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I will have a work trip in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada early June, and I'm seeing if I can combine this with a backpacking trip in the nearby coast mountains for 2–3 nights. However, it's very early in the season and from the presence of big glaciers I deduce the Coast Mountains are very snowy, so I expect alpine routes in e.g. Garibaldi Provincial Park will be inaccessible due to deep snow, perhaps down into the forest.

What are some backpacking trails in the area, that are accessible in the spring/summer shoulder season (early June)? As I have only 2–3 days, I don't want to be more than 2–3 hours of travel from either Whistler or Vancouver. I prioritise solitude over having the most spectacular scenery.

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  • We hardly have any snow at all here in BC (In the Kootenays anyways), it's been really warm, hardly any precipitation in the mountains, and when it does fall half the time it's rain. I don't think you'll have to worry about too much snow on the trail come June.
    – ShemSeger
    Commented Feb 26, 2015 at 22:08

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Since the snow has been quite light in BC this year, Garibaldi should be okish mid June, unless you wish to go all the way up to Black Tusk. The valley and lakes below Black Tusk should be ok, i.e. there may be snow but you should be able to hike without snowshoes. However be aware that Garibaldi is a very popular destination and there will definately be campers there. It's worth it though, very nice spot.

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  • Sure, I don't expect to be alone so close to Vancouver, I just meant that if there is one trail that is super-spectacular with 90% of the crowd, and another trail that is slightly less spectacular with 10% of the crowd, I tend to go for the latter.
    – gerrit
    Commented Feb 27, 2015 at 23:02

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