Hiking the ‘Whistler Train Wreck’ Trail
Whistler, BC Canada
Time to complete: 2 hours for 3.18km (round trip)
Date: September 3, 2018, 11am — early fall
Weather: Sunny, gorgeous weather
Difficulty: Easy, with a couple short steep elevations
Well marked trail: The main path is well worn but we did get off the beaten path a couple times
Smells like: Earthy and fresh
Animals spotted: Hiking dogs, bugs on leaves
Lookout points: Yes, looking out at the river
Wet areas: Dry trail
Clothing: Estelle — long sleeve+vest, workout pants. Matt — shorts, thin long-sleeve
Equipment used: camera, photochromic sunglasses, whistle
Other humans: Yes, and more as the day went on
Washrooms: No
Seclusion: The trail seems secluded but it’s a popular trail
Trail easy to find: NO, you need a GPS. It’s not marked from the Sea to Sky highway side
Dog-friendly: Dogs allowed, on leash
Whistler Train Wreck Backstory
The story goes that a train derailed in the mid-’50s and the very heavy metal boxcars rolled and bulldozed their way down the hillside to where they rest today. The freighters are spread out throughout the forest and make for an exciting hike. First, you will cross a train track that is still in operation so be careful and look both ways! You then continue hiking for maybe 15 minutes, and you get a glimpse of something brightly painted nestled in the trees. It’s quite incredible to stumble on this so far from the train tracks. Today they are completely covered with colourful graffiti. Lots of pictures ahead! 📷
Getting to the Train Wreck Trail
We decided to do this hike after a weekend in Whistler since it was on the way back to Vancouver anyway. Bonus! However, it was labor day Monday, the traffic was pretty crazy since we all decided to leave at the same time. 🙄 The trail itself was not easy to find either, if it weren’t for our GPS, we would never have seen it.
Bike It or Walk It
There’s’ quite a few trick ramps and jumps for bicycles. This is your trail if you’re into that sort of thing but GO EARLY, or you will ram into hikers or have to wait till they walk by. Within 30min into the trail, it was people every few minutes on the path. If you want nice pictures of the wreck without other hikers, again go early. Or don’t go on a long weekend like we did ;p
Train of Art
It’s not clear if locals did the painting or travelling artists passing thru, either way, it brings these metal relics to life! They somehow fit into their woodsy surroundings. We could easily spend more time here just looking at the graffiti. It is living art, where nature and artists are continually growing together to help these 50-something-year-old cars age a bit more gracefully.
Suspension Bridge Surprise
The suspension bridge was a pleasant surprise. Since just having done the Capilano Suspension Bridge the previous week, this was on a much smaller scale of course, but it had it’s own charm with the rushing Cheakamus river underneath with the occasional kayaker floating by.
Kayaking
It seems one can kayak the Cheakamus river! It had quite a current and is probably a rafting favorite too. I can imagine this being a huge adrenaline rush. Would be worth looking into next time we make it to Whistler.
First impressions
When we first got into the trail, we were skeptical considering there were no signs at the road, except this sign which was inside the trailhead. Not exactly welcoming! …But it did quickly get better. There were only two other cars though so we were happy it wouldn’t be crowded. (Or so we thought)
The trail opened up, and we relaxed almost immediately. The first bit is so gorgeous with the moss and huge rocks to climb. The sun was shining through the trees, the air was fresh, and we were ready to move on.
The other half of the trail
After the suspension bridge, the trail had an entirely different vibe. Very lush forest via a gravel path. It had an almost tropical feeling. However, this section is a lot busier with other hikers and bikers.
Trail Tip — print the map and bring water! 💦
This trail can be accessed from two ways. We took the Sea to Sky highway side. We thought it was a loop trail, but when we got to the other end, we were wrong (or were we?). We felt unprepared for this trail and recommend studying a trail map before going into it. We basically picked the trail when we got up in the morning and went for it! We didn’t have enough time to research it since we were checking out of our hotel that morning. The Grouse Grind was supposed to be our hike but voted against it at the last minute, in light of it being a holiday Monday and we expected a high number of visitors.
The main path is mostly clear, but a few times we were not sure where to go because of random off-shoot paths. At one point we heard a couple say “this trail is a dead-end, don’t go there.” Could use a few more signs in my opinion.
Just do it
Overall it’s a BEAUTIFUL trail, you’ll not see another hike like this anywhere else because of the train wreck and ongoing graffiti on the boxcars. Your pictures will certainly be different from ours by next year. Don’t forget a bear whistle, it’s bear country. 🐻
About Estelle and Matt
2 years ago, Matt and I hiked every single trail in the Fundy National park. In the process, we’ve naturally become addicted to hiking! We’ve been toying with the idea of blogging about the trails in Fundy and hike them all over again. We felt there wasn’t enough information when we hiked them the first time around. We hope to inspire more people to explore Canada’s Parks. 🍃
To follow our journey, follow Estelle Johnston ❤
