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.
Brunswick Mountain is the highest peak in the North Shore mountains. Located in the beautiful Cypress Provincial Park, Brunswick Mountain is among several other prominent summits on the amazing Howe Sound Crest Trail. You can reach Brunswick Mountain from the Howe Sound Crest Trail if you begin your hike from the Cypress Mountain Resort, however reaching it from the trailhead in Lions Bay is much shorter.
This trailhead is also used to reach The Lions, Mount Harvey and Mount Hanover. The trail is challenging as you gain considerable elevation in a short distance, 1550 metres in just 7.3k. The first half of the trail is fairly easy as you follow first a disused logging road for about 15 minutes (bear right at a fork), then a wide and fairly straight trail for another 20 minutes until you reach another junction. Take the trail (overgrown logging road) to the left which is well marked with flagging tape. You will shortly cross Magnesia Creek and the trail steepens as the logging road/trail becomes a trail and soon you will see a fork. Take the right fork and follow several switchbacks until you reach a ridge leading up to Brunswick Mountain. This final ridge ascent is very steep and exposed (class 3 scramble for about 1 kilometre), which can be very dangerous in poor weather. People have been airlifted from this section in the past due to poor weather moving in quickly to leave them unable to see. Unable to see you can find yourself unable to find your way up or down safely and the more you continue, the worse your situation becomes.
Brunswick Mountain Along the Howe Sound Crest Trail
Coliseum Mountain is one of several beautiful hikes in the Lynn Valley's beautiful Lynn Headwaters Regional Park. It's not terribly difficult, but it is very long. 12 kilometres from the trailhead to the ...
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 ...
The busy Mount Seymour trail in Mount Seymour Provincial Park is a locals favourite. It is challenging and an excellent workout at 4 kilometres from the trailhead to the summit. The views are phenomenal. On a ...
St Mark's Summit is a relatively easy way to get hiking deep into Vancouver's amazing mountains. Starting this hike at Cypress means you drive most of the elevation. Even though you still have another ...
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 downtown Squamish, the trailhead is ...
Brandywine Falls is one of the must see sights on the drive to or from Whistler, and arguably the nicest of Whistler’s numerous beautiful waterfalls. Located about halfway between Squamish and Whistler, the ...
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 ...
Taylor Meadows is a beautiful campsite and alternative to the much busier and more well known, Garibaldi Lake campsite. Located in between Garibaldi Lake and Black Tusk itself. It is reached from the same ...