Opal Cone via Elfin Lakes
Length: 37 km
Elevation Gain: 1,588 m
Difficulty Level : Hard
The trailhead starts at the Diamond Head Trailhead in Garibaldi Provincial Park. During the summer months, you need a day-use pass to enter the parking lot. Check the BC Parks website for details. Bring an offline map because you are in the backcountry with no cell signal.
At 37 km, this trail is long. Adding insult to injury, there are several descents on the way in, which means you have to climb back up on the way out. There aren’t any technical sections, except for a short, steep, and slippery section before the rim.
At the beginning, you hike along a wide and steadily ascending service road. You should have shade for this initial section. At around 5 km, you will arrive at Red Heather Shelter, where the views start to open up. Atwell peak and Mount Garibaldi will be in sight throughout your hike from this point on. There will be no shade after this point.
At 11 km, you will arrive at scenic Elfin Lakes. Take a rest there because you are only about halfway if your final destination is Opal Cone. There are no trail markers after you pass Elfin Lakes until you reach the 14 km mark, where you will encounter a metal bridge crossing a rushing creek. You can filter water from the creek if you need to. After leaving the creek, there are no more water sources. You will hike parallel to the creek for more than a kilometer.
Before the slippery ascent to the rim that I mentioned earlier, there is also a short and narrow ridge. Walking along it is kind of cool.
Once you are on the rim, you will have 360-degree views. You will see many of the famous mountains in Garibaldi Park, including Mount Garibaldi, Diamond Head, Atwell Peak, the Gargoyles, Mamquam Mountain, and many more. You will also see glaciers and several lakes.
If you want, you can circumnavigate the rim for a more unique experience. You will need an offline map because there is no visible trail after the official trail ends.
This trail and the area is bear country. I saw bears several times in different hikes.
