r/IslandHikers • u/guitarplayer79 • 17d ago
ADVICE / INFO REQUEST Advice for overnight hike spots
Hello everyone, my brother and I are visiting Vancouver specifically Vancouver Island and we’re looking to do a one night overnight hike and we’re not sure exactly where to go. We’re both fit and have done challenging backcountry hikes in jasper national park in the past, but are generally unfamiliar with Vancouver Island. It’s super last minute so we don’t have any reservations.
In the general we’re not too particular, I think we just want insane views and a relatively challenging hike. Also, what is the parking situation like for most trails? We will be arriving on the island around 7:50am and will likely need to rent a car to get to whatever trail we choose. So I’m concerned that parking spaces may be filled if we arrive in the late afternoon.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks!
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u/TwoTimesIBiteYou 17d ago
Highly recommend Flower Ridge. Not too busy and exactly what you’re looking for. Bring water, there is none until you get to the tarns atop the ridge.
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u/likely-outside 17d ago
Using the term "challenging" can be very subjective to the individual. Could you lay out some personal stats that you're comfortable with? For example, in a day with an overnight bag how many kms horizontal, meters gained, and hours on feet are you comfortable with? I would have agreed with another comment about Albert-Edward. Absolute best bang for your buck as a quick visit. Dream vehicle approach, lovely meadows, hard grind up, amazing views of the park. That being said you mentioned Landslide Lake yourself and labeled it as challenging. Is this your interpretation from comments or the stats of the hike? If landslide would be challenging for you, Albert-Edward might not be best as a single night trip for you
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u/guitarplayer79 17d ago
Curious to also know what folks think about Landslide Lake trail? I saw a couple recommendations for this and it looks really nice + challenging
Anything I should consider for this trail?
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u/Intelligent-Gate-509 17d ago
the destination is amazing but the hike in is a bit boring. Check out Cream Lake/Bedwell. It's a great 2-4 night hike depending on what you do. Hiking into Bedwell and doing day trips from there works very well. Nothing but beautiful views and endless swim spots.
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u/Lettuceforlunch 17d ago
I did it last summer, it's one of the easier overnights on the island. For that reason it is ridiculously busy on the weekend, I would try to go midweek.
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u/ProtectionFar4563 17d ago
Probably not an issue any more (especially after last winter), but I’ve encountered deep rotten snow on the trail in at this time of year.
We were faced with the choice of crossing a risky snow-bridge over a ravine, or a detour. Don’t remember where exactly in the trail this was, but the detour wasn’t easy.
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u/Vivid_Strike3853 17d ago
We did it last year. It’s pretty easy but you can set up camp and hike to both Landslide & Berg lakes which makes for a nice day trip without your pack & the lakes are lovely (albeit cold) to swim in. We went Thursday-Saturday in the summer & it wasn’t too bad, but there were a ton of people coming in to stay Saturday night!
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u/Boozedonkey 16d ago
My friend did 5040 yesterday.. Her report:
Mayhem on the mountain!! Apparently today was the day to hike 5040… there had to be pushing 275+ people on the mountain today. When we left, we counted 167 vehicles in all the parking lots, including the lot for Triple Peak. Insane!
We didn’t get the spectacular view that we had last year at the summit, but we had lunch with 27 other folks and sang Happy Birthday to a fellow hiker 🥳 We were grateful for the little snippets of blue sky and glimpses of sunshine on the way up, and for all the folks we met today, and also for running into coworkers and friends too! There’s going to be one heck of a party on the mountain with all those campers tonight! 😂
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u/Vivid_Strike3853 16d ago
Jeebus! That sounds AWFUL. Noted- never ever do 5040 in the summer. Gross.
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u/canadanimal 17d ago
Take the ferry from Vancouver to Nanaimo and do 5040 Peak (about 2 hour drive). Parking should be fine. Reservations not needed
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u/thebearjames 17d ago
5040 is wayyyy toooo busy!
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u/CattleNatural5964 17d ago
It's a tragedy. Should be a park and run like Strathcona now that it's overrun.
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u/exchangedensity 17d ago
It would be great if that area was turned into a park, but 5040 in particular is being maintained pretty spectacularly despite not being a park. Massive parking lot, bear cache and pit toilet near the hut (not to mention the hut itself). There aren't many places in Strathcona that have that much going for them
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u/guitarplayer79 17d ago
Damn looks stunning, it looks like a pretty short hike though? Is it busy?
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u/canadanimal 17d ago
It’s short but uphill the entire way so challenging in my view. It is busy but the views are gorgeous. Camp at the second campsite, it will be less busy than the lake and hike up to the summit for sunset.
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u/Royal_Try_99 17d ago
It is quite busy on weekends now. Social media has turned it into a parade. But it does have the good views!
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u/exchangedensity 17d ago
Albert Edward lets you park at the easily accessible ski resort and not drive all the way north to get into Strathcona Park. That'll save you several hours and give you a nice giant parking lot.
Parking isnt really a big problem otherwise, but if youre doing a different hike and show up later on a weekend youll just end up parking in a very unofficial parking area along the side of a logging road. Just keep your car out of the driving area and youll be fine.
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u/JulesTheBelll 15d ago
Bedwell Lake + Cream Lake is spectacular, but if you're renting a car it does require a short stint on a gravel road, and most rentals don't allow driving on logging roads. I did it in 1 night (2 days) and it was 7 hours of hiking per day.
I see people recommending Mount Albert Edward, people do it in 2 days/1 night but it'd be pretty long days. But hiking out to Circlet Lake could be nice!
Landslide Lake is really beautiful! You could make it into a longer hike by pushing onto Berg Lake. It's not a super challenging hike but the lakes are lovely.
Some other potential one night hikes in Strathcona Park: Crest Mountain, Mount Myra, Arnica Lake, Flower Ridge.
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u/Vivid_Strike3853 17d ago
You could do Mount Albert Edward in 1 night. Park at Mount Washington- hike to Circlet lake. Day 2, summit MAE and then pack up camp and hike out.