Eugene Y. at Rainbow Lake:
“The winter trail to the Rainbow Lake is a scenic snowshoe route that gradually ascends through an old-growth forest to a sub-alpine country within the Whistler watershed.
Apparently, the route is somewhat underrated by snowshoers, as we haven’t met any other people on the trail besides a lone hiker coming back from Mount Sproatt. Thanks to the watershed regulation, the area is free from snowmobiles, although we did encounter a couple of vehicles passing by the lake.
Practically the whole trail is still covered by deep snow, except for the first 300 m where it gets a bit icy. The trail is well marked and easy to follow, except for a portion between the 2 km and 3 km marks.
Shortly before the 6 km mark, the trail enters an open area that offered a panoramic view to the surrounding peaks. The suspension bridge after the 6 km mark is removed for the winter, so that we had to cross the creek over a snow bridge about 100 m upstream. Finally, after a short but relatively steep ascent, we arrived to the picturesque Rainbow Lake area, which was still under several metres of snow.
Overall, we found this to be an excellent snowshoe route, on par with the one to the Elfin Lakes but more secluded and with a much easier access to the trailhead.”
