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 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 are three peaks, South (First), Centre (Second), and North (Third). Each accessible from the single trailhead. Growing in popularity as the newest brother to the Grouse Grind in Vancouver because there are quite a few stairs and considerable elevation gain.
There is a nice campground with over 50 tent sites and a few drive-in sites. This part of the world is somewhat expensive so this is an amazingly cheap option. Officially open April 13 - October 15. If you go outside these dates you just have to walk in from outside the gates and camping is free however there are no services available which means that the washrooms may be locked and no water available (though there is a creek running through the campsite). There are no shower facilities here any time of the year. From Cleveland Avenue and Highway 99 in Squamish (McDonalds is on this corner), drive south for about 2 minutes and watch for signs on your left. You can either park at the Stawamus Chief trailhead or the Shannon Falls trailhead. Both are close to each other but the Shannon Falls is much better for a day hike if you want to see both. Seeing both only takes a few minutes more than hiking just The Chief. If you are planning to camp overnight then The Chief trailhead is better to park as that is where the campsites are.
The wonderful Upper Shannon Falls trail is now also called the Sea to Summit trail, branches off from the chaotically popular Stawamus Chief trail. About 15 minutes along the Stawamus Chief trail you will ...
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 growth forest to get to the base of the falls. From ...
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 ...
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 are three peaks, South (First), Centre (Second), and ...
Brandywine Meadows is a nice, relatively short hike to a massive flower filled valley high up in Callaghan Valley. Located 40 minutes south of Whistler, this tough and sometimes muddy trail gains a huge 550 ...
Black Tusk is the extraordinarily iconic and appropriately named mountain that can be seen from almost everywhere in Whistler. The massive black spire of crumbling rock juts out of the earth in an incredibly ...
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. The ...
The Sea to Sky Trail is a 180 kilometre multi-use trail that runs from Squamish to D'Arcy. The trail is still under construction in many parts, however, the amazing route through Whistler is finally in ...
The idyllic Cypress Falls trail has two nice waterfalls to see as well as an impressive forest of old growth cedars and Douglas firs. From the trailhead to the lower falls is easy to follow. There are quite a ...
Deer Lake is a relaxing 5 kilometre walk around a cute urban lake just 30 minutes from Vancouver. The route around the lake is good any time of year and is very popular with dog walkers in and around ...
Hollyburn Mountain in Cypress Provincial Park, is an amazing hiking and snowshoeing trail. The Hollyburn trailhead is an astonishingly close, 30 minute drive from downtown Vancouver. The 30 minutes is quite ...
Lighthouse Park is an extraordinarily little know piece of paradise, so close to to Vancouver as to see its tall buildings, yet immersed into a dramatically beautiful coastal rainforest. A wonderful network of ...
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 are three peaks, South (First), Centre (Second), and North (Third). Each accessible from the single trailhead. Growing in popularity as the newest brother to the Grouse Grind in Vancouver because there are quite a few stairs and considerable elevation gain.
Incredible views from the top
No camping at the top
Alice Lake 
Black Tusk 
Brew Lake 
Cirque Lake 
Sea to Sky 
January 
