20 gorgeous lakes near Vancouver you have to visit this summer
When the sun’s shining, there’s nothing quite like taking a dip in a lake, basking on the shore, or maybe just floating on the water with a cold drink in your hand.
Luckily, there are loads of lakes in and around Vancouver where you can spend a gorgeous afternoon barbecuing, swimming, and lounging.
Here are our picks of the best lakes around the Lower Mainland to visit this summer and how to find them!
- You might also like:
- 9 best places to zipline in BC this summer
- 7 enchanting BC waterfalls you should chase this summer
- All the water slide parks near Metro Vancouver to visit this summer
Metro Vancouver
Rice Lake
Rice Lake/Image: Shutterstock
This is a calm, quiet lake, full of life and natural beauty, on the edge of the Lynn Headwaters Regional Park in North Vancouver. There are several viewpoints and trails around the lake with benches to relax and take in the area’s natural beauty. Swimming is not permitted.
Where: About 40 minutes from downtown Vancouver, on Lillooet Road in North Vancouver
Sasamat Lake
Sasamat Lake is warm to swim in, lined with a scenic forest and trails, and is home to White Pine Beach, a beautiful white sand beach. Bliss. The beach is a popular summer Sunday destination for Vancouverites and a great spot to picnic, swim and sunbathe.
Where: Approximately 45 minutes from downtown Vancouver, in Belcarra Regional Park, Port Moody
Whyte Lake
Whyte Lake Park is a small, peaceful lake in the hills above Horseshoe Bay, the largest park in West Vancouver. The lake, which is an hour’s walk from the road, is surrounded by trails, wetlands, creeks, and old-growth forest and features a dock and a boardwalk.
Where: About 30 minutes from downtown Vancouver, near Horseshoe Bay, in West Vancouver
Cabin Lake
Cabin Lake is one of the best swimming holes on the North Shore and can get quite busy in summer, with plenty of areas for relaxing and diving spots easily accessible from Cypress Mountain Parking Lot if you’re happy with a 3.5 km hike to get there.
Where: About 45 minutes from downtown Vancouver, near Cypress Mountain, in West Vancouver
Buntzen Lake
Buntzen Lake, Port Moody (Joanna Szypulska/Shutterstock)
Buntzen Lake is a great hiking lake, flanked by Eagle Ridge and Buntzen Ridge, with Indian Arm Provincial Park and Belcarra Regional Park making up a large portion of the surrounding hiking trails, but you can also swim, fish, and boat on the lake.
Where: About an hour’s drive from downtown Vancouver, north of Anmore
Burnaby Lake
Burnaby Lake Regional Park (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
This lake, right in the heart of Burnaby, is a stunning wildlife sanctuary where you can spot bald eagles and belted kingfishers, as well as beavers, ducks and turtles. You can canoe or kayak in the lake and have a picnic on the shore. Swimming is not permitted.
Where: About 30 minutes from downtown Vancouver, at 4519 Piper Avenue, Burnaby
Green Timbers Lake
Green Timbers Lake/City of Surrey
This lake in the heart of the Green Timbers Urban Forest in Surrey is a great spot for fishing, generously stocked with rainbow trout throughout the year. But you can also enjoy a myriad of trails in the surrounding area. Swimming is not permitted.
Where: About 45 minutes from downtown Vancouver, on 96th Avenue between Fraser Highway and 148th Street in Surrey
Trout Lake
Trout Lake (Daniel Chai/Daily Hive)
This lake in the heart of East Vancouver offers swimming, concessions, a picnic area, shelters, BBQ pits, sports facilities, and lifeguards. It’s also dog-friendly and has free parking.
Where: About 20 minutes from downtown Vancouver, in John Hendry Park at 3300 Victoria Drive, Vancouver
Deer Lake
Deer Lake Park (Tourism Burnaby)
Deer Lake Park is a hub for Burnaby’s arts and heritage attractions. Trails with scenic views connect the lake, art gallery, centre for the arts, museum, and restaurant. Canoe, kayak, pedal boat, and rowboat rentals are available in the summer. Swimming is not permitted.
Where: About 30 minutes from downtown Vancouver, at 6450 Deer Lake Avenue, Burnaby
Lower Mainland
Cultus Lake
Cultus Lake (Ruth Hartnup/Flickr)
One of the most popular destinations in the Lower Mainland, Cultus Lake is a large, warm, freshwater lake surrounded by scenic forest-clad mountains. Throughout the summer, enjoy picnicking, swimming, boating, fishing, water skiing, windsurfing, and hiking there.
Where: A two-hour drive from downtown Vancouver, off the Vedder Mountain Road south of Chilliwack
Pitt Lake
This is the second-largest lake in the Lower Mainland and one of the world’s largest tidal lakes. A nature lover’s haven, the vast shoreline alternates between steep shorelines with tumbling streams and secret coves and islands, with sandy beaches for swimming or fishing.
Where: About 1.5 hours from downtown Vancouver, off Rannie Road in Grant Narrows Regional Park, northeast of Coquitlam
Rolley Lake
Rolley Lake Provincial Park is a flat wilderness area blanketed with tall, second-growth conifers. The small, warm-water lake provides opportunities for swimming, fishing, canoeing, picnicking and hiking. Campsites are nestled in the trees minutes from the shore.
Where: About one hour and 20 minutes from downtown Vancouver, on Bell Street north of Mission
Sea To Sky
Lost Lake
Lost Lake in Whistler (Shutterstock).
Lost Lake is within walking distance of Whistler Village and has all the facilities you need to spend the day — washrooms, picnic tables, swimming docks, BBQ facilities, and a concession stand. It’s also dog-friendly and a great spot for watching the sunsets over Whistler.
Where: Approximately two hours drive from Vancouver, near Whistler
Alice Lake
Alice Lake (JamesChen/Shutterstock)
Alice Lake is surrounded by towering mountains, dense forests, and grassy areas, making it a popular family swimming spot during the summer. The trail around the lake is also popular, and it has excellent views of the Tantalus Range from the DeBeck’s Hill Trail.
Where: About one hour and 10 minutes from downtown Vancouver, off Highway 99, approximately 13 km north of Squamish
Alta Lake
Alta Lake/Shutterstock
There are four parks around this huge lake, but Alta Lake Park is the most off-the-beaten-track. It has two serene piers for lounging around, jumping off, or admiring the excellent views of Whistler and Blackcomb mountains. Other parks also offer sandy beaches and picnic tables.
Where: About one hour and 40 minutes from downtown Vancouver, off Highway 99, about five kilometres south of Whistler
Alpha Lake
Alpha Lake Park/Resort Municipality of Whistler
Alpha Lake, just south of Whistler, offers sandy beaches, docks, fishing, BBQs, great swimming, and trails everywhere you look. It’s also known for a dodgy rope swing, which may or may not have been torn down again by the time you visit.
Where: About one hour and 40 minutes from downtown Vancouver, off Highway 99, about five kilometres south of Whistler
Cat Lake
Cat Lake (Recreation Sites and Trails BC)
This lake near Squamish has been the subject of crackdowns due to rowdy parties going on late into the night, but there’s a reason it’s so much fun — it’s fairly isolated down a gravel road, the lake water is warm and inviting, and there are loads of rope swings too.
Where: About one hour and 15 minutes from downtown Vancouver, off Highway 99, about 15 km north of Squamish
Brohm Lake
Brohm Lake/Tourism Squamish
This gorgeous lake surrounded by a lush, quiet forest with a shoreline of huge boulders is easily missable. You’ll have to delve through the forest and over rocks to find an outcrop to spend the day, but once you jump off that rock into the warm glacial water… it’s all worth it.
Where: About 90 minutes from downtown Vancouver, off Highway 99, about 15 km north of Squamish
Lucille Lake
View this post on Instagram
Lucille Lake is somewhat of a local secret in Whistler and Squamish. It has a sandy beach, clear, glacial waters, and an island that makes swimming out further a nice challenge. There are no facilities around, though; you’re on your own.
Where: About 90 minutes from downtown Vancouver, off Highway 99, about 30 km north of Squamish
Garibaldi Lake
Billowing clouds rolling over Sphinx Glacier near Garibaldi Lake (Daily Hive/Conrad Olson)
Garibaldi Lake is pretty isolated, but this stunning lake is worth the two to three-hour steep uphill hike to get there. You’ll feel like you’ve entered some parallel universe as you marvel at the turquoise-blue lake lined with glacier-capped mountains and lush green trees.
Where: Approximately 1.5 hours drive from Vancouver, 35 km north of Squamish and 20 km south of Whistler