Joffre Lake Hike
A blast of a hike in the Pemberton area
CANADA
The picturesque Joffre Lake, was our first out-of-town mini vacation with little Aliya. As it was our first time travelling as a family unit, we wanted to venture somewhere we could drive to, so we could bring along all the stuff a baby needs!
The Joffre Lake hike is a 10 km round trip trail located 3 hours north of Vancouver. It is one of the most popular hikes in British Columbia, Canada. It is a relatively easy to access glacier view lakes compared to other alpine lakes in the region. Due to its popularity, you must register for a day use pass on the BC Parks website in order to be permitted to do the hike.
After viewing the first lake, we headed back up the trail to the fork and turned left to begin our hike to Middle and Upper Joffre Lakes. The path crossed a bridge and continued to follow the trail along the edge of the lake. After 5 minutes, the trail began to head uphill and continued through forested area. After about 20 minutes, we came to a clearing as the route opened up for views across the valley and looked back in the direction we came from.
After the trail passed near Joffre Creek on the left, it climbed through a couple of switchbacks where we could see the Lower Lake in the distance. Not much further, and the trail began to level. Just around the corner, views of the turquoise Middle Joffre Lake could be seen between the trees as we continued along the trail. The trail arrived at a viewpoint at the second lake where the glacier served as a stunning background scenery.
After viewing the waterfall, we returned to the trail and continued hiking uphill and within 15 minutes, after crossing another small wooden bridge, we saw glimpses of Upper Joffre Lakes through the trees. We followed a long walk around the lake that followed a narrow trail with roots and rocks. As we reached the end, the trail opened up and Upper Joffre Lake became visible along with views looking up towards the glacier.
After taking photographs and enjoying the alpine views, we made our way back to the trail and started our descent back downhill towards Middle Joffre Lakes and eventually back to the start of the trail and parking lot. In total we spent about 6 hours on the hike out and back and taking in all the scenery.
At the second lake we stopped to have lunch. Aliya had a few bites of crackers but mostly had fun watching the birds fly from branch to branch.
After our short break, we continued hiking along the trail as it crossed a wooden bridge and passed a log floating in the water. After the Middle Joffre Lakes area, a short trail led off to the right where there was a scenic waterfall along the river connecting Upper and Middle Joffre Lakes.
In total, the hiking trail passes all three lakes and reaches the campsite next to Upper Joffre Lake where Matier Glacier hangs impressively high above. Our goal was to reach the third lake, capture the views and have lunch on the trail. With all the natural beauty, Aliya was mesmerized and babbled to herself on the hike up.
The first lake was only a few minutes walk from the parking lot just off the Duffey Lake Road north of Pemberton. The view was amazing and the glacier could be seen from this viewpoint on a sunny day, perched high above in the mountains.
An excellent hike with impressive views that we highly recommend. Happy exploring!
