Squamish sits in the midst of some amazing places to hike. Garibaldi Provincial 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.
GaribaldiProvincialPark
Garibaldi Provincial Park wraps around Squamish and is home to some amazing hiking trails. Garibaldi Lake, Panorama Ridge, Black Tusk and Elfin Lakes are all wonderful hiking destinations in this extraordinary Provincial Park so close to Squamish.
Black Mountain can be reached from two different trailheads. The trailhead from Cypress Resort and the original trail off Marine Drive halfway between Horseshoe Bay and Lighthouse Park. The trailhead south of Horseshoe Bay is a challenging 19 kilometre roundtrip hike but fantastically scenic. This route follows the Trans Canada Trail for about 20 minutes before branching off toward, then past Whyte Lake.
The Cypress Mountain Resort is the newer, shorter and easier way to access Black Mountain and Eagle Bluffs. Located just a short and very nice, 30 minute drive from downtown Vancouver, the Black Mountain and Eagle Bluffs trail begins next to the Cypress Mountain Resort chairlifts. The well marked trail branches away from the chairlift to the left and quickly ascends into the deep and beautiful forest. Follow the clear signs to Eagle Bluffs. The route can be done in a circle route, so try to take the other route on the way back for variety. Black Mountain is a short side trail off this circle route. Allow yourself 3-4 hours for the 7.7k return trip to both Black Mountain and Eagle Bluffs. The elevation gain is 350m in 4k. Expect to need snowshoes December to May. During these months use caution as snow may obscure the trail markers and combined with bad weather can very easily make you lose the trail. The Cypress Mountain trailhead and parking for Black Mountain and Eagle Bluffs is also the gateway to the amazing Howe Sound Crest Trail. This amazing trail in Cypress Provincial Park extends north from the Cypress Resort parking and ascends deep into the North Shore Mountains. Mount Strachan, St Mark's Summit, Unnecessary Mountain and The Lions are all accessible from this trailhead.
Continuing north beyond The Lions, the Howe Sound Crest Trail leads to Mt Harvey, Mt Hanover, Brunswick Mountain and finally Deeks Peak. Hollyburn Mountain is another wonderful hiking trail near the Cypress Mountain, Black Mountain trailhead. Located at the Cypress Mountain cross country skiing area the trailhead to Hollyburn Mountain is marked with a large mapboard. Hollyburn is an easy, 7 kilometre roundtrip hike to fantastic views of Vancouver.
Everyone knows the Grouse Grind as the fantastically popular 2.9 kilometre workout in Vancouver. What is less known is that Grouse Mountain is the gateway, or rather back door to some amazing hiking in the ...
Burnaby Mountain, just 30 minutes east of downtown Vancouver has a nice network of popular trails with fantastic views of Vancouver, Burrard Inlet and beyond. The trails link to the wonderful Trans Canada ...
Black Mountain can be reached from two different trailheads. The trailhead from Cypress Resort and the original trail off Marine Drive halfway between Horseshoe Bay and Lighthouse Park. The trailhead south of ...
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 ...
Helm Creek is a cute, meandering creek that winds its way from beyond Black Tusk, down the valley to the wonderful campground that takes its name. From the Helm Creek campground, Helm Creek descends further ...
Callaghan Lake Provincial Park is a relatively untouched wilderness of rugged mountainous terrain. The valley walls were formed by relatively recent glaciation. Evidence of this can be seen in the ...
Whistler has an absurd number of wonderful and free hiking trails and Parkhurst Ghost Town certainly ranks as one of the most unusual, exotic and interesting. Parkhurst was a little logging town perched on ...
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 ...