Panorama Ridge
Panorama Ridge looms above the north shore of Garibaldi Lake, granting hikers an aerial view of Garibaldi Provincial Park's spectacular, liquid-turquoise centerpiece.
Atop the 2043-m (6700-ft) ridgecrest you'll also see peaks and glaciers in every direction. The nearby Black Tusk is prominently visible. A Whistler icon, the tusk is the basalt core of a volcano that erupted about 26 million years ago. Erosion gradually stripped ash and rock from the original cone, leaving the black fang that remains today.
As described in Done in a Day Whistler, The Ten Premier Hikes, Panorama Ridge offers hikers what will likely be the most memorable vantage they'll ever attain in the B.C. Coast Mountains.
Most people backpack to Garibaldi Lake campground via Rubble Creek, then dayhike from there to Panorama Ridge. Don't do it. The Rubble Creek trail is a pedestrian highway. And Garibaldi Lake is the most heavily-used backcountry campground in the range: nearly 100 tentsites, usually teeming, often clamourous.
If you're fit and keen, we recommend a more scenic, tranquil and exhilarating single-day trip to Panorama Ridge via the Helm Creek trail.
Go to http://www.hikingcamping.com/photos-whistler.php to see photos of Whistler's premier hiking destinations including Garibaldi Lake from Panorama Ridge, and the Black Tusk from the Helm Creek trail.
Go to http://www.hikingcamping.com/hike-whistler.php to read about Done in a Day Whistler, The Ten Premier Hikes. That's the book you'll want if you're a hiker and you're visiting Whistler.
