This trail leads from the downhill parking lot at Cypress Provincial Park to the top of the Black Mountain chair and then winds itself through alpine forest for a kilometre or two until you reach Cabin Lake. It is well marked and a good hike if you only have a couple of hours to spend. A couple of smaller loops are possible; Cabin Lake is a popular swimming Lake and many people choose to do it au naturel, even in late September.
There are great views of Greater Vancouver, Howe Sound, the Sunshine Coast and of course the Lions. There is no dependable drinking water so stock up in advance. The coffee shop at the parking area may not be opened in the fall, so don't expect to be able to eat, but the vending machines were working on our visit.
The climb up to the top of Black Mt is NTD and the plateau at the top has many small lakes and tarns to explore. This is part of the Baden-Powell Trail and if you are really eager and have a second car you can hike all the way to Horseshoe Bay.
This trail will be snow covered from late November to May
Directions:
Exit the Upper Levels Highway at the Cypress Bowl Rd exit and follow the park road all the way to the downhill parking area, some 14 km from the highway. The trail starts by Cypress Sports building and is well-marked.
Sorry directions weren't available. Please check the bottom of the description.
ByPosted By: Emma
- Fri Jul 25 20:12:15 EDT 2008
UpsideA quick hike to a lovely lake. (under 40mins) An optional additional hike to Eagle Bluffs was really nice and good for some added exercise. We went July 25th and the lake was NOT warm. Very refreshing though!!!! Also the view from eagle bluffs was great.
DownsideThe hike to the lake was fairly boring, and the bugs.
CommentPleasantly surprised at the quality of lake water, and the view from eagle bluffs. Even though Eagle Bluffs is only suppsed to be an extra 1.5 km, it takes longer than the intial hike up the mountain to the lake! (about 45mins). Great place for lunch though!
ByPosted By: hobbit
- Wed Jul 05 02:28:37 EDT 2006
UpsideThere were only 5 other people around the lake when we arrived.
DownsideA lot of bugs in the evening. I only got 2 bites but they're in-your-face annoying.
CommentWe started at 3:45pm on Sunday and swan for an hour at the lake. After visiting Eagle Bluffs, it was 9:45pm when we reached the parking lot. (We went up Fork and down Panorama.)
ByPosted By: trailpeak
- Sun Jul 27 03:03:36 EDT 2003
UpsideSwim, and nice water too! perfect distance to other side for a bit of solitude.
DownsideVW sized deerflies when we were there, and, somewhat crowded on a Sat.
CommentNot many swimming lakes in the Vancouver area, this one is a gem, 3.3 km from Cypress parking lot makes for a reasonable afternoon hike.
ByPosted By: jeannette
- Sat Jul 26 21:26:04 EDT 2003
UpsideClear, refreshing water, hardly any people (in midweek though) at the lake, beautiful views from the top of Black Mtn. - what more can you ask for?!
CommentWe started this hike from Horseshoe Bay, just right after the ferry terminal (it's also on trailpeak.com). It's a grunt to get up (1100+ m elevation gain), but jumping into the refreshing water of Cabin Lake made it all worthwile. Also, on our return, we went by Eagle Bluffs with its stunning views.
ByPosted By: martin_nv
- Fri Sep 27 12:44:14 EDT 2002
UpsideIts local, there's SWIMMING, views, and doesn't take too long.
DownsideMaybe a wee bit too many people, but the other side of the lake is less crowded.
CommentI can vouch for the fact that Cabin Lake is a simply awesome place to go for a swim in the mountains. The water was warm enough to go for a pleasant swim all around the lake. The hike is not too bad, just a short grunt uphill for an hour or so. Make sure you stick to the trail on the way down, we didn't and had to do some bushwacking!
Posted By: Emma
Posted By: trailpeak
Posted By: jeannette
