The main focus of this blog is definitely backpacking, which is one of my favourite summertime activities. But I also spend a lot of time kayaking and have slowly been working my way around the easy paddling trips near Vancouver. My husband and I own two sea touring kayaks and for this post, I decided to compile some of our favourite day trips near the lower mainland! It’s easy to rent boats for a lot of these trips, but there are a few where it’s easier if you have your own.
Jug Island is by far our most frequented kayak day trip. It’s located near Belcarra Regional Park and can be accessed from either Belcarra or Deep Cove. We always choose Belcarra since we live in Coquitlam, but it’s a ~5km round trip from both starting locations. There’s a large beach where you can land your boat and an outhouse, so it’s a nice place to stop. It usually takes us ~45 minutes to paddle there from Belcarra and we’ll often take a break and then continue on to explore Bedwell Bay or Twin Islands. Twin Islands makes for a longer day, as it’s a ~9-10km paddle, but it’s very beautiful there and it’s fun to swim from the south island. If you’re renting, you can choose from Deep Cove Kayaks or Takaya in Belcarra. Alternatively, you can also rent from Cates Park for a slightly longer paddle.
There are a few options for where you can paddle from Barnet Marine Park. I usually just use it as an alternative access point for Jug Island since it’s located in Burnaby and is sometimes a closer drive, but you can also paddle between Rocky Point and Barnet Marine from either location. Rocky Point is located in Port Moody and is a very easy access point. The annoying thing about Barnet Marine is that they now limit parking to 4 hours, which is difficult if you’re looking to do a longer trip. If you leave from Rocky Point, parking is also a challenge in the summer, but it’s easier to rent boats from Rocky Point than Barnet.
Buntzen Lake
Buntzen Lake is located super close to the city, in the town of Anmore. It’s the perfect place for beginners because the lake isn’t that long, but it’s big enough to make for a nice paddle to the end and back, roughly 10 kms. Plus you can also explore around the river and hang out on either end of the lake. A day pass is needed in the summer, which is free, but must be obtained 2 days in advance from BC Hydro. There are often canoe rentals available along the south beach.
Whytecliff Park
Whytecliff Park is located in West Vancouver near Horseshoe Bay and is one of many paddling options in West Vancouver. You can launch your boat from Whyte Cove, which is located in the park, or from Batchelor Bay or Horseshoe Bay. If you don’t mind a longer paddle, you could also launch from Eagle Harbour, at the beach next to the yacht club. There are no rental options from this location that I am aware of, but it’s a fun place to explore. Watch out for ferry traffic if you are paddling around Horseshoe Bay.
Bowen Island
I haven’t actually done this trip myself, but I’ve heard Bowen Island is great for kayaking. The best option is to walk on the ferry from Horseshoe Bay to Bowen Island and rent boats from Snug Cove on the other side. From here, you can paddle around the edge of the island. I recommend heading north as there are more beaches to land at in this direction. I believe more experienced paddlers will cross from Horseshoe Bay on their own, but I don’t recommend this.
Keats Island is a great destination from Gibsons. You can launch from the marina and paddle across the straight to Keats Island. Follow the coast north past the Shelter Islets until you reach Plumper Cove Marine Park, which is a great place to hang out for the day or to camp overnight. It can be windy crossing the straight, so I recommend doing this trip early in the morning. Rentals are available from the marina in Gibsons.
Widgeon Creek is a very popular summer paddling destination in Pitt Meadows. Park at the main lot on Pitt Lake and paddle across the Pitt River to Widgeon Creek, which is a leisurely 6km paddle to the campsite. From there you can do a day hike to Widgeon Falls. This area is very busy in the summer, but head out in April or May to avoid the crowds. Be careful crossing the Pitt River, which can have strong currents, and leave early to avoid the wind. You can rent boats from Katzie in the summer, or through independent operators that deliver the boats to the lot.
Golden Ears Park is most popular for paddlers in the Gold Creek area, especially for SUP. But I think all of Alouette Lake is a great option for paddling. The easiest location to launch from is the boat launch at South Beach, and then you can head north on either shore of the lake. But pick one or the other because it gets windy on the lake and it’s not easy to cross back and forth. I regularly like to go out for a few hours and paddle up to Gold Creek and back. You can usually rent canoes on South Beach in the summer.
Harrison Lake is somewhere that you need to be really careful paddling, but can make for a fun trip in the right conditions. It can be very windy at the lake, so my recommendation is to stick to early morning paddling and stay near to the edge of the lake. We camped at Bear Creek on a rainy weekend in June and stumbled into premium kayaking conditions. It was dead calm on the water and mystical with the cloudy skies. But exercise caution on a nice day.
Lightning Lakes
Lightning Lakes is a pretty safe place to kayak and is incredibly scenic. It’s located in E.C. Manning Park, east of Hope, and comprises two lakes connected by a small creek. It is possible to navigate between the two lakes, but it is narrow, so exercise caution. The views are beautiful and there’s no power boats, so it’s a great place to explore and enjoy the water and the mountains.
The Berg Lake Trail is one of the most iconic backpacking trails in the Canadian Rockies. It’s been on my bucket list for a long time, but it was closed for 3 years due to flooding that washed out portions of the trail in 2021. It finally re-opened in 2025 and I was super keen to visit the same summer. I spent 6 days hiking along the trail and it was easily the highlight of my summer! I’ve already published a 3-part trail report about my experience, which you can read starting here, but I had a lot of other learnings about the trail that I’d love to share. Reservations for the 2026 season are releasing at 7am on December 2, 2025. so here’s everything you need to know about the Berg Lake Trail!
The Trail
The Berg Lake Trail is a 42km there-and-back trail located in Mount Robson Provincial Park in BC. The trail starts at the parking lot north of the visitor centre and continues for 21km to the beach at the back of Berg Lake. There are 7 campgrounds in the park, with the most popular being the Berg Lake Campground.
There are a few options for how to hike this trail. If you’re not a backpacker, it is possible to day hike the entire thing, but you should give serious consideration to your fitness ability and previous hiking experience if you decide to attempt it. While the trail itself is not technical, it is a considerable distance and it covers almost 1000m in elevation gain. Approximately 500m of the gain is done in a 3km span, so it is a challenging and tiring hike. If you are not used to hiking long distance or you don’t have experience hiking in the mountains with significant elevation gain, I strongly recommend against attempting this as a day hike. If you do plan to day hike, I recommend starting before sunrise to give yourself lots of time, or consider biking as far as Kinney Lake. I found that the day hikers were primarily tourists who either don’t camp, or weren’t aware of the lead time required to secure permits.
If you are able to backpack it, I think this is a more enjoyable way to experience the trail. I did the trail over 5 nights, splitting the trail into 2 parts on the way up and down, and then camping 3 nights at Berg Lake to do day hikes. If you have more time to spend in the park, there’s lots to explore, but you can also enjoy this trail over a shorter period. I’d recommend a minimum of 2 nights. Most likely your itinerary will be limited by what permits you are able to obtain.
Time of Year
The best time of year to visit the Berg Lake Trail is pretty straight-forward. Mount Robson is the tallest mountain in the Canadian Rockies, so the trail is covered in snow for most of the year, limiting the core hiking season from late-June to mid-to-late September. You can visit year round, but you must be prepared for winter conditions and be aware of avalanche risk, which I won’t be discussing in this post.
I think there is slightly less traffic in September, as it gets cold quickly in the Rockies, but otherwise, avoiding the crowds isn’t really possible. If you go in late-June, be aware that there may still be snow on some of the trails; and if you go later in the summer, it’s more likely that your trip might be impacted by wildfires. Mid-to-late July might be the sweet spot, but I visited during the first week of August and lucked into great conditions. The mountains are always susceptible to storms, so be prepared for that.
Getting There
I think it may be possible to take a bus to Mount Robson Provincial Park from either Jasper or Kamloops in the summer, but it’s not a common route and I don’t know how reliably buses run. Similar to other popular Canadian parks, the easiest way to access is by driving. The park is located on Highway 16, which is a 5 hour drive from Edmonton, 7 hours from Calgary, and 7.5 hours from Vancouver (all without breaks). It’s not an easy park to access, but I promise it is worth your time. There is a very large parking lot at the trailhead, which is relatively secure, but never leave valuables in your vehicle.
Without a doubt, getting permits will be the hardest part of your trip to Berg Lake. This is a world-renowned hiking trail and attracts crowds of visitors every year. If you don’t get camping permits, then day hiking may be your only option to visit the park. If you want to try and get camping permits, then it’s important to mark your calendar with the permit release date. The permit release date for 2026 is Dec. 2, 2025. Unlike other BC parks, the permits for the Berg Lake Trail are released all on one day. The date is usually announced on the Mount Robson Provincial Park page, as well as on BC Park’s instagram. They usually don’t give a lot of notice (1-2 weeks), so you should be prepared to check in regularly at the end of the year until it is announced. The easiest way is to follow their social media.
Once released, you will have to book your permits on camping.bcparks.ca. Unlike Parks Canada, there is no random queue generator and you will have to login to your account, so there is no benefit to using multiple devices to try and get higher up the queue. However, if you have multiple people going on the trip, it is advantageous if you all login to your respective accounts to try for reservations (effectively giving you multiple chances to get your desired itinerary). I recommend creating an account in advance of release day (when the website will likely be slow due to traffic) and logging in before the sites release.
Once booking opens, select “backcountry reservations” and search for your start date. You will be forced to build your itinerary day by day, which can be a little frustrating. Once you get a date in your cart, you don’t need to worry about losing it, but it will become more challenging as the dates book up to continue building the itinerary. For example, by the time you get Whitehorn in your cart for your first night, Berg Lake may no longer be available for your second night. People are constantly adding and changing dates and campsites in the rush to get their itinerary, especially if you have multiple people from the same party trying to make 1 booking. So the trick is to frequently refresh. Just because you don’t see Berg Lake available right away, doesn’t mean it won’t show up if you keep refreshing.
My recommendation for booking a longer itinerary is to take what you can get and make changes later. If Berg Lake is not available, book Marmot or Rearguard and move on to the next day before those dates book up too. Once you have secured a booking for each of the dates in your itinerary, go back and look for cancellations. Keep refreshing until you see one, and then make a change to your booking to add it. This does cost more money as the change fee is $6, but I was able to get bookings for Berg Lake after the fact using this hack. When I made my first booking, I had 3 nights split between Marmot and Robson Pass campsites. I was able to change my reservation from Robson Pass to Berg Lake within the hour from people dropping sites, and I was able to get a cancellation later in the season and change my booking from Marmot to Berg Lake. So in the end, my starting itinerary (which had no nights at Berg Lake) ended up with 3 nights. You can track cancellations on Schnerp, which will notify you when a site opens up.
Campsites
There are 7 backcountry campsites in the park, so there are lots of options for where to stay and opportunities to customize your trip. The first 3 campsites are located along the trail to the lake, while the last 4 campsites are all located within 3.5km of one another around the lake. I’ll discuss itineraries below, but here’s an overview of the 7 campsites along the trail. All campsites include outhouses and bear lockers and as discussed above, require valid permits for the duration of your visit.
Kinney Lake – This is the first campground, located right on Kinney Lake at the 7km trail marker. It has 18 tent sites and a large open-air shelter. It’s a beautiful campground with several lakefront tent pads and a lovely view from the shelter. The trail to Kinney Lake is a gentle uphill, so this campsite is often overlooked because it is less than halfway to Berg Lake. But it’s a great option if you have a late start on your first day, as well as for families or those who want to experience Mount Robson’s backcountry, but have concerns about the strenuous hike up to Berg Lake. There are bike racks located at the back of Kinney Lake for those who bike up.
Whitehorn – This campground is located along the Robson River at the 11km trail marker. It has 22 tent sites and a large open-air shelter. This campground is ideal if you’re looking to split the hike to Berg Lake in half. It splits the elevation gain in half as well, though day 2 is slightly more strenuous. Some of the tent pads are along the river, while others are in the woods, but there’s a beautiful view of the valley and the backside of Mount Robson from the campground.
Emperor Falls – This campground is located just past the viewpoint for Emperor Falls at the 16km trail marker. It has 9 tent sites and some picnic tables, but it does not have a shelter. While the tent pads are located right next to the river, making for a nice view, the main downside to this campsite is that it’s located at the top of all of the elevation gain, so it leaves you with a big day if you’re hiking from the parking lot. I would probably avoid it on the way up, but it’s a good option to shorten your hike on the last day.
Marmot – This is the first of the upper campgrounds, any of which can be used as a base for day hikes. It’s located at the foot of Berg Lake at the 19km trail marker. It has 7 tent sites and a recently constructed semi-enclosed shelter (this one has windows, unlike the shelters at Kinney Lake and Whitehorn). Most of the tent pads are located in the woods, but 1-2 have a direct view of Mount Robson. While the view from Marmot is not quite as good as from Berg Lake, it is located right on the lake and would be my first choice if I couldn’t get a site at the Berg Lake Campground. Some people really like this campground because of how small it is, so you can avoid the crowds.
Berg Lake – This is the most popular campground on the trail. If you can score a permit for this campground, do not hesitate to book it. It’s located at the head of Berg Lake at the 21km trail marker. It has 26 tent sites and a fully enclosed cooking shelter with a large porch and view of the Berg Glacier. This is the most beautiful campsite on the trail, but it will be very busy as a result. Most of the tent sites are in the woods, though there is one premium tent pad with a lake view. A few of the sites at the back of the campground also have mountain views.
Rearguard – This campsite is located just past the Berg Lake Campground at the 22km trail marker. It has 6 tent sites and is a good option if you weren’t able to get a campsite at Berg Lake. It’s not located on the lake, but it does have nice views of Mount Robson and the river delta. The main downside is that there is no shelter, so if it rained, I’d prefer to be at Marmot.
Robson Pass – This is the last campsite in the park, located at the 23km trail marker. It has 15 tent sites. It’s located a little bit further away, but it can still be a great base if you’re planning to do some day hikes. You can access Snowbird Pass from this campsite, as well as you can hike up the backside of the Mumm Basin Trail – although be aware that this trail no longer connects to the Toboggan Falls trail due to a rockslide in recent years – but I’ve heard it still has a great view. Similar to Rearguard, the main downside of this campsite is that it doesn’t have a shelter.
Robson Hut – Another option to be aware of in the future is that the ACC is currently constructing a brand new mountain hut at Robson Pass, which should be open for the 2026 season. You will be able to book this hut through the ACC and it will be the swankiest accommodation available in the park. Please note that this is separate from the BC Parks booking system and it is not an open hut that you can visit. A booking will be required to use the hut.
Robson Meadows – Just to cover my bases, I want to mention that there is a frontcountry campground located off the highway near the visitor centre, which is a great option for camping the night before or after your backpacking trip.
Itineraries
I’ll keep this fairly simple. It’s not easy to get permits, so it’s really a take what you can get scenario, but there are a few strategies you can employ.
Strategy 1: Hike all the way to Berg Lake in a day. The idea with this strategy is that you book as many nights as you want at the lake, prioritizing day hikes from the lake. The benefit is that you can immediately concentrate on getting bookings for Berg Lake before they fill up and maximize your time at the lake. The downside is that you need to be prepared to do the full 21km in a day, which is challenging, but allows you to spend more time at the lake if time is limited.
Strategy 2: Break up your hike to Berg Lake into 2 days, staying at one of the middle campgrounds on the way up, but planning to hike all the way back to the parking lot in a single day. Again, book as many nights as you want at Berg Lake after you arrive. This makes your hike in easier than strategy 1, but still gives you extra time at the lake, as the hike down is much easier than the hike up.
Strategy 3: Break up your hike to Berg Lake into 2 days on both the way up and down. If you have more time available, you can still book multiple nights at Berg Lake in the middle to do day hikes, but the benefit is it gives you a more relaxed hiking timeline, especially if you are worried about the challenging terrain.
Personally, I would only do strategy 1 if I only had 1 night. I used strategy 3 for my visit because I had lots of time, but I would have been comfortable with strategy 2 as well. It is more manageable to do the hike down in a single day. Here’s a couple of options based on the number of nights you have. (D=day, N=night)
Number of Nights
First Choice Campground
Alternate Campgrounds
2 days, 1 night (strategy 1)
D1: Hike to Berg Lake D2: Hike out
Marmot, Rearguard
3 days, 2 nights (strategy 1)
D1: Hike to Berg Lake D2: Day hike, stay at Berg Lake D3: Hike out
Marmot, Rearguard
3 days, 2 nights (strategy 2)
D1: Hike to Whitehorn D2: Hike to Berg Lake D3: Hike out
N1: Emperor, Kinney Lake N2: Marmot, Rearguard
4 days, 3 nights (strategy 2)
D1: Hike to Whitehorn D2: Hike to Berg Lake D3: Day hike, stay at Berg Lake D4: Hike out
N1: Kinney Lake N2: Marmot, Rearguard N3: Marmot, Rearguard
4 days, 3 nights (strategy 3)
D1: Hike to Whitehorn D2: Hike to Berg Lake D3: Hike to Whitehorn D4: Hike out
N1: Kinney Lake N2: Marmot, Rearguard N3: Kinney Lake, Emperor
5 days or more
Same as 4 day options, but add multiple nights at Berg Lake
Day Hikes
There are several great options for day hiking along the Berg Lake Trail. I really think it’s worth it to try and fit in at least one day hike if you can get multiple nights at campsites near the lake, but if you can’t, it’s not the end of the world either. Berg Lake is a world-class trail on it’s own and the entire trail is stunning, whether you have time for side quests or not. If you do have time, here’s the trails I would recommend.
Snowbird Pass – In my opinion, this is the best trail in the park. People like to prioritize the Berg Lake Viewpoint on the Toboggan Falls Trail, but this trail is the real gem. It’s a 20-km round trip hike from the Berg Lake Campground, so you definitely need a full day for it, but it features views of both the Robson Glacier and the Reef Icefield. It’s stunning from start to finish. If you don’t have enough time to do the whole trail, it’s still worth it to hike the 3km from Berg Lake to the lake at the base of Robson Glacier. I’ve written an entire blog post about this trail.
Toboggan Falls to Berg Lake Viewpoint – This is the most popular side trail in the park. From the Berg Lake Campsite, you can hike 1km up along the Toboggan Falls trail (enjoying the view of Toboggan Falls along the way), to a junction that takes you another ~1km up to the Berg Lake Viewpoint. From here, you can get the iconic photo of Berg Lake, the delta, and Berg Glacier. You don’t need a full day to do this hike, so if you’re short on time, you can probably knock it out in ~2 hours after you arrive at camp.
Hargreaves Lake Loop – If you have a full day, expand your hike up to the Berg Lake Viewpoint to also include the loop around to Hargreaves Lake via Marmot Campground. It’s approximately 7km round trip and in my opinion, Hargreaves Lake is really underrated. There’s a small viewpoint off the trail that takes you up to a lookout of Hargreaves Glacier and the Marmot branch of the Berg Glacier at the same time. I’d recommend a day if you’re doing the whole loop, but if you’re staying at Marmot, you could easily hike up to Hargreaves Viewpoint and back in an evening, as it’s only ~3km round trip.
Adolphus Lake – I haven’t done this trail myself, but if you have the time, you can hike out from Berg Lake to Robson Pass and then continue on to see Adolphus Lake. It’s ~2.5km from the Berg Lake Campground, but along completely flat ground. It’s a great option if you’re staying at Robson Pass.
The final trail in my little ‘Fall hiking in Washington’ series is the Chain Lakes Trail that leaves from the ski area at Mount Baker. Me, Lien, and Emily had visited the previous year in March to snowshoe Artist Point and were totally awed by the views, so we decided to come back in the fall for a different view. It was Thanksgiving Weekend in October 2019, just one week after me and Lien had hiked Yellow Aster Butte. This time we were joined by Emily and my friend Amy, who flits in and out of my life every now any then. We never really know when she’s going to appear and disappear again, but it’s fun to hike with her!
We had Thanksgiving dinner at my house on Sunday night and then made an early departure on Monday morning to cross the border. Traditionally, me and Brandon have always gone on a Thanksgiving Monday hike (3 years running), but this year he went on holiday and bailed on me, so I had to console myself with my other companions. I really liked both Yellow Aster Butte and Chain Lakes, but of the two, I would definitely have to give the edge to Chain Lakes. At 11.5km, it has half the elevation gain of Yellow Aster Butte, just 375m. The trail starts in the backcountry parking lot at the ski hill. Be sure to get and print out the parking pass online before you go because there’s no where to get it on the mountain. It’s only $5 and I’m told you can get it at the visitor center at the bottom before you drive up, but I’ve never once seen it open on the weekend.
Chain Lakes is one of those rare trails that is scenic the ENTIRE trail. You’ve already driven up most of the elevation gain to get to the ski hill and from there, the trail continues up to the summer parking lot for Artist Point. In the summer, you can drive almost the whole way up to Artist Point, but at some point in September they close the road. Hiking up the road is the least scenic part of the trail, but still has really nice views looking down into the big bowl that’s popular among backcountry skiers. We decided to skip the Artist Point viewpoint since we’d already done it and instead continued down the other side of the parking lot into the backcountry. I think it’s a bit of an understated part of the trail, but it was one of my favourite parts. You hike right across the slope of Table Mountain, looking out towards Mount Baker.
From the Skyline Divide Trail, I felt like I was so close to Mount Baker that if I continued hiking I would eventually reach it (you can reach the foothills, but then the trail ends). But from the Chain Lakes Trail, you really are on the trail that goes up to the top of Mount Baker (albeit this is only for experienced mountaineers). It looked like if we just crested a few more hills we’d pretty much be there, but of course, it’s further then it looks as the size of the mountain dwarfs everything surrounding it and can be a bit misleading. Once you get to the end of Table Mountain, the trail turns to continue around the mountain and over to the chain lakes part of the trail. You can also hike along the top of Table Mountain, which may have to be an adventure for another day.
The first lake you come to is Mazama Lake. You can camp there, but it’s pretty small and not the most scenic, so if you’re overnighting, I’d recommend one of the other lakes instead. After Mazama, you come to Iceberg lake, which is the biggest and has staggering views looking up at the steep cliffs that surround the lake. This is where we decided to stop for lunch and enjoy the views before starting our climb back up the pass to the top of the trail.
One of the awesome things about Chain Lakes, in addition to the fact that the entire hike is scenic, is that it’s a loop trail, so you don’t have to do any return on the trail. It starts to climb around Iceberg Lake until you reach Haynes Lake, which is where I’d recommend branching off to camp. From there it gets really steep. There’s some great views looking back down the trail at Iceberg lake and you continue climbing to the top of the pass before starting to descend back into the bowl we were looking at from the start of the trail. It seemed like most people were doing the trail in the opposite direction as us, starting with the steep climb up the bowl. I’d recommend going the same way as us though because then you get to finish the hike with what was, in my opinion, the best view.
The view from the top of the pass is really unreal. The mountains stretch out around you in every direction and as you climb up the side of the Mazama dome, you really feel like you’re on top of the world. We’d already had lunch, but we decided to stop and have a break to make tea so that we could enjoy the view for a little bit longer! Even though we still had a few kilometers left to go, from the top we could pretty much see the trail down to the bottom almost the whole way there. We continued from the pass and started the long descent down the bowl to the parking lot. We were basically undoing all of the elevation from the rest of the hike in this stretch, which is why I recommend doing the hike from the other direction, that way the ascent is more gradual, with a few flat parts in between as you climb up. The descent down the bowl though is hard on the knees, so something to take into consideration as well.
The trail switchbacks for a while until you finally reach the bottom. It weaves through the valley and you pass by a few more lakes and the most quaint little rock bridge. Seriously, there’s no part of this trail that is not scenic, and even a few minutes before the parking lot, we were still stopping to take pictures of things. Except for Emily, who was badly in need of a washroom and sprinted the last 15 minutes of the trail to get to the outhouse.
Sadly that was our last adventure in the North Cascades. I returned the following winter with Carolyn and Brandon to snow camp on Artist Point, but unfortunately with Covid, we haven’t been able to return. I was hoping to do a few hikes in the summer and fall again, but sadly I’ll just have to wait until next year (hopefully). Either way, if you’re from Washington, I’d definitely recommend hitting up the North Cascades, and if you’re Canadian, put in on your bucket list!
The Road Goes Ever On 