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.
Brandywine Falls is one of the must see sights on the way to or from Whistler. The falls drop from a 70 metre(230 feet), unnaturally abrupt looking cliff to the valley below. Brandywine Falls Provincial Park is such a popular, accessible and beautiful sight that it has a large and elaborate viewing platform directly opposite the falls. Located just 20 minutes south of Whistler, Brandywine Falls Provincial Park is just off of the Sea to Sky Highway.
Very impressive falls from a great viewing platform
Convenient, free parking off the Sea to Sky Highway
Sea to Sky Trail here continues to Whistler Village
Swim Lake is just 5 minutes away
The Whistler Bungee Bridge is not far
Idyllic sitting areas overlooking the falls and valley
The impressive falls are just one of a few sights to see in Brandywine Falls Provincial Park. Swim Lake, the Whistler Bungee Bridge and the Sea to Sky Trail running through the park make it a hiking, biking, jogging, snowshoeing paradise. You can set off from Whistler Village by bike on the Sea to Sky Trail and reach the falls in about an hour or two.. and rarely emerge from forest! The Sea to Sky Trail miraculously avoids roads and civilisation for most of its 33 kilometres. The Whistler section is 33 kilometres long, however the Sea to Sky Trail extends south and north of Whistler even further. If driving from Vancouver, keep your eyes out for the Brandywine Falls sign on your right about 25 minutes north of Squamish or 20 minutes south of Whistler Village. The parking lot is immediately off the highway and the short 1 kilometre trail takes you over then alongside Cheakamus River to the viewing area. The only facilities in the park are pit toilets and picnic tables and there is no charge for hiking or for parking your vehicle in the park. The gate off of the highway is locked at night and in the winter so at these times you simply park at the edge of the highway and hike past the gate. In the winter you often see people strapping on snowshoes for the short trek to the falls in the snow.
The falls are great and convenient to visit anytime of the year. In the summer months it can be busy, but the rest of the year you often have the falls to yourself. Viewing the falls at night, under a full moon is quite a memorable experience.Brandywine Falls Provincial Park is attached to the wonderful Sea to Sky Trail which runs between and beyond Whistler and Squamish. It is a wide, gravel biking and hiking trail that will eventually extend north to Pemberton.
Most visitors to the park just have a quick trip to the falls viewpoint and back and miss out on some amazing sights further along. Just a couple kilometres from the parking lot on the Sea to Sky Trail you will come to the amazing Whistler Bungee Bridge. The bridge is beautiful, huge and atrociously expensive looking. The area around the bridge is so remote feeling that when you catch sight of the Bungee Bridge, you almost gasp in surprise. There are viewing areas along the frighteningly abrupt cliffs and lots of space on the bridge to see the sights. Whistler Bungee operates here usually only when bookings have been pre-made, so often the bridge is deserted and serene. The folks at Whistler Bungee are very friendly and welcome you to watch people jumping and even try to coax you into trying.
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