Before going into this week's destination, I would like to mention that this post marks the one year anniversary of my hiking post series. For the past 52 weeks, I wrote and shared one hiking post each Sunday, with the exception of one Sunday in March and two Sundays in July, all of which I was away on trips. I kicked off the hiking posts last year on December 5 with the Panorama Ridge post shortly after the newly released territories on SN and it's been great fun sharing my past hikes with you guys. Thank you for reading, zapping, and commenting these posts. Your continued support is greatly appreciated.

I was initially debating whether if I should pause the waterfall mini-series and put out a special hike to celebrate the anniversary. I had all the waterfall hikes posting schedule planned out already, but this one felt special enough for me to deviate from the schedule and put a pause on the waterfalls. The waterfalls will return next week, but this week, we head to a couple of lakes.

Since my hiking posts started in Garabaldi Provincial Park, it is fitting that the anniversary post be about another beautiful hike also located in Garabaldi Provincial Park: Elfin Lakes. The trailhead for Elfin Lakes Trail is next to the Diamond Head Parking Lot in Garabaldi Provincial Park. The parking lot is at the end of a long, twisting, and bumpy dirt road with numerous pot holes along the way. The trail itself is a relatively long 22km out-and-back trail with approximately 800m elevation gain. The trail starts wide but climbs steadily and gradually in the forest. At about halfway, the trail traverses a rocky section next to the mountain and the forest opens up, making way for the nearby breathtaking mountain views. Continuing on the trail for a few more kilometers and Elfin Lakes fall in sight in front of a beautiful mountain range backdrop. Elfin Lakes are two small lakes with a ranger station, a storm shelter, and multiple back country campsites situated next to them. The two lakes have dedicated uses, with the larger lake acting as the swimming / washing lake, while the smaller lake acting as a source of drinking water. We took a stroll around both lakes, passing by the ranger station, the storm shelter, and the campsites. We were lucky to have perfect weather on the day of our hike and felt very grateful to be greeted by such beautiful views. The pictures don't do the actual scenery justice; you have to be there to truly see this place's beauty. With that said, here are some pictures we took on the day of our hike.

Info board at the trailhead.

Here we go, 11km to get to the lakes.

Wide trail with gradual incline.

Rocks next to the trail.

Less trees and more bush at higher elevations.

Rocky section of the trail at about halfway to the lakes.

Beautiful mountain range in sight.

More mountains.

Elfin Lakes in sight. Two small lakes (more like ponds).

The larger lake permits washing, swimming, and playing in the water.

The smaller lake is a water source for dinking water.

Campsites next to an amazing view.

More campsites.

Food cache (you don't keep your food in your tent when back country camping due to bears) and storm shelter.

Ranger station.

We sat here to eat our lunch while looking at this view. The main trail coming down coupled with its own reflection looks like the crescent moon.

I love the reflection of the mountains and trees.

One last look at the larger lake before heading back.

Check out my previous hikes: