The last day of 2020, I toured around Hanging Lake with two friends. Because the Olympic Park opens only 9:00-16:30, we decided to start from Alexander Falls parking. It is 800m below the Olympic Park gate.
It was our first time to start touring from the parking. We simply followed the road to the gate and walked into the park,,,, but it was actually not allowed. Anyone using groomed runs to access to Hanging Lake trailhead has to pay for the parking fee which includes the fee for trail use, and a park employee gives you a day ticket to prove your payment.
If you start from Alexander Falls, follow the road to first turn and then go straight towards Madeley lake. Do not go to the park gate!
We did not know this rule until a gate attendant told us about it. So We decided to go around the park from south side, and that was a bad idea. Cross country trails expanded far to south, so we had to go around really far and reached a snowmobile trail.
We were above the Olympic park at 11:00, and we decided to go back to Hanging lake trail using a FSR. As we came back to the trail, we were still close to the trailhead. We hiked about 3 hours to where normally took us 30 minutes if we started from the Olympic park.
Now I can strongly suggest to park at the olympic park if you go to Hanging lake. It is only $15.25 per vehicle. If you want to start early and come back late, park at Alexander Falls and head north towards Madeley lake. You can of course go to Hanging lake by turning right at some point while going north.
We walked about 6 hours to get to where normally took us under 3 hours. With deep powder, however, this trip turned into a good memory.
Here are some photos my friends enjoying the last pow turns of 2020.
Sea to sky 