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.
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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 is this extraordinary Provincial Park so close to Squamish.
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 Trail. The trails are all fairly easy and well laid out. All combined the trails probably add up to less than 10k, so expect to wander around for 1-3 hours.
Burnaby Mountain is located at Simon Fraser University high above, and overlooking Burrard Inlet. The views north are of Vancouver making it a popular location to view the Celebration of Light fireworks festival on English Bay. Horizons Restaurant located on Burnaby Mountain also has this amazing view of Vancouver as well as Indian Arm to the north. Recent years have accumulated several mountain biking trails, making the mountain very popular with local riders. The stunning totem poles and amazing rose garden are from Burnaby's sister city, Kushiro, Japan. With several hiking and biking trails to choose from, Burnaby Mountain Park is a great place to escape into the wilderness above Vancouver. A gorgeous place for a peaceful picnic with great views and marvellous sunsets. From downtown Vancouver, take E Hastings. After about 25 minutes it will become the Burnaby Mountain Parkway. Take a left onto Centennial Way. Parking is free.
Cheakamus Lake is a wonderfully relaxing way to get in the wilderness easily and quickly from Whistler Village. The trail begins on the far side of Whistler Mountain, 8 kilometres from the Sea to Sky ...
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 ...
Nairn Falls is a swirling, crashing and chaotic waterfall that surrounds you from the deluxe viewing platform that allows you to safely watch it from above. The beautiful, green water rushes through the deep and ...
The short, scenic and easy hiking trail to Rainbow Falls is found at the same, much more well known trailhead for Rainbow Lake. The trailhead is marked as the Rainbow Trail and the trail quickly ascends ...
Mount Fromme is the thickly forested mountain next to Grouse Mountain. If looking from the direction of downtown Vancouver, Mount Fromme is just to the right. It is infrequently hiked, at least partly due ...
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 ...
Mount Hanover is another amazing and accessible peak in the North Shore mountains. Located in the beautiful Cypress Provincial Park, Mount Hanover is among several other prominent summits on the amazing Howe ...
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 ...