Wen and I used to live in Calgary and got spoiled by the hiking in Banff and its sister parks. Since moving to BC we've been lucky to do a lot of great hikes - Grouse, Mount Seymour, The Chief - but we hadn't found a truly epic hike.
Until we went to Garibaldi Lake.
This 19km round-trip hike is easily the best one I've done since moving to Vancouver and compares with anything you'll find in Alberta.
You drive about 35 km north of Squamish and then it's 3km up a service road to a moss-covered forest. From there you start a long hike through the trees, up the "barrier":
After a series of switchbacks that take you over the Barrier (a massive rock wall that stops Garibaldi Lake from flowing into Squamish), you get your first inklings of the Lake itself:
It's an incredible vista: a massive glacier descends into the far side of the lake; you can see the Black Tusk looming above the eastern edge.
Well worth it. Takes about 6-8 hours total.