The quiet one on the Four Lakes Trail — lily pads, dragonflies, and a log to sit on while everyone else is at Alice.
Every busy park keeps one quiet corner, and in Alice Lake Provincial Park that corner is Edith. While the beaches at Alice fill with coolers, floaties, and the general hum of summer water sports, Edith sits a short walk south doing what it has always done: growing lily pads, warming slowly in the sun, and hosting dragonflies.
The Four Lakes Trail is the reason most people meet her. It’s a family-grade loop of roughly six kilometres that strings together Stump, Fawn, Edith, and Alice through mossy second-growth forest — the kind of walk where kids count banana slugs and adults quietly decide this is their favourite hour of the trip. Edith arrives third if you walk it counter-clockwise from the Stump Lake end, and she announces herself gently: the trees open, the light goes green-gold, and there’s the pond, patient as furniture.
I say pond with affection. Edith is a proper lake, but it keeps pond manners — still surface, reedy margins, water that holds the sky rather than performing for it. There is usually a log or two along the shore worn smooth by exactly the kind of person who walks fifteen minutes past a busy beach to eat a sandwich in silence. Claim one. The dragonflies will inspect you, decide you’re scenery, and get back to patrolling.
You can swim here, and in high summer you should — Edith warms up in a way Squamish’s glacier-fed lakes never will. Be honest with yourself about what you’re getting: no lifeguards, no dock culture, and muddy-bottomed entries that make the first three steps a small act of faith. It is a wade-in-and-commit sort of swim, and the reward is water the temperature of a kind bath compared to anything fed by ice.
There’s said to be a back way in from the Garibaldi Highlands side, and locals do use routes from that direction — but access points and parking there change, so treat any old directions with suspicion and check current maps before counting on it. The dependable approach is the one that’s also the nicest: on foot, around the loop, from inside the park.
The forest around the loop belongs to more than hikers. The trail network here stitches into the surrounding mountain-bike country on the Jack’s Trail side, so expect the occasional polite whir of hub and drivetrain through the trees. DeBeck’s Hill and its viewpoint sit nearby for those wanting to earn a view — though trail conditions and access up that way vary, so check current status before building your day around it.
“Alice is where the park swims. Edith is where the park thinks.”
Rafts of them, ribbed like umbrellas, each with the tailor’s notch cut toward the stem. Alice doesn’t do this. Edith does little else.
Blue darners and golden skimmers running flight laps over the shallows all summer. Where there are lily pads and warm still water, there is an air force.
Shoreline logs polished by years of quiet sitting. The park’s best furniture, first come, first seated — sandwiches strongly indicated.
Entries are soft-bottomed — your first steps in will be squelchy and opinion-forming. Commit early, swim past it, forgive the lake.
The loop’s roughly six kilometres of mossy forest visit four lakes with four entirely different personalities. Walk all of them; keep your favourite to yourself.
If part of your Alice Lake plan is getting on the water, know that the rental hut at Alice Lake sits closed through April and May — early-season visitors arrive to locked paddles more often than you’d think. Squamish Canoe Rental in town runs year-round instead; their canoes seat up to three, and you can book online before you drive up. (Edith herself is a walk-in lake — the paddling happens at Alice or on the bigger water nearby.)
Edith is not a spectacle. If your group needs a beach, a boat launch, and somewhere to buy ice cream, that is Alice, and there is no shame in it — that’s what the headliner is for. Come to Edith for the opposite of all that.
The swimming is honest, not groomed: no lifeguards, ever, and the muddy entries mean nobody strides in looking graceful. Keep small kids close, and treat every swim like the unsupervised swim it is.
There are no facilities at the lake itself — no toilets, no bins, no water. Whatever you carry in comes back out with you, orange peels and all. The park’s full frontcountry setup (and its very popular campground — book through the BC Parks reservation system, well ahead) is at Alice Lake.
And on shared trails: the loop touches mountain-bike country on the Jack’s Trail side, so stay aware on the connectors, and if you’re eyeing DeBeck’s Hill for a viewpoint, check current trail status first — conditions and access there change.
Yes — and it’s one of the warmer swims in the Squamish area, since Edith isn’t glacier-fed. Expect muddy-bottomed entries (the first few steps are soft) and no lifeguards at any time. Best swimming is July through early September.
The classic way is on foot via the Four Lakes Trail inside Alice Lake Provincial Park — a roughly 6 km family-friendly loop linking Stump, Fawn, Edith, and Alice lakes through mossy forest. Park at Alice Lake and walk. There are also routes in from the Garibaldi Highlands side, but access and parking there change — check a current map rather than relying on old directions.
About 6 km for the full loop, on well-maintained trail with gentle grades — one of the best family walks in the corridor. Most parties take two to three unhurried hours with snack stops. You can also shortcut to individual lakes if small legs run out of loop.
No — Edith itself has no facilities. The shoreline furniture is logs, and the rule is carry out what you carry in. Full frontcountry facilities (beaches, toilets, picnic areas, the campground) are at Alice Lake, a short walk away on the same loop. See the Alice Lake field guide for that side of the park.
Not at Edith — camping in the park is at the Alice Lake campground, which is popular enough that it books out well in advance. Reserve through the BC Parks reservation system as early as your dates allow, especially for summer weekends.
In season, yes — but the rental hut at Alice Lake is closed in April and May, which catches early-season visitors out every year. If you want to paddle in spring (or want certainty any time), Squamish Canoe Rental in town operates year-round — canoes seat up to three — and takes bookings online. Edith itself is better sat beside than paddled.
Reliably. Alice absorbs the beach crowds, the campground, and nearly all the day-use energy; Edith is far enough along the trail that only walkers arrive, and most of them keep moving. On a summer Saturday when Alice is elbow-to-elbow, Edith is usually a handful of people and several thousand dragonflies.
The trail network around the park connects into the surrounding mountain-bike country on the Jack’s Trail side, so riders and walkers share some connectors. If you’re adding the DeBeck’s Hill viewpoint to your day, check current trail status first — conditions and access up that way vary.