The Elk River Trail to Landslide Lake is a great day or overnight hike that will give you amazing views of alpine lakes, glaciers, and waterfalls in Strathcona Park.
Info
- moderate
- 26km
- 600m elevation gain
- 8-12 hrs
- swimming spot
- backcountry camping
At the end of August my boyfriend Pat, our friend Matt, and I decided to do the Landslide lake hike. We left for Strathcona Park super early from Nanaimo, and made our way to start our hike.
Directions
[googlemaps https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m18!1m12!1m3!1d164970.1464612868!2d-125.94246878268949!3d49.754868352362045!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x5462811bb19d2af7{05563ee440b8691600683906a6c3c3b7991e5ec3c24fb480a28e674e62e87cf8}3A0x442d7b389f193084!2sLandslide+Lake!5e0!3m2!1sen!2sca!4v1491801490484&w=600&h=450]
To get there we drove to Campbell River and took highway 28 on route to Gold River. After passing the large Strathcona Park sign, we saw an obvious sign that led us to the parking lot of the Elk River Trail googlemap. The trail is well marked with orange flags and it is about 13km one way. The trailhead is pretty easy and well maintained, but it definitely did feel super long to do in one day. Some sources stated that the hike was only 11km one way, but we tracked it and it definitely was over 12km.(Trailpeak)
Camping
If you are up to camp, there are 2 camping spots available on the trail, but you cannot camp at the lake. They are both on the river, but campsite 2 is about 1.5km away from the lake and it had better views of the mountains. You need a camping permit for both campsites that will cost you $10, but it was nice to see that they both had bear caches and outhouses. You can register for camping by going to the BC parks website BC Parks Backcountry Camping Registraion.
The hike took us less than 4 hours, but we walked quite quickly and did not stop very much along the way. I would definitely give yourself at least 5-6 hours each way if you are doing this as a day hike. terrain map 
Once we got to the lake we had a nice lunch break and Matt even took a swim in the frigid glacier lake. The view of the lake and Mount Colonel Foster was so picturesque and it felt like such a reward for our long journey. I love going on long hikes to remote areas because it makes you feel as if only a certain number of people have actually seen the same view as your own. It really is a great feeling.
Additionally, you can definitely hike to Glacier Lake, which is another 45 minutes past Landslide Lake. We did not have time for this extra excursion, but we heard it was welll worth it from other hikers along the way.
