Mackenzie & Parsnip / Full trip pack
Gantahaz Lake shoreline trail
- Loop
- 4.3 km
- Elevation gain
- 76 m Published route measurement
- Walking time
- Unconfirmed
- Difficulty
- Unconfirmed loop
loop
https://hikingprincegeorge.com/hikes/gantahaz-lake-shoreline-trail
A lakeshore loop close to Mackenzie offers a gentle walk and picnic setting. It is also used for winter recreation, but the walking trail and the frozen lake are different surfaces with different risks.
1. Getting there and parking
Use the signed Gantahaz Lake picnic and recreation access near Mackenzie. The municipal source identifies the lake and shoreline trail but does not publish a complete road-turn sequence or a specific trailhead parking address. Confirm the entrance with the district’s current local map before leaving town; a lake-centre coordinate is not a parking destination.
2. Walking the route
Follow the established shoreline path around the lake and return to the picnic access. The district’s 2025 guide lists a 4.3 km loop with 76 m of gain. The lakeside setting also supports paddling and picnicking, so expect other users around the launch or beach access. Winter snowshoeing and ice fishing are mentioned separately by the municipality; those descriptions do not verify ice thickness or make crossing the lake part of the hiking loop. No detailed junction-by-junction account was supplied in the reviewed municipal material.
Mapped outing: Gantahaz Lake day-use road end; loop starts nearby. 3.8 km measured along the mapped line; published trip measurements may differ.
3. Route map
The highlighted line follows the documented outing.
© OpenStreetMap contributors. Route geometry is available under the Open Database License (ODbL) 1.0. · Line source · Open Database License (ODbL) 1.0 · Source-line database: https://hikingprincegeorge.com/data/osm-route-lines.geojson
Elevation along the outing
Full loop
Start: Gantahaz Lake day-use road end; loop starts nearby · Finish: Gantahaz Lake day-use road end; loop starts nearby (3.8 km mapped).
Approximate ground elevation from a 90 m terrain model. Distance follows the mapped itinerary and may differ from published walking distance. This is a terrain-model profile, not a surveyed measurement. Any ascent total is identified separately with its own source or estimation method.
How the route order was checked
The municipal map explicitly depicts a complete shoreline loop and places the day-use parking and amenities on the northeast shore beside Highway 39. The chamber describes the signed left turn from Highway 39 north of Mackenzie. Fresh OSM data identify Gantahaz Lake Road ending 24 m from source-loop vertex 111 in that same northeast access area. The existing named Gantahaz Lake Trail is an exactly closed ring; its arbitrary southwest starting vertex is rotated to vertex 111 without changing any source edge. This begins the loop near the day-use access but does not draw a 24 m connector through the parking area. The mapped loop is 3.757 km; the municipal published 4.3 km is retained as a separate approximate published measure.
Copernicus GLO-90 terrain elevations via Open-Meteo (CC BY4.0); linework: Open Database License (ODbL) 1.0
Copernicus DEM 2021 GLO-90 via Open-Meteo. Linework source: https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/68523782. Sampled and rounded for display.
Source: https://open-meteo.com/en/licence
Licence: CC BY4.0 elevation data; Open Database License (ODbL) 1.0 linework · https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Profile source checked: 2026-10-18
Published locations
Numbered points match the map. Use the role beside each point. A summit or park reference point is not a parking location.
| Place and role | Coordinates | Source and notes |
|---|---|---|
| Gantahaz Lake shoreline trail named destination reference point (not a trailhead) | 55.380556 -123.145833 | BC Gazetteer: Gantahaz Lake; Lake; 55 22 49 N, 123 08 44 W; WGS84.
Published named-feature location for regional orientation and weather. Does not mark trailhead parking or a specific route viewpoint. https://catalogue.data.gov.bc.ca/dataset/d92224ee-03ef-4904-be53-b677d8e01ac4/resource/69738aa8-2cc0-4975-aec6-4dc2e30990bf/download/bc-gazetteer-2026-08-12.csv |
5. Camping, facilities and seasons
Season and access
Walking in spring–fall; snowshoeing in winter.
More maps & trail files
Gantahaz Lake loop on AllTrails
The hosted map shows about 3.8 km around the lake, while older listing text and the municipal guide give about 4.3 km. Start points and measurement methods differ; use the selected route’s own figures.
AllTrails: https://www.alltrails.com/trail/canada/british-columbia/gantahaz-lake-trail
Comparison checked 2026-10-18.
These links open files and maps maintained by their publishers. They require an internet connection and are not included in this saved guide.
Your trip notes
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