Joffre Lakes

For the first week of July, by luck, I happened to find myself with a 5 day stretch off work. I debated between surfing on a Hawaiian island or road tripping with Becky, up through the Canadian wilderness. Obviously I went with the latter, cheaper option, with Joffre Lakes being my main focus. 

If you've ever been to Whistler (along highway BC-99), the trailhead for Joffre Lakes is about 1 hour past that, so get yourself prepped for a long, but beautiful car ride. I got the trailhead around 1am. That's what I get for watching the sunset at Stanley Park. I found ample parking, and there were plenty of other car campers & RVs on the lot. By 5am, you could hear people around the trailhead slowly waking up & heading up the trail.

The hike itself actually includes 3 lakes, with the first one being just a 2 minute walk from the trailhead. With that said, I personally didn't think Lower Joffre Lake was anything to brag about, but there are a few nice benches to sit at. 

Back tracking & heading towards the second lake, you'll encounter a nice wooden bridge, some steep switchbacks, & a barrage of stairs before arriving at "Middle Joffre Lake." Here you'll find the popular floating tree that everyone Instagrams about. Depending on the water levels, and how wet you feel like getting, you can stand out pretty far.

Then ten minutes before reaching the 3rd and final lake, you'll encounter a massive waterfall on your right. This spot also has a few benches available, making it great resting spot, but also prone to being pretty crowded. Luckily, I found the waterfall on the way up, with no one around me! :) 

All in all, the hike made the drive extremely worth it! Plus on the way back down, towards Vancouver, there are plenty of waterfalls & lookouts to check out, as well as Whistler Village. If you ever have the time, I'd definitely make a 2-3 day trip out of this. I can't wait to come back for a whole week and check out Banff! Thanks for reading! - Jen