A short drive from the Sea to Sky Highway in Squamish, British Columbia, is Garibaldi Provincial Park. The park is an outdoor adventurer's playground. The mountainous terrain is home to many trails, high alpine passes, and lakes. Accessing this park is done via several main trailheads along the Sea to Sky Highway, but to access the Elfin Lakes backcountry hut, the Diamond Head Trailhead is the shortest and most widely used.
Getting to the hut during the winter months must be done on skis or snowshoes and is about 11 kilometers from the trailhead. The trail is marked and fairly easy to follow even after a fresh snowfall. The hut sits below Mount Garibaldi and is the gateway to many more trails and adventures.
The hut itself offers accommodations for 33 people and is only available by reservation via BC Parks. The sleeping arrangements are all bunk beds with a spot for one person on the top bunk and room for two on the bottom. Below the sleeping area is the kitchen and social area. The front room has seating for 20 to 25 for eating or games, a gas-powered woodstove that supplies heat for the hut, and drying racks for gear. The other side of the bottom floor is the kitchen and eating area. Two kitchen counters are on either side of the room, each with their own two-element burners and pots for cooking. Also in this room is seating for about 20 at the table, and there bench seating lines the outside walls.
Trails and entrances leading to and from the hut and toilets do need to be maintained as new snow falls, and guests are expected to do this.
The hut is situated so that it is accessible for a day hike, a home base for other day hikes, or a starting/finishing point for many multi-day trips. Make sure to make reservations and get out there to see all the beauty for yourself.
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