Madeley Lake Rating Madeley Lake is a gorgeous mountain lake located high up in the Callaghan Valley just a short drive past Alexander Falls. From Whistler Village it takes about 50 minutes to drive the 27.4 kilometres to get to the parking area for both Madeley Lake and Hanging Lake. A new gate installed in 2022 blocks Madeley Lake FSR which continues two kilometres to the far end of Madeley Lake near the campsite.

Amazing, remote feeling corner of Whistler
Driving there is very scenic and beautiful
Madeley has a cute beach
Tidy & cute campsite with picnic tables & fire rings
Beach is south facing & always sunny
Free campsites at both lakes
Madeley Creek flows through the campsite
Stunning mountain views all around
Swimming is amazing, though freezing!
Whistler Olympic Park blocks the road

Whistler & Garibaldi Hiking

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Visiting Madeley Lake now involves a boring walk up the old logging road to get there. It also makes bringing a canoe, kayak or paddleboard to the lake out of the question for most. This parking area is also where you find the trailhead for the Madeley-Hanging Lake trail. The Madeley-Hanging Lake trail is a moderately challenging trail that ascends through the forest for 6.2 kilometres to the free campsite at Hanging Lake. The trail connects to the Rainbow Trail, reaching Rainbow Lake in just one kilometre. At the south end of the lake, the Rainbow Trail takes you 8 kilometres down the valley to emerge at the Rainbow Trail trailhead on Alta Lake Road. These two trails meet at Rainbow Lake and the trails combined are known as the Rainbow Madeley trail, which is 16.1 kilometres long, trailhead to trailhead. Rainbow Lake is the source of much of Whistler’s water supply and therefore camping, swimming and dogs are not allowed. Hanging Lake is just outside the watershed area and none of the restrictions apply. Camping is free at the Hanging Lake campsite which is unmaintained. The campsite at Madeley Lake is also free and well outside the watershed area so there are no restrictions. Beautiful Madeley Lake is the main attraction and the trail to Hanging Lake is not very popular, especially compared to the increasingly busy Rainbow Trail which is conveniently located in Whistler off Alta Lake Road, not far from Rainbow Park. The Hanging Lake campsite is popular in the summer, though nearly everyone hikes there via the Rainbow Trail instead of the Madeley-Hanging Lake trail. Hanging Lake is nice, though Rainbow Lake and Madeley Lake are beautiful by comparison. Out of the three lakes, Madeley is the best by far in terms of scenery, serenity and size.

Madeley Lake Continued...

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