[kitya]

Iceberg lake - this is one of the newest trails and newest lakes. Since nwtrails is not updating since 2014, my gps topomap still shows the area as a glacier, but now glacier is only remaining at the very top and there is a new lake where glacier used to be a few years ago - Iceberg lake. Though it is still more iceberg than a lake. Iceberg lake is also one of the very few trails that are both easy to access (4x4 not required) and allow dogs. Most BC provincial parks around sea-to-sky hwy now don’t allow dogs. Whistler watershed also doesn’t allow dogs. Iceberg lake lays in the basin of Rainbow mountain just outside of the watershed closure and thus allows dogs. It is what is called ‘crown land’, essentially unprotected area. Most of it was used for logging (and still sometimes is) and now being on the north-east edge of Callaghan valley it is heavily used for commercial recreation – companies like Canadian Wilderness Adventures run tons of helicopter glacier tours, bear viewing tours, ATV and snowmobile tours and even Porsche Cayenne logging road driving tours. Mountain bikes and mud bikes are also allowed. Skywalk is a new trail system build by volunteers in the area. Trails are well marked, but form kind of maze with many intersecting trails for different uses and some intersections with active logging roads. It might be useful to download the trail map from the whistler’s website before you go: https://www.whistler.com/blog/post/2017/10/10/rainbow-mountain-trail-systems/ All areas around Whistler are in bear country. Sadly I didn’t see any bears this time, but their presence is obvious – bear poop is every few hundred feet along the trail. I love Washington cascades, but BC forests are way wilder and larger, even with the evidence of logging and new development everywhere around there is a sense of standing on the edge of a vast wild area. Some Canadian humor: one of the many bear poops along the trail head a bear bell sticking out of it. Grizzly bears are also known to be present in some parts of the Callaghan valley.

To get to Iceberg lake we just walked ’19 mile creek’ trail from the starting point at the end of Mountain View drive to the lake. One can probably use some glacier travel skills to get from there to the summit of rather imposing giant Rainbow mountain, but since the drive is so long we didn’t try that and went back right after reaching the lake. Even on Sunday me and Cookie had the area all to ourselves, though perhaps because this was early in the season and trail is still very new. Tourist helicopters flying above are a constant presence though and I’m sad to report they do scare marmots.

Another problem is probably parking. Hike starts from an unsigned trail in the middle of the cul-de-sac of Mountain View Drive street. This is new development area with a ton of new expensive single family houses and more being build right now. The road is paved and cul-de-sac is super wide with no houses build yet. The road had no-parking signs, but cul-de-sac didn’t, so I assumed I can just park there, since there is a lot of space and it is nice to finally find an alpine trail I can safely drive to in my Prius. Unfortunately, when I got back I found a ticket for parking violation ☹ There were 2 other cars and all got the same ticket. Thankfully Canada police is kind of nice and they only give a warning first time, but definitely not a place to park second time than. It is probably possible to park in pay parking a few miles away in the ski area and take a bus to the trail though.

10 miles r/t + 3400 ft gain, but you can make it longer by visiting other lakes or climbing the mountain if you wish: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/3778338685 On the way back there was a huge forest fire on Sea-to-sky hwy right before West Vancouver and traffic was horrendous. https://globalnews.ca/news/5422554/wildfire-sparks-north-of-west-vancouver/

[Gimpilator]

Cool hike. I'm planning to do Rainbow later this year. Do you think this trail would be a good starting point? I know of two other options.

[kitya]

[Backpacker Joe]

There is no trail into Iceberg lake!

[kitya]

[Waterman]

British Columbia has the good stuff. Never disappointed when I visit.

[Backpacker Joe]

[kitya]

[ChrisSJI]

I thought that lake is called grebecI...

[Foist]

In Glacier National Park, I once saw a big pile of grizzly scat with a bear bell in it. It was pretty close to Canada, so I guess that could have been the same Canadian humor.

[call-151]

Thanks for the report! That's crappy that they are ticketing at the end of Mountainview Drive now, I've parked there several times in the past without issue. The trail system was closed last fall due to grizzly encounters so I haven't been there in a while. Sadly, helicopters were a major problem on my last hike there as well, it's almost getting as bad as the north coast of Kauai.

[Brushbuffalo]

[Foist]

Yeah, when I saw the title I had assumed it was the Artist Point one, before I actually read it.

[Hiker Mama]

Spectacular photos! I haven't spent much time in Canada. I'll have to remedy that.