Rainbow Lake Trail

Rainbow Lake Trail is a day-hike in Whistler, British Columbia, that climbs alongside 21 Mile Creek to Rainbow Lake. The route is an out-and-back hike from the Alta Lake Road trailhead area.

You’ll find early trail options tied to the creek—Rainbow Falls is near the beginning as the trail follows the drainage upward. The mid-hike is consistently uphill through forest sections and a widening route of gravel before narrowing again.

Higher on the hike the trail crosses multiple small wooden bridges and reaches boardwalks in a bogy section, where footing can be uneven across older slats. From there it swings through meadow terrain before the lake appears and you reach the turnaround at Rainbow Lake.

Rainbow Lake is inside Whistler’s drinking-water watershed, so swimming and camping at the lake are not permitted (and dogs are not allowed in the watershed area on the route to/around the lake).

The commonly listed turnaround effort is about 16 km round trip with roughly 850 m of elevation gain, typically taking around 6 hours. Season for typical hiking windows is July through September.

For planning beyond the lake, Hanging Lake is commonly described as about 1.5 km farther past Rainbow Lake, creating a longer option if you want to extend the outing.

More information: Rainbow Lake Hike in Whistler, Rainbow Lake Hiking Trail in Whistler | Vancouver Trails, Rainbow Lake Trail | Explore the Kootenai National Forest