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.
At the far end of the Baden Powell Trail, in the cute town of Deep Cove is home to the fantastic Deep Cove Lookout trail. Also known as Quarry Rock and the Grey Rock Trail, the Deep Cove Lookout trail is amazing. The wonderful trail crosses numerous creek bridges to get to the impressive lookout with views of Deep Cove and Indian Arm far below.
Indian Arm is a 20 kilometre fjord that cuts deep into the mainland. The slopes on either side are heavily forested and steep and therefore have seen little human development as compared to the heavily populated regions nearby. The hike is fairly relaxing at just over 2 kilometres(1.3 miles) from the trailhead to the lookout. There is free parking off Panorama Drive and the trailhead is marked with a Baden Powell Trail sign. The first kilometre sees most of the 160 metre(525 foot) elevation gain and from then on it is a relaxing walk in the woods the the beautiful lookout. Dogs are welcome on the trail and there are washrooms at the parking lot. Deep Cove is a very pretty coastal town full of nice shops and restaurants as well as a nice pier and marina to wander around in. From downtown Vancouver, cross the Lions Gate Bridge take the exit toward North Vancouver/Capilano Canyon/Grouse Mountain Recreation Area and merge onto Marine Drive. Turn left onto Capilano Rd and then merge onto the Trans Canada Highway heading East. Take the Mount Seymour Parkway Exit. Left on Deep Cove Road, right on Gallant Ave and left onto Panorama Drive.
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 ...
This beautifully forested hiking trail is a local favourite running route comparable to the Grouse Grind. In 4.5k the trail rises 730 metres and hardly ever in a straight line. There are a few good ...
Unnecessary Mountain gets its peculiar name from the fact it once was part of the route to reach The Lions whereas now the route avoids it. This now, unnecessary mountain, no longer needs to be climbed to ...
Mystery Lake is an easy, well marked trail that leads to a cute mountain lake that is perfect for relaxing, swimming or having a picnic. It is just 1.5k to the lake and like the rest of Seymour Park, dogs ...
Black Tusk is the extraordinarily iconic and appropriately named mountain that can be seen from countless vantage points around Whistler. The massive black spire of crumbling rock juts out of the earth in an ...
The High Falls Creek hike is a great hike not only for the beautiful scenery in and around the trail, but the drive to it as well. The often passed by Squamish Valley Road, opposite the Alice Lake Provincial ...
Stawamus Chief is the mammoth rock face that towers over Squamish. Though hardly believable from looking at, the summit is a fairly easy, though very steep hike. In fact there are three peaks, South (First), ...
Brew Lake is beautiful mountain lake just a short drive south of Whistler and is relatively unknown and seldom hiked. Laying at the base of Mount Brew, Brew Lake lays in a massive alpine valley of enormous erratics. ...
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 ...
Madeley Lake is a gorgeous lake hidden high up in the wilderness of Callaghan Valley. The Callaghan Valley runs somewhat parallel to Whistler Valley, with the two valleys separated by Mount Sproatt. Sproatt is ...
Skookumchuck Hot Springs (aka: T'sek Hot Springs and St Agnes Well Hot Springs) is located two hours north of Whistler along the edge of Lillooet River. The name Skookumchuck means "strong water" in the ...
Sloquet Hot Springs is a wonderfully wild set of shallow, man-made pools fed by a small, all natural, and very hot, waterfall. The pools stretch from the waterfall to the large and crashing Sloquet River. ...