were no views.
It was a quick descent down the Opal Cone trail with beautiful views of the turquoise lakes. Rampard Ponds and the campground were only a few kms away, but given the weather window, I decided to head back to the shelter.
Just as I was running down from the ridge to the Ring Creek, it started drizzling, and I put on my jacket. I saw another trail runner heading to Opal Cone. She was likely coming up from the Diamond Head parking lot and was doing the 35 km round trip in half a day. I was back at the hut by 9:30 am. The round trip was 15.4 km with 875 m vert and just under three hours. The timing was perfect, as Kavya and her friends were making pancakes. I devoured two hot pancakes with Nutella.
We had three other groups of two who did Opal Cone the same day – Lorena & Joaquin, Regina & Marcus, and Celeste & Keith. Rest of the group went up the Saddle Trail to Gargoyles. Ben was leading the group with the kids and decided to turn around near the Columnar Peak-Gargoyles saddle. While the kids were braving bad weather and steep terrain, they were all happy with the decision to turn around.
Early Departure
The original plan was to stay at the hut for three nights and depart on Monday. But the weather didn’t look good for either day. We agreed to head down a day early on Sunday. After breakfast, we cleaned up around the hut and left around 11 am. About a km or so from the hut, I saw three people hiking up with umbrellas. It was Oudi with his parents. I don’t know how he convinced them that 22 km round trip in rain with no views was a good idea.
It rained for the entire hike down, and most of us were wet to the bone. Everyone was eager to get to the car and change into some dry clothes or at least get out of the rain.
The wet weather made the trip a bit more challenging, but everyone, including the little ones, did great. I am already thinking about the family-friendly summer camp for next year and can’t wait to get this group together again.
Territory Acknowledgement
I would like to acknowledge that this trip took place on the unceded territory of the Coast Salish peoples, including the territories of the St’át’imc (Stat-lee-um), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Líl̓wat Nations. I commit to learning about Indigenous peoples and issues and making reconciliation an ongoing effort.
Source: Native-Land Pronunciation Guide: First-Nations.info
Resources:
First Nations: Squamish | Líl̓wat | St’át’imc
Garibaldi Provincial Park: BC Parks Website
Elfin Lakes Shelter: BC Parks | Reservation
BC Mountaineering Club: BCMC Website
Weather: Yr.No | Windy | SpotWx
AdventureSmart: Trip Planning
Disclosure: The links I have shared in the post and under the Resources section are not affiliated links.
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