Joffre Lakes Provincial Park

Only experienced and well-prepared mountaineers should attempt mountain climbing or venture onto glaciers and snow fields. The trail from the parking lot past three lakes to Middle and Upper Joffre Lake is a rough, rocky and steep 5 km (3 mile) mountain route. Elevation gain to Upper Joffre Lake from the parking lot is approximately 400 metres. For your own safety and the preservation of the park, obey posted signs and keep to designated trails.

From the parking lot, Lower Joffre Lake is just a short 5 minutes, easy walk away and there is a nice viewpoint here. If you carry on, the more challenging trek to Middle and Upper Joffre lakes is well worth the reward: a sweeping view of rugged peaks, icefields and cold, rushing streams beneath the Matier Glacier.

Continuing on from Lower Joffre Lake, the trail winds upward through old growth forests of hemlock and spruce and along talus slopes. After a steep, rooty section, the trail emerges into a sub-alpine forest with views of the Matier Glacier.

At Middle Joffre Lake, you’ll want to stop to photograph the scene in front of you: with the lake’s pristine turquoise waters fringed by sub-alpine forest and backed by rugged Coast Mountain scenery.

The final stretch of the hike brings you to the largest and perhaps most stunning of the three lakes: Upper Joffre Lake. Here you stand beneath the frozen cascade of Matier Glacier, with a fine vantage of 2,721m. (8,927ft.) Joffre Peak.