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 Mt 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.
Explore Squamish Hiking Trails!
The High Falls Creek hike is a great hike not only for the beautiful scenery in and around the trail, but the drive to it as well. The often passed by Squamish Valley Road, opposite the Alice Lake Provincial ...
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 Squamish. From Whistler Village, the trailhead is ...
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 well as the much larger Alice Lake. There is a nice ...
Levette Lake is a nice mountain lake located in the enormous Squamish Valley that drains Squamish River into Howe Sound. There are some nice views and minimal elevation gain along the trail. The amazing ...
Sloquet Hot Springs is a wonderfully wild set of shallow, man-made pools fed by a small, all natural, and very hot, waterfall. The pools stretch from the waterfall to the large and crashing Sloquet River. ...
Wedgemount Lake itself is a magnificent destination for a day hike or spectacular overnight beneath the dazzling mountain peaks and stars. Many sleep under the stars on one of the many beautiful tent ...
The trail to Whistler Train Wreck is an easy, yet varied route through deep forest, across a great suspension bridge over Cheakamus River, to a stunning array of wrecked train cars. The trail from your car ...
Whistler is an amazing place to hike. Looking at a map of Whistler you see an extraordinary spider web of hiking trails. Easy trails, moderate trails and challenging hiking trails are all available. Another marvellous thing about Whistler is that Garibaldi Provincial ...
Squamish sits in the midst of some amazing places to hike. Garibaldi Park sprawls from Squamish up and beyond Whistler. Tantalus Provincial Park lays across the valley to the west and the beautiful and desolate, by comparison, Callaghan Valley to the north. Add to ...
Clayoquot Sound has a staggering array of hiking trails within it. Between Tofino and Ucluelet, Pacific Rim Park has several wilderness and beach trails, each one radically different from the last. The islands in the area are often Provincial parks on their own with ...
Victoria has a seemingly endless number of amazing hiking trails. Most take you to wild and beautiful Pacific Ocean views and others take you to tranquil lakes in beautiful BC Coastal Rainforest wilderness. Regional Parks and Provincial Parks are everywhere you turn ...
The West Coast Trail was created after decades of brutal and costly shipwrecks occurred along the West Coast of Vancouver Island. One shipwreck in particular was so horrific, tragic and unbelievable that it forced the creation of a trail along the coast, which ...