Brohm Lake Interpretive Forest – a hiking trail near Squamish
Trail Stats
Closest City Squamish
Park Brohm Lake Recreational Site Dogs Allowed yes Transit-Accessible no Camping Allowed no 4 X 4 Needed no |
Class half day
Trail Distance in KM 8.7 Hiking Time in HR 3 Average Grade % Elevation Gain in M 490 Highest Point in M 415 |
Map and Elevation Profile
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Trail Description
Along with Whistler and Shadow Interpretive Forests, Brohm Lake is one of three interpretive forests along the Sea to Sky (highway 99) corridor.
Brohm Lake Interpretive Forest is a Recreation Site at the northern end of Squamish near Alice Lake but on the west side of the highway. The trailhead/parking lot is a 1 hour drive from downtown Vancouver. There is no public transportation to the site.
For transit-accessible hikes, see this blog post.
Located in the traditional territory of the Squamish First Nation, the 400 ha Brohm Lake Interpretive Forest has over 10 kilometres of connecting trails.
The hike detailed in this post followed parts of several trails making one giant loop around the outer edges of the forest.
There is a signboard with a trailmap by the outhouses and garbage bins at the north end of the parking lot, but the trailhead for this hike starts at the south end of the parking lot. We walked south alongside the highway to your left and marsh on your right on the Bridge Trail. Quickly you arrive at a big wooden bridge that crosses over the wetland.
300 metres after you pass the turnoff for the Alder Trail, you come to a T junction of the High Trail. Go left connecting to the Cheakamus Loop Trail. Approximately 1.5 km later you will reach the first, and in my opinion the best, viewpoint overlooking the peaks in Tantalus Provincial Park. This is a great place to stop for lunch if the weather is good. There are picnic tables farther along the trail but in areas surrounded by trees. If it’s bad weather, you may want to wait until the third and final real viewpoint to eat in the shelter of the old fire lookout but note it’s 4 km away from here.
A few hundred metres later you will come to the second viewpoint. It’s not as wide open as the first but offers great views over the valley and Cheakamus River.
Half a kilometre later you will re-join the High Trail. Just over a kilometre and you’ll reach the junction for the 200 metre Tantalus View Trail on your left. It’s a steep climb up to the viewpoint but well worth the effort. You don’t want to miss out on this spot.
Afterwards we carried on left north on the Connector then Brohm Lake trail around the lake and back to the parking lot (2.5 km), but you could also go north on the Connector Trail then back down along the walking trail south around the lake and back over that first bridge back to your car for a shorter and flatter 1.5 km trip. The trail around the north end of the lake isn’t very exciting despite the trail map saying there are viewpoints. The views of the lake are all very treed in, and the trail climbs up high for a not-so-flat stroll around the lake’s edge as one might think.
Learn more
Learn more about the history and ecology of the Brohm Lake Interpretive Forest, as well as descriptions of each individual trail on the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resources website.
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