Vancouver is surrounded by seemingly endless hiking trails and mountains to explore. Massive parks line up one after another. Mount Seymour Provincial Park, Lynn Canyon Park, Grouse Mountain, Cypress Mountain and the enormous Garibaldi Provincial Park all contribute to Vancouver being an incredible hiking paradise. The variety and convenience of Vancouver hiking trails is astounding!
The Goldie Lake trail in Mount Seymour Provincial Park is a cute, self-guided interpretive trail that runs around this small mountain lake. Although it is only 4 kilometres(roundtrip) for the normal loop trail, there are some side-trail variations that can lengthen and vary the route to almost 6k. Flower Lake is one of these trails and well worth the look. Certainly one of the more family friendly hikes on in Mount Seymour Provincial Park when compared to the more rigorous hikes like the nearby Mount Seymour and Mount Elsay hikes. If you are hoping for a swim in an alpine lake then Mystery Lake, also in Mount Seymour Provincial Park is the best bet and also family friendly at just 3 kilometres for the roundtrip hike. Mystery Lake is much nicer for swimming as it is crystal clear and surrounded by rock outcrops ideal for lounging in the sun. More Goldie Lake information click here...
Goat Mountain is a beautiful mountain to hike from Grouse Mountain. It is challenging at times but fairly relaxing overall. It is just 4 kilometres from the Grouse Mountain Chalet and should only take 3-4 hours roundtrip from the top of the SkyRide. If you hike/run the Grouse Grind as well then add 2.9k to the journey there and 3.5k to the return (via the BCMC trail adjacent to the Grouse Grind) to get back to your car. From the Grouse Chalet on Grouse Mountain follow the path under the Peak Chair until you reach the trailhead and hiker check-in station. From here you follow the marked trail to Goat Mountain. You can either hike via Dam Mountain, or take the easier Alpine Trail. Both are roughly the same distance, but the Alpine Trail is a bit easier. The trail then leads to Little Goat Mountain and a fork in the trail. Straight goes to the huge Crown Mountain ahead, and right goes to Goat Mountain just .7k away. With the exception of the last, short climb to the summit of Goat Mountain, which is fairly steep, the trail is only moderately challenging. For a more challenging hike, try the nearby Crown Mountain. More Goat Mountain information click here...
Everyone knows the Grouse Grind as the fantastically popular 2.9k, workout in Vancouver. What is less known is that it is the gateway, or rather back door to some amazing hiking in Lynn Headwaters Regional Park. Dam Mountain, Goat Mountain, Crown Mountain, Norvan Falls, Coliseum Mountain, Lynn Peak and quite a lot more lay across the horizon from the top of the Grind. Whether you start at the base of the Grind or at the top of the SkyRide, the beautifully addictive Grouse Grind is, for many, just the beginning of the trail to so much more. Lynn Headwaters Regional Park begins several kilometres away at the Lynn Valley trailhead and beautiful trails follow Lynn Creek for 7k to Norvan Falls. The trail then turns into Hanes Valley, connecting to Crown Mountain, Goat Mountain, Dam Mountain and finally leading to Grouse Mountain. The trail from the Lynn Headwaters trailhead to Grouse is about 20k as it carves a giant arc through the valley.
Hollyburn Mountain, in Cypress Provincial Park, is an amazing place to snowshoe or go hiking. The Hollyburn Mountain trailhead is an astonishingly close, 30 minutes from downtown Vancouver. The 30 minute drive is quite something as well. From the always beautiful crossing of the beautiful Lions Gate Bridge, to the incredible views of Vancouver from the approach drive to Cypress Mountain and the Hollyburn Mountain trailhead. You would almost expect that there would be various fees for parking, trail use, etc. But the Hollyburn Mountain snowshoeing and hiking trail is completely free, and also quite convenient. You will likely be able to park withing a few metres of the hiking/snowshoeing trailhead and if you don't happen to own snowshoes, you can rent them at the trailhead for a very reasonable price. As if it couldn't get better, it does... the trail is so well marked that it can easily be done after dark, as many do. What a perfect escape from the city. Hollyburn Mountain is a perfect escape to a towering mountain paradise far above Vancouver below. The city lights are amazing. From the lights of the Lions Gate Bridge, to the beautifully bright tankers, to the wondrously glowing Vancouver towers.
Lighthouse Park is an extraordinarily little known piece of paradise, so close to to Vancouver as to see its tall buildings, yet immersed into a dramatically beautiful coastal rainforest. A wonderful network of hiking trails winds throughout massive Douglas-fir trees and Western red cedars as well as golden Arbutus trees stretching toward the ocean. There are so many great aspects of this hike. The first is the beautiful drive to get there. Marine Drive spectacularly hugs the rugged and steep coast of West Vancouver. This beautiful stretch of road is a great attraction to Lighthouse Park as it takes you along an easily overlooked, yet beautiful area of Vancouver. Another great attraction to the park is the wonderful variation of trails. They stretch out in several directions in the thick forest, each leading to breathtaking ocean viewpoints. Another is the variety of wildlife in Lighthouse Park. Along with the majestic trees there are the occasional bald eagles, oystercatchers, seagulls, shore crabs, hermit crabs and starfish, among quite a lot else. Another is the seemingly endless array of picnic tables and even better, rock outcrops at the edge of the Georgia Strait and Pacific Ocean beyond.
Green Lake is the marvellously vivid, green coloured lake just north of Whistler Village. Driving north on the Sea to Sky Highway, Green Lake appears ...
Moraines are glacially deposited ridges of debris that accumulate at the sides or terminus of a glacier. Lateral moraines form at the sides of glaciers ...
Neal Carter (14 Dec 1902 - 15 Mar 1978) was an early explorer of the Coast Mountains around what would eventually be called Whistler Valley. In the summer ...
Ablation Zone: the lower altitude region of a glacier where there is a net loss of ice mass due to melting, sublimation, evaporation, ice calving or ...
Armchair Glacier is one of the many easily identifiable mountain features around Whistler. Along with Wedge Mountain and Black Tusk, Armchair Glacier has a ...
Mount Meager erupted here 2400 years ago and filled the valley with debris that cemented into rock that blocked Lillooet River. Eventually water erosion ...
Nairn Falls is a wonderful, crashing and chaotic waterfall that surrounds you from the deluxe viewing platform that allows you to safely watch it from ...
Alexander Falls is a very impressive 43 metre/141 foot waterfall just 30 to 40 minutes south of Whistler in the Callaghan Valley. Open year-round and ...
Rainbow Falls is located just a short hike from the start of the Rainbow Trail to Rainbow Lake. The trailhead is along Alta Lake Road on the far side of ...
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 falls ...
Skookumchuck Hot Springs(aka T'sek Hot Springs and St. Agnes Well), located two hours north of Whistler along the edge of the huge Lillooet River. The name Skookumchuck means "strong water" in the language of the ...
Cheakamus River is a beautiful, crashing, turquoise coloured river that flows from Cheakamus Lake, through Whistler Interpretive Forest at Cheakamus Crossing, then down past Brandywine Falls to Daisy Lake. ...
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 ...