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 Ancient Cedars trail is well marked and well worn and only gradually uphill for the 2.5 kilometre hike. At the Ancient Cedars forest there is a short circle trail that takes you throughout the giants then leads you back to the main trail for the return journey. An unmarked trailhead to Newt Lake starts at the end of the Ancient Cedars trail. The Newt Lake trail is wild, overgrown and fairly steep, but surprisingly enjoyable. Lots of wild forest scenery and constantly changing topography.
Easy trail to huge & ancient trees
A quick, far feeling escape from civilisation
A relatively quiet hiking trail that is dog friendly!
At the end of the wild Newt Lake trail is the beautifully hidden and remote feeling Newt Lake. Relatively unknown, this lake is rarely visited and you will often have it all to yourself. Fantastic! The huge western redcedars at Ancient Cedars are huge and some are estimated to be a thousand years old. Most of these giants stretch toward the sky, but some lay along the forest floor giving you an even closer grasp of their size. If you bring kids along, they will disappear into the endless, natural playground. Ancient Cedars is great to visit in the spring and fall months as you rarely see people and never feel mosquitoes. The problem is the trailhead is up a long way into the mountains and snow at this elevation persists until April and sometimes May. Snow, along with the steep access road make driving to the trailhead impossible for most cars until it disappears. Summer is great for seeing Ancient Cedars and Showh Lakes in particular. There are branching trails to both Showh Lakes and Newt Lake. These three lakes are very beautiful and remote feeling. Ancient Cedars is a comparatively quiet hiking trail and you usually see only a couple cars at the trailhead. Hikers rarely hike beyond the Ancient Cedars trail and encountering someone at Showh Lakes or Newt Lake would be surprising.
Beautiful Ancient Cedars in Whistler
Stunning and Serene Showh Lakes
Newt Lake Alpine Paradise
Ancient Cedars Trailhead to Newt Lake
From the Ancient Cedars trailhead to Newt Lake you gain 366 metres(1201 feet) in 5 kilometres(3.1 miles). That's a challenging elevation gain, however the first half to Ancient Cedars is a pretty relaxing, steadily uphill route with the occasional bend in the trail. The easy to follow, well used trail is nice, scenic and feels like an easy walk in the woods.. The Newt Lake trail, however, is quite wild by comparison. The trail snakes through the thick forest in a constantly ascending and zigzagging route that would be impossible to follow without the very frequent trail markers. From your car to Ancient Cedars takes only 45 minutes to hike, but from Ancient Cedars to Newt Lake expect to be hiking more than an hour.
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