The last week of July, we packed up a weekend bag and hopped in the car with our dear friends A & S. It was time for our weekend getaway in which we would hike the much anticipated Joffre Lakes Trail. Our Airbnb was in Pemberton – new to us, but we now have many fond memories of that beautiful town!
Pemberton is a picturesque town situated in the Coast Mountains of British Columbia, just 2 hours north of Vancouver. With Mount Currie as a back drop, and Joffre Lakes Park and several lakes and rivers around, it was the perfect place to pick an Airbnb.
Friday after work, we made our way through traffic to the Sea to Sky Highway. We stopped in Squamish first to have dinner. We’d spent so much time together at this point, but realized this was our first sit-down dinner out with the four of us!
We made our way further up north, passing Garibaldi and Whistler before arriving in the small town of Pemberton. The Airbnb was a cozy upstairs apartment above someone’s garage. We spent the first night getting settled into our place, having drinks over games.
It had been a busy few weeks for all of us, so we had barely planned anything yet. The most important part was arranging our hike at Joffre Lakes. For many parks, you need to secure a parking pass two days in advance at 7 AM. Generally, these parking passes sell out in minutes after registration opens. We managed to get a pass for Sunday.
On Saturday morning, we went into Pemberton in search of some groceries and cooked a lovely breakfast together. The Airbnb had an outdoor patio, perfect with the warm weather! Our host walked by to say hello, so we asked him for some recommendations. Any lakes around he’d recommend for paddle boarding?
For a visual summary of the weekend, check out the reel I made on Instagram!
lilloeet lake
We decided to drive to the super scenic Lillooet Lake. It stretches approximately 33 kilometers and is surrounded by forests and mountains. We drove along it until we found an area with parking and good access to the water. We took out the paddle boards, got the electric pump started, and found a spot on the beach to hang out.
The lake is so, so beautiful – such clear and crystalline water! We had brought our camping chairs and picnic mats. While S. and I chilled and snoozed on the beach, Tom and A. went out on the water. It was such a beautiful setting, we spent hours just chatting and enjoying the views. And of course, playing with the drone a bit for great photos and videos.
After a lovely afternoon there, we made our way to the supermarket again to grab ingredients for a delicious home cooked meal. We spent the evening cooking, eating, and playing board games.
Joffre Lakes
The next morning, we geared up for the Joffre Lakes Trail. After another yummy breakfast, we packed some lunch, tidied up the Airbnb, and packed up the car. As we drove out of the driveway and into the garden leading off the property, we suddenly saw a young bear right in front of us in the garden! It was the very first time we saw a bear, so it was such a special moment! I loved how it moved so clumsily and cartoonishly, looking left and right using its whole body, deciding which direction to head into. It ran off to the left, and we didn’t see it again.
That was a great start of our adventure. We drove about 30 minutes to the Joffre Lakes parking area, showed our parking pass to the park rangers, and started the 8 km hike along three stunning turquoise lakes: Lower, Middle, and Upper Joffre Lakes.
The hike is very doable, but you’ll definitely find yourself needing to catch your breath a few times. That’s all good though – the trail ascends through such picturesque forest, just take in all the beauty! There’s something to see everywhere. That includes wildlife, particularly two-legged creatures with backpacks. This is a very popular hike, and despite the parking pass which limits how many people can be there, it does get quite crowded on the narrow trails.
I particularly liked the Middle Lake; the colour was so, so beautiful. It has that backdrop of snowy mountains and rocks but still lots of green forests and meadows.
As we neared the Upper Lake, the surroundings got more rocky. At the end of the trail, we sat on huge rocks to enjoy the glacier surroundings, eat a sandwich, watch the birds and chipmunks around us… We considered going further up on a new trail – we were told doing that would get you a view of all three lakes in a row. But considering, time, cold, and not enough food for an additional few hours, we made our way back down.
The weather was fantastic, so the boys mentally prepared for swimming in the glacier cold water. Though I think the second lake would have been the most beautiful for it, walking the rest of the way back with icy cold wet shorts would be a bit uncomfortable. So we decided on the Lower Lake. Though I didn’t swim myself, dipping my warm and tired feet in the water was incredibly refreshing!
It was just another 20 minutes or so back to the car. After a short pit stop, we hopped in the car again and started the drive back to Vancouver.
North Arm Farm
On the way, we wanted to make one more stop, and we read about a nice farm somewhere around Pemberton. We decided to go find it, and wow, I’m so glad we did! North Arm Farm is a 60+ acres organic farm with fruits, vegetables, and flowers. It’s particularly know for offering farm-to-table experiences such as berry picking. Though we didn’t do any of that, as visitors we were welcome to roam around. I loved it there so much – the mountains around, the gorgeous trees, the incredible barn (wedding location, anyone!?)… At the shop, we got ourselves some ice cream, and I bought a couple of artsy post cards for my collection.
Unfortunately, it was time to go… Back home, over the gorgeous Sea To Sky Highway. Back to work the next day!
