One of the most well known places to go hiking in British Columbia has to be Garibaldi Provincial Park. Not only does it offer an incredible variety of hiking options (day trips, overnight hikes, multi-day hikes), but it is also one of the most scenic destinations in the province. With over 90km of hiking trails available, many have barely scratched the surface of what Garibaldi has to offer. Each destination within this huge park is so unique, and I am looking forward to the day I can check them all off of my list.
My first time exploring Garibaldi I went with a group of friends and we chose to turn it into an overnight camping trip. Our group was of about 12 people, half of which went up on a Friday afternoon and spent two nights camping. The other half of us had to come up on Saturday due to work (sadly, myself included). The group who did two nights of camping stayed at Garibaldi Lake campground the first night and then met us at Taylor Meadows campground the following afternoon. Those of us who came up on Saturday still went to check out the famous Garibaldi Lake before heading to set up camp.
The hike to Garibaldi Lake is not overly challenging. It mostly consists of gradual elevation gain via about a million switch backs which all look the same. Personally, I am not the biggest fan of switchbacks and would much rather scramble my way up a mountain, but that might just be me. After about 6km of switchbacks you come across a fork in the trail. You can either continue to the right and it will take you directly to the lake, or head left and take the long way through Taylor Meadows. Although we were camping in Taylor Meadows that night, we wanted to check out the lake first so we stayed to the right. From this point onwards it is probably only about 2 more kilometers until you reach the lake.
We set out on a rainy Saturday morning and when we got to the lake it was still overcast. The weather will definitely change the look of the lake. On this day it was a bit more of a deep turquoise colour than the brilliant blue you will see in many pictures. We also weren’t lucky enough to have a clear view of the surrounding landscape (ie. panorama ridge which stands tall on the opposite end of the lake). Despite this, it was still a gorgeous sight and we sat to eat our lunch beside the lake. I honestly did not mind that the weather was not so great because it lead to less people being on the trail/at the lake.
As I mentioned before, there are sites where visitors can camp overnight at Garibaldi Lake, as long as you reserve ahead of time. The other camping option is at Taylor Meadows, which is about 30 minutes past the lake and where we were heading next. Once we finished our lunches we packed back up our bags and walked along the lake back towards the main trail.
To get from the lake to Taylor Meadows you do not have to go all the way back to the fork in the trail from before. Instead there is a marked trailhead which will take you a different way to the campground. From here to Taylor Meadows it was probably about another 30-45 minutes but the trail is relatively flat. Right before you reach the campground you cross a bridge at Taylor Creek and then it is a quick, muddy, uphill climb and you’re there! At the top of the hill is a wooden boardwalk which takes you towards all of the campsites. Follow the boardwalk until you reach the junction where you can either go left or right to find a tent pad (continuing straight will take you to a trail which leads back down the mountain).
The sites on the left side of Taylor Meadows are a lot more clumped together than those on the right. Since we had a large group of people and four sites reserved between us, it made more sense to camp there so we could all be close by. We were also very close to the toilets on this side, which I guess is either a good and bad thing depending how you look at it.
After we met up with the other half of our group we set up camp and relaxed for a bit, sharing stories of our hike up (the group who came up on Friday was unlucky and it rained the entire day/night so they had a lot to share haha). At Taylor Meadows campground there is an emergency shelter where they prefer you do all of your cooking in order to avoid attracting bears. We ended up spending the rest of our day inside the shelter playing cards and drinking the beer that we carted up the mountain. As the evening rolled around the sky began to clear and the clouds lifted, opening up an incredible view of the valley around us. One of the highlights for me is that from Taylor Meadows you can see Black Tusk far in the distance.
One of the best parts about camping/hiking with a large group of friends is that there is always entertainment. This was my first time backpacking with more than one other person and I absolutely loved it! I feel so lucky to have amazing friends who also want to go on adventures like this, and we are currently planning on doing a repeat trip this summer.
Out of all the overnight hikes I have done, I would definitely say that Garibaldi Lake/Taylor Meadows is the most “group friendly”. I say this because not only are the camp sites close together, but the hike itself is not overly technical. Although it is a longer trek than some overnight hikes, the trail is fairly simple and the elevation gain is quite spread out, making it less strenuous than a lot of other hikes. Since our group was a big mix of experience levels, spanning from veteran hikers/campers to first-timers, this was perfect.
The next morning the group that we were with all headed back down to the parking lot. However, me and my partner (Josh) had planned ahead of time that we were going to stay and head further up the trail. We initially planned to hike Panorama Ridge but at the last minute changed our minds and decided on going to Black Tusk instead.
For the sake of this post not turning into a novel I am going to write about Black Tusk in a second post, so stay tuned for Part 2!
MUST KNOW:
Distance: 9km to Garibaldi Lake
Elevation Gain: 1480m
Accessibility: 2WD accessible paved road, no transit available to trailhead
Water Availability: Lots of stream crossings along entire hike + Garibaldi lake and Taylor Meadows campsites both along a water source
Food storage: Bear hangs provided at both sites (bring your own food sac but rope/clips are provided)
Facilities: Outhouse pit toilets at both campsites, cooking shelter at both sites (closed for summer 2020 due to COVID-19)
Reservation Needed: BC Parks day pass reservation currently needed for any day hiking (as of July 2020) due to COVID-19, reservation always needed for backcountry camping
Wander With Katie 
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