Alouette Lake Kayak Trip

September 5, 2026August 21, 2026 / Maria / Leave a comment

It’s been an interesting summer for kayaking. Usually we do a lot of kayaking in the Spring, focusing mostly on day trips, and one multi-night trip before the end of the season. This Spring, we barely did any kayaking aside from a long weekend trip to Pitt Lake. Seth’s been in school, so it’s hard to accommodate his schedule, but I wanted to do a second trip and we opted to visit Alouette Lake in Golden Ears Park in mid-July. I really wanted to rush up to the lake after work on Friday so that we could spend 2 nights on the lake, but Seth had too much school work, so instead, we drove to the lake early on Saturday morning.

Alouette Lake is a well known destination in the lower mainland. It’s located in Golden Ears Provincial Park, one of the easiest to access locations for frontcountry camping. As a result, the lake is always very busy on the weekends. It’s hard to get frontcountry campsites and you need a free day pass just to enter the park. It used to be easier to backcountry camp in the park, but they’ve recently brought in a reservation system for Viewpoint Beach and Panorama Ridge, so now you have to plan in advance if you want to go backpacking.

Fortunately, it’s still easy to plan marine camping. There are several marine campsites located on the lake and they are all first-come-first-serve. You do need a permit to camp there, but they’re available at camping.bcparks.ca for $5 per person, per night, 2 weeks before your trip. I’m not sure how popular the campsites are in mid-summer. Even though we visited in the middle of July, it rained on and off on Saturday morning, likely deterring some people and meaning that it wasn’t busy. There’s not that many campsites and not a lot of room for overflow, so finding a site could be a problem on a nice weekend.

Alouette Lake is one big, long lake, but it almost feels like two lakes because it gets so narrow at the midpoint of the lake that it gives the illusion of two lakes. Even from South Beach, you can see all the way up the lake to what is known as “the narrows”. There are 3 marine campsites on the lake, as well as East Beach Campsite, which I don’t include because it’s located at the south end of the lake and is accessible by vehicle. I believe it has its own booking website, but the other sites are all FCFS.

The first site is called Moyer Creek. It’s located roughly 10km from South Beach, approximately 1km before the narrows. The second site is located in the narrows and is aptly called, The Narrows. The final site is called Alouette River and is located at the very back of the lake, roughly 18km from South Beach. My ideal trip would have been to paddle to Moyer Creek, camp two nights, and day trip to Alouette River in between. But since we only had one night, we just paddled to Moyer Creek.

It can get very windy on Alouette Lake, so I always advise to paddle early. The wind is almost always blowing north, meaning it should be an easy paddle up the lake and a challenging paddle on the way back. We’ve done day trips on the lake a few times, going as far as Gold Creek and North Beach, which is a 5km paddle from South Beach, but we’d never been further. It was raining when we left South Beach at 9am, but the water was relatively calm as we paddled to Gold Creek. We took a snack break at the entrance to Gold Creek before continuing on towards Moyer Creek.

Unfortunately, it was at this point in the trip that the wind picked up, earlier than we expected, and just our luck, it was blowing south. This meant that we had a pretty rough headwind for the last 5km to Moyer Creek. It wasn’t so windy that it was unsafe, but it was windy enough that it wasn’t a comfortable paddle and it required a lot more energy to battle the wind. We put our heads down and paddled hard until we got to the back of the lake.

The campsite is a little bit confusing upon first visit. There’s not really one central place to camp, it’s more a series of small beaches with campsites cut out of the woods. There was only one person camping there when we arrived, so we had first pick of the rest of the campsites and we got a nice spot at the back of a small beach. A lot of the sites are in the trees, so make sure to pull your boat ashore and walk through the woods when looking for a site. There is a more central area where several of the campsites are, but there are more located around the corner if you don’t see any available. The challenge is that, depending where you camp, it may make it difficult to access the outhouse, bear cache, or creek, which are all located around the main area. The bear cache looked brand new.

Fortunately, the rain stopped by the time we arrived at camp, but we set up our tarp and tent and hoped it wouldn’t return. The sun looked like it might try to make an appearance, so we set up on the beach to have lunch and enjoyed a few hours of solitude while the wind blew whitecaps around the middle of the lake. Eventually, a few other groups arrived in canoes, but in total, there were only 4 groups that stayed overnight.

The wind died down in the afternoon, so we decided to go for another paddle while the weather was calm. I’d been on the fence about if we should stay at Moyer Creek or The Narrows, and I wanted to see the other campsite. I picked Moyer Creek because I figured it would have a better view down the lake. We paddled towards the narrows to check out that site and concluded that we made the right choice staying at Moyer Creek. There’s a nice view from the Narrows, but I think that site is more popular among power boaters and day trippers. There was a large group having a BBQ next to their beached motorboat. I’m sure they had a great time, but they were very loud and it wasn’t the vibe Seth and I envisioned for the weekend, so we were glad that we stayed at Moyer Creek.

We paddled through the narrows into the second part of the lake, but it was too far to go to the back of the lake. The clouds cleared and the sun finally made an appearance. The water was dead calm as we paddled, a rarity for mid-afternoon, and with the sun out, it got pretty hot. Eventually we turned around and paddled back to Moyer Creek to go for a swim. The water was cold, but not so cold you couldn’t hang out in it. Alouette Lake is interesting because it’s a reservoir, meaning that at some point, the river valley was flooded. It’s obvious by the many tree trunks either poking out of the water or submerged just below the surface. You need to watch where you paddle, but it made for a fun swim, with lots of tree trunks to stand on.

We went to bed fairly early and the wind picked up again. It made for a noisy night as I could hear the wind blowing through the trees. I got up to pee around 2am and almost had a heart attack when I shined my headlamp around camp to find a stag staring at me from no more than 10 feet away. It definitely gave credence to the phrase “a deer in headlights”, because it did not move and we both stared at each other as I peed on the other side of the campsite. It was a beautiful animal with gorgeous antlers, but a little too close for comfort. I’m glad I saw it though because I heard it blundering around in the woods the rest of the night and if I hadn’t seen it, I definitely would have thought it was a bear.

We got up early the next morning to get ahead of the wind on our way back to South Beach. The forecast was still calling for a south facing wind, but I was skeptical we’d be lucky enough to get a tailwind. I was right to doubt because despite our early rise, it was very windy and it was definitely a north facing wind. This means we had to paddle against a headwind in both directions – just our luck! I was hesitant to go out in the wind because I could see white caps forming towards the middle of the lake, but we decided to try since it was only calling for more wind later.

It was definitely not my favourite paddle. It was choppy the entire way back to Gold Creek. We didn’t encounter too many problems, but it wasn’t enjoyable and it was definitely more effort. We stopped at North Beach for a snack and then powered our way back to South Beach. I always hate paddling back to South Beach because you can see your final destination the entire time, so it feels like it takes forever to get there. It was really busy at South Beach and we had a challenge to land and load our kayaks around all of the people.

So overall, it was a fun, but somewhat challenging trip. It felt too short and I would like to go back in the future to do two nights. The real benefit of the trip is that it’s so close to home and unlike Widgeon Creek, the campground isn’t that busy. It’s a good option for a weekend trip and I think in the future, I may try to visit in the Spring. We had a lot of fun at Pitt Lake in late April, and generally, I think it’s a good time to camp and paddle before it gets really busy in the summer.

Pump Peak Backpacking Trip

July 18, 2026July 8, 2026 / Maria / Leave a comment

Considering how long I’ve lived in Vancouver, it’s a bit shocking that this was my first time hiking to Pump Peak though it’s not been for lack of effort. Back in 2019, I tried to hike via Pump Peak on my way to Elsay Lake, but I ended up on the wrong trail and because of the time crunch to get to Elsay Lake, I ended up skipping Pump Peak entirely. I’ve also made several attempts to visit Pump Peak in the winter, but I always find myself completely exhausted by the time I reach Brockton Point and I’ve abandoned Pump Peak on more than one occasion.

I had to cancel a trip at the last minute in mid-June of this year, but I still wanted to get outside and do something, so I decided to make another attempt at Pump Peak, this time as an overnight objective. I was solo hiking with my dog, Sadie, so I thought Pump Peak would be a good option since it’s popular and so close to the city. I ended up having the best time, I can’t believe I waited so long to hike there!

I did this hike over the summer solstice and I had lots of daylight, so I didn’t end up leaving my house in Coquitlam until 5pm. Me and Sadie were ready to start hiking at 6pm and by 7:30pm, we were at the top. I knew it was a short hike, but I was still astounded at how quickly I went from my house to the summit. It’s a very achievable objective if you make a last minute decision to go backpacking.

For those who aren’t familiar. Pump Peak is located in Mount Seymour Provincial Park in North Vancouver. It’s very popular in all seasons because of its proximity to the city. In the summer, you can park in the main ski resort lot, unless you’re going overnight, in which case you need to park in Lot 2. In the winter, you need to park in the lot along the road (also known as Lot 1) since the ski resort is in operation. You also need to get a day use permit from BC Parks in the winter. These release 2 days in advance of your trip, at 7am. They are free, but they sell out fast. No permits are required in the summer.

The hike involves climbing the trail along the edge of the ski resort, or in the summer, you do have the option to walk right up the ski trails. I opted to take the side trail since there is more shade. The trail goes to Brockton Point, which also has great views of the city. In the summer, it took me an hour to get to Brockton Point, but in the winter, it takes me closer to 90 minutes. It’s approximately 2.5km and 250m of elevation gain, closer to 3km in the winter since the parking lot is farther away.

After Brockton Point, the trail continues for another 1.5km and 150m in elevation gain to the top of Pump Peak, also known as 1st Peak. In the summer, this took me another 30 minutes, but I’d budget for another hour in the winter. It is the steepest part of the trail as it winds along the back of the peak. There were a lot of mosquitoes in the summer, so be prepared with fly spray and a thermacell. Please be aware that in the winter, the portion of the trail between Brockton and Pump Peak is in challenging avalanche terrain. Don’t be lulled into a false sense of security by the crowds, you should have AST1 training and travel with the appropriate equipment in this area in the winter.

While Pump Peak is very popular for camping, please be aware that there is no campground and it is considered wild camping. This means there is no outhouse or bear cache. You should be prepared to dig a cathole if you need to poop, and you should bring a bear bin or bear bag for your food. There are not many trees, so it’s not really possible to do a bear hang. My sense was that most people camping in the area were not practicing proper bear safety and it’s important that we do, otherwise the area will become dangerous to bears and humans.

Finding somewhere to pitch your tent can be a little bit challenging because there are no established tent pads. Most likely you will be pitching your tent on bare rock. However, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it might be because there is so much space available to chose from. There were quite a few people camping, but everyone was very spread out and I didn’t have too much trouble finding somewhere to set up my tent that wasn’t crowded. I opted to set up near some of the trees so that I would have privacy when I needed to pee.

There is nowhere to set up on the actual summit and it will be crowded with people, so do not attempt to pitch your tent up there. Be aware that there is also no water source. There were a few small tarns around, which was helpful to Sadie, but I would not recommend trying to drink or even filter that water. Just hike up all the water you need for your trip, including for your dog.

It’s a beautiful place to camp though. There are incredible views of both the city and the backcountry. From the peak, you can enjoy a 360 degree view in all directions. We arrived well before sunset, so after setting up the tent, me and Sadie went up to the peak before looking for solitude underneath, in which to enjoy the sunset. Because it was the solstice, it was a particularly long sunset and the wind kept the mosquitoes away.

What was really annoying was that the summit is also a popular destination for sunrise enthusiasts. This would be fine, but on this particular day, a group a very noisy boys decided to hike up to the summit at 4:30am and were not shy about yelling and laughing very loudly. Sound travels really well in the alpine, so everyone on the mountain was privy to their conversation and it was very annoying. I had a similar experience when I did Golden Ears last year and it’s always men who act this way, so please try and have a little consideration that at 4:30am, most of the people in the nearby tents might be trying to sleep and they can definitely hear you.

My thermacell was definitely essential to enjoy breakfast the following morning as the mosquitoes returned in full force with the sun. A lot of people packed up their tents quickly to escape them, but me and Sadie were able to hang out for a little bit before heading back down the mountain.

What I really loved about this trip was the ability to start hiking late (I wouldn’t recommend going too early because the mosquitoes will drive you crazy) and the ability to arrive home early the following day. I felt like this trip enabled me to have a fun night outside while still leaving most of my weekend available to relax or pursue other interests. I’m used to driving so far away for my backpacking trips and having them take up the entire weekend, it was nice to still have lots of time to myself with this trip.

In conclusion, this is a really safe and convenient trip for those living in the lower mainland. I would definitely recommend it, but please respect the backcountry. Practice proper bear safety and leave no trace when wild camping. I did notice that people were also camping on Brockton Point and I’m not sure if that’s allowed. The BC Parks website says you can camp anywhere north of Brockton Point, but I’m not sure if that includes the Point itself.

Lightning Lakes Backpacking Trip

July 11, 2026July 8, 2026 / Maria / 2 Comments

Last week I wrote about Keats Island, which was the first in a slew of backpacking trips I did in late Spring. Many people are familiar with Lightning Lakes, which is a popular location for day trippers in Manning Park. I’ve done a lot of backpacking and car camping in Manning Park and I love spending a day relaxing at the lake in the summer. At this point, I think I’ve hiked the majority of the popular trails in Manning Park, including many times hiking around Lightning Lakes, but I’ve never done the Lightning Lakes Chain Trail. I’ve been wanting to do it for years and I finally made it happen in early June.

Lightning Lakes Chain Trail starts at the main parking lot and includes hiking around the first two lakes before continuing 11km into the backcountry, passing 3 more lakes along the way. It’s a good hike for early in the season because the trail follows the river through the valley and has minimal elevation gain. So even though the hike starts at a pretty high elevation (1200m), all the snow melts at once, meaning the trail is usually completely clear by June. I first became aware of this hike in 2018 when I did the Skyline II Trail from Strawberry Flats to Mowich Camp. That trail hikes up to the top of the mountain and then follows the ridge through Despair Pass and up to Snow Camp Mountain. From there, you can see Thunder Lake, which is the final lake on the Lightning Lakes Chain Trail, located in the valley below.

On this occasion, I left my house on Saturday morning with my dog, Sadie, to meet my friend in the park. I haven’t seen very much online or on social media about this trail, so I wasn’t expecting it to be busy. We met at noon and started hiking around 1pm. It was a pretty hot day for early-June, especially in Manning Park, which can be cold. I find that you never know what you’re going to get in Manning – you’ll either get beautiful sunny weather, or it will be cloudy and absolutely freezing (more common) – but it feels like there’s no in between.

So I was thrilled to get warm weather. Even though it had been nice in the city for weeks, Lightning Lakes was my first real mountain hike of the summer and I felt a giddy anticipation for the season to come. This was enhanced by the fact that the trail was filled with wildflowers! I can’t ever recall seeing wildflowers in June before, but we saw common paintbrush, lupin, arnica, columbine, valerian sitka, spreading phlox, pentstemon, and violet (among others I couldn’t identify).

It was busy along the first Lightning Lake, but the crowds tapered off when we hit the second Lightning Lake. We stopped for a snack at the end of the second lake, before continuing along the rest of the chain trail. From that point onwards, we saw very few people, I can only recall passing one or two groups of day hikers. The trail continues to Flash Lake and Strike Lake, with the campsite located just past Strike Lake. The challenge is that this trail doesn’t see a lot of trail maintenance and there is a fair amount of blowdown, so we did a lot of crawling over and under trees and my legs got pretty scratched up.

I wanted to swim in all the new lakes I’d never been to before, but Flash Lake wasn’t particularly nice. It’s a bit scummy and I couldn’t see anywhere nice to enter the water, so I ended up skipping it. Strike Lake was a little bit better, but there’s still not a lot of good places for swimming. Close to the end of the lake, we found a decent spot and took another break. Colin had a snack while I went for a swim. The water was cold, which it always is in Manning, but surprisingly, I didn’t find it too bad. We were pretty sweaty from the humidity, so it was a nice break to cool off.

The campsite is just a few hundred metres past the lake, but what I wasn’t prepared for was how busy it was at the campsite considering the trail had been empty. It is a fairly large campsite, with several tent pads spread out along the river and through the forest, but they were all full. There was a school group that had hiked in on Friday that was taking up a large portion of the sites near the river, but even excluding them, there were still a lot of hiking groups. I do wonder if this campground is busy all summer long, or just in Spring/early Summer, since it’s a lower elevation hike. Either way, we couldn’t get a tent pad and wandered around for a while looking for empty space before squeezing in among the trees near the river. We had Sadie with us and there was another dog on the other side of the campground, so we mostly tried to avoid them. I think it ended up working out.

We arrived around 3:30pm, meaning it took us approximately 2.5 hours to hike in, including the swimming and snack breaks. I was keen to continue hiking to Thunder Lake, so once we set up camp, we packed supper with us and hiked another 3km to the final lake. Trail maintenance definitely didn’t improve after the campground. There was still a good number of trees blown across the trail, but what was more annoying was that some sections of the trail were very overgrown with shrubs, and in one area, a very prickly plant. I’m not sure what it was, but we quickly noticed it stinging us as we were walking through it, so shorts weren’t a great idea. It was probably only along 5 minutes of the trail, so we just suffered through it, but we both changed into pants on the way back.

As far as the trail goes, Thunder Lake is a bit of an anticlimactic way to end. It’s a beautiful lake, but it’s really hard to access. As you approach the lake, the trail goes through a very steep boulder field, with the river flowing along underneath. You end up getting pretty high above the lake and the area doesn’t look entirely stable, so it’s not a great place to stop. Eventually you reach the treeline at the edge of the lake and there’s a sign saying that it’s dangerous to go further. We did go a little bit past the sign and I can confirm that it’s not worth it. The trail got steeper and was very dicey with loose rock overhead, so I don’t recommend it. It’s too steep to get down to the water, so we backtracked to the sign.

It’s frustrating to be so close to the lake, but unable to access it. We did find a small side trail leading down to the edge of the water, but there’s limited space to hang out. Fortunately there weren’t many other people around because it was late in the day, so we managed to go for a quick swim and had an awkward time cooking supper along the slope. I couldn’t even set up my camp chair because there was nowhere flat enough. So if you hike all the way to the lake, don’t assume you’ll be able to get down to the water, and if you try, definitely be very careful. I think it could be easy to get into trouble here or cause a small rockslide. I did not feel comfortable when we were bumbling around in the forest trying to find a way down, which is why we came back.

Otherwise it was a pretty chill trip. We hiked back to the campsite, arriving around 8pm and hanging out for an hour before going to bed. There is an outhouse and a bear cache, though the outhouse is a bit hidden in the trees. When you arrive at the main sign, it’s up through the trees to the right. I spent some time reading before bed and slept well with the sound of the river next to my tent.

It took us another 2.5 hours to hike back to the parking lot the following day. I would have liked to go for a swim at Lightning Lake before driving home, but I had Sadie with me and she’s a lot to manage when there’s people around, so we opted to skip it. Overall, I did enjoy the trail, in spite of the blowdown. The hike is primarily in the trees and not one of the more breathtaking hikes in Manning Park, so I probably wouldn’t choose to do it in the middle of the summer, but it was a perfect early season hike! Manning is still my favourite provincial park in BC and I love any time I get to recreate there.