One Mile Lake – Nairn Falls – Green River
On the south side of Pemberton is One Mile Lake and a number of trails suitable for walking, hiking, and mountain biking.
A loop goes around the lake, but a good connector trail goes to Nairn Falls Provincial Park, and mountain bike trails go over the ridge on the east side. Over 2 days of hiking, we went to Nairn Falls and back and also explored the Green River Trail.
These trails are well cared-for allowing for walkers/hikers to maintain a good stride. The small lake has marshy sections along the west and north sides.
At the southeast end of the lake, a connector trail winds over the ridge and then down to Narin Falls Provincial Park.
We hiked through the campground and onto the 1.5 km (one way) Nairn Falls Trail. this was a busy trail with visitors stopping on their Highway 99 route from Whistler. At the end of trail is a viewpoint to see Nairn Falls.
The Nairn Falls trail follows the Green River from the campground. Green River flows out of Green Lake at Whistler, continues past Pemberton, then joins the Lillooet River at Mt. Currie.
This first hike was an enjoyable out-and-back hike of 10.4 km, taking about 3 hours. On the next day, we followed the same route, but turned onto a branching trail down to the Green River Trail.
The trail was level, winding through a mixed forest.
There were several nice viewpoints and small beaches along this trail.
We were surprised when the trail dead-ended at a rugged talus slope below cliffs.
We retraced our steps all the way back to One Mile Lake, then walked along the boardwalk on the west side of the lake.
The boardwalk continued along the north end of the lake, providing a way through the rushes and reeds of the wetlands.
Four river/creeks converge in the Pemberton area – Pemberton Creek, Green River, Lillooet River, and Birkenhead River, all draining into Lillooet Lake. Lillooet Lake is 36 km long then the Lillooet River runs for about 42 km before emptying into Harrison Lake which is another 60 km long. From Harrison Hot Springs, the Harrison River drains for 17 km to the Fraser River. The last section of our hikes for both days finished along Pemberton Creek, a quiet ribbon of green-blue water running out of the glaciated mountains to the west.
We chose to stick to the main trails for these two hikes, but there were a number of mountain bike trails on the east side that we will explore on our next trip to Pemberton.
More Information: