Joffre Lakes are a trio of beautiful emerald lakes located in British Columbia, about a 3-4 hour drive North of Vancouver. The lakes are fed by melting glacier water streaming down from the mountaintops. Whenever I show photos of Joffree Lakes to someone, the first thing they ask if if this is Lake Louise in Banff, Alberta. In my opninion, this is one of the best kept secrets of Western Canada. Everyone goes to Lake Louise and Lake Morraine but Joffre Lakes is just as beautiful but without the crowds! It is doable as a day trip from Vancouver but you will be exhausted. If you are flying all the way to Vancouver for a trip, it’s worth the effort in my opinion.
Tickets & Directions
Wondering about how to get to Joffre Lakes? First, you will need to rent a car for this trip. It takes about 3 hourw to drive from Vancouver but it was a 4 hour drive back due to traffic. You’ll want to use google maps for easy directions and live traffic updates. The parking lot and entrance are located here (Maps Link).
Ensure you book your tickets beforehand! They are FREE but you must absolutely reserve early. The quantities are limited. I saw a couple at the entrance arguing with the Park Ranger because they drove for 4 hours and the Park Ranger would not let them in because they didn’t have a ticket. Make your reservations here. Reservations open the day before at 7 am so set your alarm and get your tickets ASAP.
The area has unfortunately become very popular in recent years and joins the list of other attractions that become overcrowded due to Instagram (more on that later).
The Drive
The Sea to Sky highway is a narrow highway that links Vancouver to the northern regions beyond Whistler. It is a rather unpleasant drive and I found that generally in this area of BC, the roads continuously twist and turn while ascending and descending through the natural landscape. I felt nauseous and wanted to throw up on arrival. If you live in Central or Eastern Canada, you’ll be used to our mostly flat and wide highways and will definitely notice the difference! Nothing beats the view however! Having only live in Quebec and Ontario, I had never seen this side of Canada before.
Along the way, we stopped in Squamish for gas. It’s a good idea to make sure you have a full tank as Joffre Lakes is located in a remote area and I did not see any gas stations in the neighbourhood.
Joffre Lakes Parking Lot #2
There are 2 parking lots and the first was full by the time we arrived around 10.30 am. The second parking lot had plenty of space left. I think this may be unusual though as it was on a weekday. If you are heading there on the weekend, I suggest leaving earlier. Since the tickets are sold out so quickly, I expect that the parking lots would fill up by mid-day.
When we were leaving in the afternoon, there were still plenty of spots available but I would still go early to ensure you find a parking spot. You are NOT allowed to park on the highway so if the lots are full then you are out of luck.
Joffre Lakes
Joffre Lakes actually consists of 3 lakes: Lower, Middle and Upper. The Lower lake is the easiest to access and only about a 5-10 walk from the entrance with no elevation. The Middle lake is about a 1 hour hike each way so plan for at least a 2 hour hike round trip. You might also want to stop along the way to take in the view and have a drink! The path is slippery in some areas and muddy so running/hiking shoes are a requirement.
An hour of hiking later, we arrived at the Middle Lake. The area right at the beginning of the Middle lake is very busy, I would suggest to keep walking as it gets calmer and there are several spots to stop at further along.
We packed a lunch and found a cozy spot by the lakeshore to eat. The scenery is breathtaking! Remember though that this is glacier water and it’s freezing cold.
There were lots of people or Instagram influencers trying to get that perfect picture on the log or changing into swimwear and jumping in the freezing water just for a photo. It’s funny and entertaining to watch while enjoying lunch!
If you check Instagram later for #joffrelakes, you will see these photos with inspirational quotes about their life changing hike.
We did not go to the Upper lake as we were already exhausted and we had a long ride back to Vancouver!
Hot Tip: Bring a change of clothes (to change into after your sweaty hike), a towel, hat, lots of water, lunch and snacks! Don’t forget sunscreen as well because some areas of the hike are exposed without trees and you don’t want to burn.
This post was originally published on April 10, 2022 and has since been updated.