Hiking to Joffre Lake

Joffre Lake Provincial Park is a popular hike near Vancouver, British Columbia, famous for it’s set of 3 gorgeous turquoise lakes. In this post, I’ll cover what to expect when visiting the provincial park.

• How to visit Joffre Lakes
• What the trail is like
• What to bring with you to the trail
• Safety in the backcountry
• Is Joffre Lakes Child or ADA friendly?
• Backpacking in Joffre Lakes

How to visit Joffre Lakes

While a gorgeous hike, Instagram can be deceiving – this hike is a solid 3 hour drive from downtown Vancouver to the trailhead – not including any traffic. Keep this is mind when planning your trip – it’s a long day, but you can make it better if you spend an evening in Squamish, Whistler, or Pemberton! If you’re looking for recommendations, check out my Sea to Sky roadtrip itinerary.

In the summer months, Joffre Lakes requires a permit to enter. This is strictly enforced by rangers who guard the entrance to the trail and check. There are two ways to get permits to hike in Joffre:

• Secure a backpacking permit 4 months in advance (rolling reservation window) at 7am
• Book a day pass 2 days before your expected arrival (free – however, they book up immediately!)
• Please note that starting in 2024, there will be scheduled closures of the park for use by the indigenous community. The dates the park is not open in 2024 are:
  • April 30 to May 15
  • June 14 to June 23
  • September 3 to October 3

Even with a permit, parking can still be an issue, so either plan to get to the trailhead very early in the morning, or show up around 2pm in the afternoon to get a spot when the morning hikers leave. Make sure to leave enough daylight to do the hike safely, depending on your hiking speed.

If you don’t have a car, or don’t want to hassle with parking, you can book a bus ride on Parkbus. Reserve in advance!

What’s the trail like?

Joffre Lakes is a 4.6 mile hike roundtrip to the furthest lake viewpoint. However, I recommend you continue hiking past the crowds, and follow the signs towards the backcountry campground. From there, you can hike up above the lake and look back at it from above, or hike to the many waterfalls that pour into the lake in the later season.

The trail is very well maintained, and is a combination of stairs and switchbacks. It’s very busy, so you are unlikely to be alone anywhere on the trail.

You approach the first beautiful lake after only a few minutes on the trail. Then the second lake is after about 2 miles, and the final lake about 1 mile beyond that. There are great vista points throughout, as well as a powerful waterfall between lakes 2 and 3.

There are pit toilets at the trailhead, the second lake, and at the third lake. However, bring your own toilet paper.

What to bring to Joffre Lakes?

• Your permit – take a screenshot of the QR code or permit before you leave. There is no cell service at the park.
• Hiking essentials: download the map offline in advance or bring another GPS device, bring what you need for changing weather conditions (rain jacket, warm layers), as well as the 10 essentials.
• Bear spray: you are in grizzly country! Be bear aware, and always pack out your food and trash.
• Good hiking shoes and poles if you need for balance and stability
• I have a roundup of my go-to backpacking gear here, or you can check out my day hiking list.

Safety in the backcountry

Even though Joffre Lakes is a very popular trail, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t come fully prepared to hike in this backcountry area. There may be no cellular service, depending on your carrier. Be careful not to start your hike too close to sunset, unless you are prepared to hike in the dark (and if so consider a headlamp and bear protection).

Is Joffre Lakes child or ADA friendly?

Joffre Lakes is considered a challenging route on AllTrails, which is subjective. It’s steep, though arguably not as sleep as many other hikes in the region, and not as long. Difficulty is always subjective relative to your existing hiking expertise.

What’s really nice about Joffre Lakes is that you can visit the first lake with relative ease – it’s only about 500 feet into the trail, so if you want to just see a beautiful lake and not do the uphill parts of the hike, this is for you!

I personally feel this is the easiest hike you can do in the general Sea to Sky area to an alpine lake.

Backpacking in Joffre Lakes

If you reserve a backcountry camping spot in advance (they open 4 months ahead of time on a rolling window basis), you can camp beyond the third lake viewpoint and enjoy sunrise and sunset in a gorgeous destination, away from the crowds! The campground is very exposed (not many trees) and is a scattering of cleared spots among a boulder field overlooking the lake.