Trip Report
Seattle MAC Backpacking Trip - Lake Lovely Water
The Seattle MAC ventured across the Squamish River to visit the Tantalus range via Lake Lovely Water. Thanks to Matt Swenson, who inspired this trip and did most of the legwork to make it happen.
Matt Davey
- Sat, Jul 12, 2025 — Mon, Jul 14, 2025
- Seattle MAC Backpacking Trip - Lake Lovely Water
- Lake Lovely Water
- Youth
- Successful
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- Road suitable for all vehicles
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Getting to the trail is the first challenge. Crossing the fast flowing Squamish River is required. Helicopter (there is a helipad near Lake Lovely Water), float plane, jet ski are all mentioned as options, but come at a significant cost ($250+ CAD / per person).
Note:
- There are cable lines that some use to cross the river illegally. We did see someone crossing via cable while we were on the river and it did not look pleasant.
- It's possible to find mention of doing the crossing via canoe or similar. This might be possible depending on the season when the river is calm, but it was not realistic when we were there (mid-July, with rain earlier in the week -- the river was high and fast). Some kayakers were rescued by the locals we hired en route to pick up one of our groups.
- Accessing the river can require crossing Squamish Nation / private land.
- Significant rain / snowmelt might raise the river enough that crossing by boat is also problematic.
We hired locals (Adeline/Patrick: 604-898-9107) to transport us across by boat. This option cost $75 CAD cash per person round-trip. This turned out to be a great experience and we highly recommend. We arranged date/time/party size in advance over the phone. The morning we departed, we had a van take us to Adeline's house, after which we followed her to the boat launch. Our group had a total of 10 folks and the boat made three trips to get us all across. Life jackets were provided.
This was the drop off. The trail is hidden in the forest.
Once on the other side, the trail is a bit rough -- overgrown in places, with rocks and roots everywhere and steep closer to the lake. There are some downed trees in a couple of places. The trail is relatively easy to follow -- look for orange markers when unsure.
We crossed the river before 10a and headed up the trail. The trail is shaded all the way to the lake. There are berries along the trail in places. Despite there being rain earlier in the week, some of the creek beds were dry. There are some smaller streams that cross the trail, which are suitable for refilling water bottles. And we saw lots of frogs.
We arrived at the lake after ~3.5 hours. A small bridge connects the trail to the Tantalus Hut and main camp. No personal boats/flotation are allowed, but there are some canoes managed by the Alpine Club of Canada.
The campsites include wooden platforms.
We continued south on the trail to camp at the Sandspit directly on the lake. We shared the site with one couple on Sat night, but had it to ourselves on Sun night. Note the trail from the hut to the Sandspit is relatively short, but is not an easy stroll on level ground around the lake.
The Sandspit camp has a large bear chest, so bear canisters or hangs are not needed. There is also a pit toilet. There is a stream running into the lake next to camp, perfect for refilling on water. To be expected, there are many bugs in the morning and evening unless a good breeze is flowing.
We spent the rest of the first day enjoying the beach and playing cards.
The stars came out soon enough.
On day 2, we geared up for a scramble and headed south. The meadows is just a short distance away. It has a maze of streams flowing through it and presents the first real views of Omega, Iota, Pelops and Niobe peaks. From the meadows, we hiked up mostly rock until reaching snow. With our crampons/micro-spikes and ice axes, we crossed the snowfield and then headed up to gain the ridge. Back on rock, we eyed the peaks. The scramble up to the peaks was lovely -- no snow and easy going.
From the snowfield up to the peaks, we didn't see a single other party.
With views of Baker, Howe Sound, Garibaldi and all the rest, we enjoyed some refreshments and started our return trip. Round trip from the Sandspit up to Iota/Pelops/Niobe took took ~7.5 hours.
Stats:
- ~15 mi
- ~7,000' elevation gain
No permits required.
We were told that Patrick/Adeline transported 12 folks the weekend prior and planned to transport 40 folks on our weekend (our group plus another MAC group that hiked out while we hiked in accounted for 18 people total).