Vancouver is surrounded by seemingly endless hiking trails and mountains to explore. Massive parks line up one after another. Mount Seymour Provincial Park, Lynn Park, Grouse, Cypress and the enormous Garibaldi Provincial Park all contribute to Vancouver being a hiking paradise.
VancouverHikingMaps
There are plenty of moderately challenging Vancouver hiking trails to choose from. These are five trails that stand out from the rest. Not too difficult, yet all have sensational views. Hollyburn, Dog Mountain and Seymour are at the end of beautiful drives to reach the trailheads.
The Sea to Sky Gondola opened in the spring of 2014 and has rapidly expanded into a marvellous array of hiking trails and mountaintop attractions. Located between Stawamus Chief Provincial Park and Shannon Falls Provincial Park the gondola carries you rapidly from the sea to the sky. Departing just a few hundred metres from the ocean at an elevation of 35 metres, to 885 metres in just 10 minutes.
In early June you will still feel the chill in the air from the snowy mountain peaks all around. The deluxe, shiny and new gondolas comfortably seat 8 and the entire 10 minute ride gives you stunning views of Howe Sound, the three summits of the Chief on your left, and distant snowy mountains up ahead. The gondola cabins are almost entirely windows so no matter where you sit you have amazing views. If you are driving from Vancouver the large and easy to spot, Sea to Sky Gondola parking lot is just 45 minutes from Vancouver.
Just off of the Sea to Sky Highway, look for the entrance just past the Shannon Falls Provincial Park entrance or just a couple hundred metres before the Stawamus Chief Provincial Park entrance. Parking is free, however they have signs that indicate that if you plan on parking more than 3 hours you should park at the Shannon Falls parking lot instead. This is a good option as well if you want to take a look at Shannon Falls as well. You can park there, see the amazing Shannon Falls and continue walking to the Sea to Sky Gondola along the connecting trail in less than 15 minutes.
At the top of the gondola you arrive at the spectacular Summit Lodge. You immediately are drawn to enter this cliff-edge building with a restaurant, coffee shop, bar and an enormous sundeck that stretches around half of the building. The sundeck has dozens of tables and of course views of everything. Gondola's coming and going, Howe Sound, Sky Pilot and Co-Pilot(mountains). At one end of the sundeck the Sky Pilot Suspension Bridge extends across a chasm to a rocky outcrop in the direction of Sky Pilot Mountain.
The amazing Sky Pilot Suspension Bridge takes you across to the Spirit Trail and your first of several massive and stunning viewing areas and the start of an interpretive tour of this wonderful forest. Everywhere you turn you see an interesting, written description of what surrounds you as well as frequent park benches to sit and enjoy the view.
"A History in Nature" is the first of these well though out, interpretive murals. It describes the Squamish Nation that has lived here for thousands of years and are part of the Coast Salish Aboriginal Peoples that past and present, stretch along the coast of what is now British Columbia. Prior to European contact in the late 1700's the Squamish people utilized the land, plants and animals in the area in traditional ways with accumulated knowledge of many generations. The mural depicts a beautiful illustration of the "Thunderbird", the official symbol of the Squamish Nation.
A crushed gravel trail quickly ascends beyond this mural, into the forest and the interpretive tour continues. "Nature's Hardware Store". The Squamish people used cedar trees for many things such as clothing, baskets, houses, canoes and various tools. Douglas fir trees were used for canoe poles, harpoon shafts, gaff hooks and dip net handles. Yew trees were used for bows and harpoons. Maple trees were used for canoe paddles. Stinging nettles were made into fishing nets and fishing lines. Moss was used for diapers, bedding and insulation for houses. "Nature's Grocery Store" consisted of blackberries, blackcaps, blueberries, huckleberries, salal berries, salmonberries, wild strawberries, berry shoots and various edible roots.
Alice Lake is a great place for camping swimming, fishing and hiking. Alice Lake Provincial Park is comprised of four lakes. Stump, Fawn and Edith Lake as ...
The Chief is the mammoth rock face that towers over Squamish. Though hardly believable from looking at, the summit is an easy two hour hike. In fact there ...
Levette Lake is a nice mountain lake located in the enormous Squamish Valley that drains the Squamish River into Howe Sound. There are some nice views and ...
Shannon Falls towers above Howe Sound at 335 metres as the third tallest falls in BC. The wonderful, though very short trail winds through a beautiful old ...
Elfin Lakes in Garibaldi Park is an absolutely phenomenal, though long, hiking, biking, snowshoeing and skiing trail that begins at the Diamond Head area in ...
Cirque Lake is a wild and beautiful lake that hides high above and beyond Callaghan Lake in Callaghan Lake Provincial Park. What makes Cirque Lake special ...
The Rainbow Trail is a convenient and popular trail near Whistler Village that takes you to Rainbow Lake as well as the Flank Trail, Rainbow Falls, ...
Skookumchuck Hot Springs, located two hours north of Whistler along the edge of the huge Lillooet River. The name Skookumchuck means "strong water" in the ...
St Mark's Summit is a relatively easy way to get hiking deep into Vancouver's amazing mountains. Starting this hike at Cypress means you drive most of the ...
Crown Mountain, visible from downtown Vancouver, towers behind Grouse Mountain. It was appropriately named due to its crown shape over 150 years ago by an ...
Rice Lake is a relaxing walk around a cute lake in Lynn Valley. It is a family friendly hike although dogs are not welcome. Roundtrip from your car the ...
The Lions or Twin Sisters lie in North Vancouver, south of Squamish. The two distinct, rocky peaks are visible from downtown Vancouver. The one on the ...
Coliseum Mountain is one of several beautiful hikes in the Lynn Valley's beautiful Lynn Headwaters Regional Park. It's not terribly difficult, but it is ...