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The 'Cheakamus River' (pron. CHEK-a-moose) is a tributary of the Squamish River, beginning in Garibaldi Provincial Park upstream from Cheakamus Lake on the southeastern outskirts of the resort area of Whistler and joining the Squamish at Cheekeye, a few miles north of the town of Squamish. The c. 70km (c.44 mi) length of the Cheakamus is followed by British Columbia Highway 99 (the Sea-to-Sky Highway and the British Columbia Railway. The Cheakamus is a favourite whitewater rafting and kayaking route, and is famous for its steelhead and salmon fishing. Much of the flow of the upper Cheakamus is diverted from Daisy Lake beneath the mountains to the west to the Cheakamus Powerhouse on the Squamish River. Notable just north of Daisy Lake is Brandywine Falls. The Nordic events complex of the 2010 Winter Olympics is to be located on Callaghan Creek, a tributary of the Cheakamus just upstream from Brandywine Falls.
On August 5, 2005, a long Canadian National train, heading inland from Brackendale, derailed and nine empty lumber flat cars along with one tank car of sodium hydroxide crashed off the main bridge, falling into the river. The tank car spilled its contents into the river, killing an estimated 500,000+ fish.^[1] See more: 2005 CN Rail Cheakamus River derailment.

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1. B.C. river's recovery from spill could take decades