Garibaldi Lake Circumnavigation

[u/L-epinephrine]

Garibaldi Lake is considered one of the gems of the Sea to Sky, with hundreds of tourists flocking to see its turquoise-blue waters. No introduction is needed—you can scour the internet for numerous trip reports and guides on the Instagram-famous Panorama Ridge and Black Tusk trails. However, these only scratch the surface of the area, and few venture beyond. I’ve always yearned to explore this region further, off the beaten path.

On August 2, 2025, our party of three completed the Garibaldi Lake circumnavigation lower route in approximately 20 hours, covering 49 km and 3,200 m of elevation gain. We opted for the lower route, given that the more documented high route—traversing through Castle Towers and Mount Carr—is a more technical counterpart involving extensive glacier travel and scrambling. Besides, I’m saving Castle Towers and the Phyllis Engine for another trip.

When researching the route, I found mostly reports of the high route. I was able to piece together some details from various sources, but one complete trip report by Climber Kyle was instrumental to our success. Climber Kyle, if you’re reading this: you’re an absolute beast for completing this in 13 hours. I hope to be as efficient in the mountains as you one day.

Below, I’ve summarized a few notable sections of the circumnavigation:

Rubble Creek to Panorama RidgeThis was an uneventful plod through the switchbacks. We made it to the top in two and a half hours. It was sobering to see a party celebrating their ascent, realizing this was just the beginning of our day.

Panorama Ridge to Sphinx BayWe followed the obvious path beneath Gentian Peak until it dissipated. Interestingly, we noticed periodic flagging tape and cairns, which helped guide us. Still, routefinding was imperative.

We were able to avoid heavy bushwhacking as we approached the bump guarding Sphinx Bay, but the descent through unavoidable alders and deadfall was horrendous. The clouds of bloodthirsty black flies were the cherry on top. This slow, laborious section turned into a true sufferfest. I was hoping and praying we’d find a way across Sphinx Bay, as I was dreading the thought of backtracking. I can foresee this route becoming unmanageable in the future once the alders become too thick.

We visited the Burton Hut briefly before attempting the crux of the route. The hut was well equipped with food and cooking gear. It’s spacious and well-kept (shoutout to the VOC). I’d definitely love to revisit the area if I ever get into ski touring.

We initially attempted to ford the Sphinx Bay runoff channel from the mouth of the bay. After evaluating it, we realized it wasn’t feasible—the water appeared too deep. We walked the length of the channel, battling alders and trying to find a safe crossing. Most options were either too deep or the water was too rough for our comfort. We considered circumnavigating the body of water feeding the channel, but after reviewing satellite imagery, realized it wasn’t feasible due to the dense brush.

In retrospect, it might be possible to avoid the channel altogether by traversing and descending further into the bowl of Sphinx Bay. After an hour of troubleshooting, we found a crossing point upstream of where Climber Kyle forded. The water was thigh-deep and frigid. At this point, we were fully committed to completing the circumnavigation.

Sphinx Bay to Sentinel Bay

Climbing to Guard Glacier was fairly straightforward via boulder hopping and scree. We avoided most of the glacier by staying west, close to Guard Mountain. We donned microspikes for a short snow section. Though sections of blue ice protruded through the snow, they were easily avoidable.

We had initially planned to climb Deception Peak or Guard Mountain, but time didn’t permit. As we approached the descent into Sentinel Bay, we were rewarded with breathtaking views of Mount Garibaldi and The Table—the next section of our journey. The descent was steep, and a fall would have been serious.

There were several water crossings at Sentinel Bay, though none as challenging as those at Sphinx Bay. Of note: this was the final source of running water until reaching Garibaldi Lake from Mount Price.

Sentinel Bay to Table Meadows

Eventually, we reached the ascent to The Table. From across Sphinx Bay, it deceptively looked like 4th-class terrain, but it proved mellow upon closer inspection. The rock was quite loose, so rockfall was a real concern—especially if you have someone following you.

We gained the plateau leading toward Table Mountain, then climbed an additional bump while trending west to avoid further bushwhacking. We descended the scree slope from The Table, which was a fun rock-ski down, and reached the start of Table Meadows.

Table Meadows to Mount Price

By this point, we were quickly losing daylight. I’m not sure if the route to Mount Price from Table Meadows is inherently convoluted or if we just struggled to find our way with headlamps, but we were periodically confused, trying to follow the GPS.

We stayed north of the meadows, crossed two creek beds, and eventually found our main line going up—though it wasn’t obvious. This involved bushwhacking until we reached a shale section approaching the Price–Clinker col. We were well behind schedule by now, and it was pitch dark, but we pressed on to summit Mount Price.

Mount Price to the Car

The descent down Mount Price was laborious, with occasional boulder crossings. The trail was hard to follow in places, partly due to fatigue, and partly due to overgrowth. Still, we were grateful to be on a somewhat established route.

This was my first time on the Mount Price trail in summer, and I don’t think I’d return—it's a long, unrewarding plod. Morale was boosted once we hit the Black Tusk ranger station. We hadn’t seen anyone past Panorama Ridge all day, so it was refreshing to finally encounter signs of human activity. After filtering water and having a quick nutrition break, we completed the final, unremarkable 9 km back to the car.

Summary

This is a true wilderness trip, with significant elevation gain and high commitment. It was definitely the trip of a lifetime. I would only recommend it to parties that move fast and efficiently, have strong routefinding skills, and a high tolerance for long, punishing days in the mountains.

I’ve long wished for more trail development in BC, as many of our peaks remain inaccessible or require arduous plods. Over the years, I’ve also noticed a striking uptick in the number of visitors to our parks, with congestion in the Sea to Sky corridor creating a host of separate issues. But after visiting the wilderness beyond Garibaldi Lake, I hope the beauty of places like this is preserved and kept wild.

[u/L-epinephrine]

Here’s a screenshot of the strava activity for those who are curious.

[u/bctreehugger → u/L-epinephrine]

Again. Redefining what a day hike. I always wondered if there was a way to traverse the lake. Amazing doing 50km in that terrain. 👏

[u/SkookumFred → u/L-epinephrine]

Superb trip!!!! I've always thought a trail for this trip would be awesome. Of course it would greatly impact the Burton hut but infrastructure could be built and it would be a five star hike.

A little history: Sept 1983, Peter Croft set off from the Rubble Ck parking lot at 0015hrs, hiked to Panorama > Gentian (where he got lost for a bit ) > Castle Towers via the reg route (easy 5th cl) then accessed the top of the Sphinx glacier from Polemonium Ridge. Climbed Sphinx via the N Ridge ( 5.8 ish) and hiked down the Sentinal Glacier and then roughly followed the route you took to Price/Clinker. The overgrown lava flow - at that time without any kind of trail - back to Battleship Is was a very unhappy thrash. Arrived at the lake around 1800hrs or so maybe earlier. He had dinner at the Ranger Stn (knew someone :-D ) and then was back in the parking lot around 2100hrs.

The hi-route clearly has less of a bush thrash but it also has significant climbing & glacier travel.

[u/L-epinephrine]

Edit: I didn't climb mount price - mistyped, still tired from the trip. Got home at 6am after a quick nap at McDonalds

Here is the link to Climber Kyle's trip report

[u/danelow → u/L-epinephrine]

Seems like a detail hallucinated by ChatGPT :P i kid, love the photos. Looks like a beautiful trip. Nicely done

[u/L-epinephrine → u/danelow]

Damn caught red handed. I’m too lazy to proofread my writing at the moment. All the content and thoughts are original… so saying I went up mount price was still my mistake lol

[u/danelow → u/L-epinephrine]

Haha,all good. Hope to make the trip one day!

[u/kaitlyn2004]

I recently ran to panorama ridge in 2:30… and you did it in the same time… as basically just the first leg of your trip?! 😭

[u/Sedixodap]

Here’s my dad’s description of his version of this trip as a teenager back in the 1970’s: https://forums.clubtread.com/27-british-columbia/33428-garibaldi-attempted-failed-again.html#/topics/2948?page=1

I’m glad to hear that although it seems like everything else has changed in the almost 50 years since, the blackflies and bushwhacking on this route have stayed exactly the same. I think I’ll continue to avoid it. 

[u/L-epinephrine → u/Sedixodap]

Thank you so much for sharing this. Your dad is an absolute badass for spending 10 days out there and climbing mount garibaldi. I wish I can be like him one day

[u/sfbriancl → u/Sedixodap]

Interesting. He traversed the glacier, which I suppose was much closer to the water, or was actually in the water?

Anybody know of any photos of the glacier from the 70s?

[u/Sedixodap → u/sfbriancl]

I’ve seen some comparison photos of Wedge over time but I don’t recall seeing similar for Garibladi.

This study does include diagrams showing past glacier extent, and has dashed lines showing 1977 which would align pretty closely with what he experienced: https://backcountrybc.ca/images/documents/GaribaldiPark/GlacierChangeInGaribaldiProvincialParkSinceLittleIceAge.pdf

[u/whouz]

The hut is at the far side of the lake where the glacier is coming down?

[u/_Tar_Ar_Ais_ → u/whouz]

if it's the same one I'm thinking of then yes it is

[u/L-epinephrine → u/whouz]

You can see the general area where the huts are across the lake from panorama. Might be too far away to see the actual huts

[u/vanveenfromardis → u/whouz]

There are actually two(+) huts, the Burton Hut is in Sphinx Bay "across from" the Garibaldi Lake campground, and Sentinel Bay also has a small glaciology hut(s).

[u/[deleted]]

Wow, impressive stats. You should be super proud of this route.

[u/_Tar_Ar_Ais_]

Monster of a trip, how are you feeling now? Wish I had that much time and fitness!

[u/L-epinephrine → u/_Tar_Ar_Ais_]

Currently very itchy from all the bites 😬 but doing fine all things considered. Really dialled in my nutrition on the move for this one

[u/tdVancouver]

Epic trip

[u/ELXR-AUDIO]

What camera? Photos are beautiful

[u/L-epinephrine → u/ELXR-AUDIO]

Thank you! I was shooting with a Fuji X-T20. The Milky Way pic was taken with an iPhone 16 pro.

[u/ELXR-AUDIO → u/L-epinephrine]

absolutely stunning. I love the pastel look

[u/MilandoFC → u/L-epinephrine]

Hey, unreal trip and TR! For the camera I’ve got the same one and am wondering what lens/film simulation or edits are you using?

[u/L-epinephrine → u/MilandoFC]

Thanks! I’m just using the kit lens with a glimmer glass 1 filter. The film simulation is Kodak gold 200

[u/Affectionate_Bus532]

Incredible!

[u/etteirrah]

Stunning photos. I love hiking but I love photography too. What setup did you use? That sky was a beautiful end to this.

[u/L-epinephrine → u/etteirrah]

Thanks! Using a Fuji film x-t20 with kits lens and glimmer glass filter. I keep my camera in a case + dry bag when running

[u/etteirrah → u/L-epinephrine]

Oh, nice setup! I love Fuji! I have an X100F myself

[u/fuckwingsoffire]

Any chance I could get the gpx track if you have one? :P

[u/yomsen → u/fuckwingsoffire]

Me too!

[u/vanveenfromardis]

Epic trip, thanks for sharing. Love the shots of The Table itself and Table Meadows. Do you happen to have any more shots of the North East/East aspect (i.e. the side opposite the "tea cup handle")?

[u/One-War4920]

nice

we did garibaldi lake/black tusk for school field trip in grade 9, 1984, dozen or so students and 1 teacher, rented a short bus and a condo in whistler??? everybody just slept on the floor

the day before we were closer to squamish and did some caving, for some reason i remember the name "kakadema kloset" but have never found much of anything online aboot it.