Favourite Hikes in Southwestern BC: Part V

December 4, 2024November 15, 2024 / Maria / 1 Comment

It’s been over 10 years since I moved to British Columbia, so every 2 years I compile a list of my favourite hikes from the past 2 years. You can view my other favourite hikes in Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4. This collection is my favourite trails that I hiked in 2023 and 2024. It’s always a mix of day hikes and backpacking trips!

Two hikers lay on Starvation Lake on floating pads with the mountains and forest in the background on a warm, sunny day in Summer, near Squamish, BC.

#10 Starvation Lake

This hike is super easy and accessible, but chances are, you’ve never heard of it. The alpine snow was pretty slow to melt in the summer of 2024, so one day in July we decided to check out some of the lesser known trails in Squamish. We wanted to stay at a low elevation and take advantage of lake swimming season. We had Brunch at Fergie’s and then continued to the end of Paradise Valley Road to start this hike. The trail follows the Cheakamus River before a gentle hike uphill on the Sea to Sky Trail. We hiked as far as the Starvation Lake Rec Site and spent several hours lounging around and swimming in the warm water. You can continue hiking further to connect with the Sea to Sky highway (if you have two cars), but we enjoyed a round trip from the lake. (6km roundtrip, 130m elevation gain)

A group of snowshoers head downhill in winter on a snowy mountain with snow covered trees and a view of Vancouver city in the background from Brockton Point in Seymour Mountain Provincial Park in British Columbia, Canada.

#9 Brockton Point

Brockton Point is well known among the skiing and snowshoeing crowd. It’s a hike I’ve done several times, but I only started to appreciate it in the past few years. I recommend doing it in the winter, just make sure to book a free parking pass for Mount Seymour Backcountry or you’ll be denied access. Recently I’ve been ski touring up to Brockton Point and then skiing back down through the resort trails, but it’s also a really nice snowshoeing trail. The trail starts at the back of the parking lot and hikes parallel to the ski run. Most users continue past Brockton Point to Pump Peak, but this takes you into avalanche terrain, so don’t go further without the proper gear and training. I always stop at Brockton because the view is great there anyways! (6km roundtrip, 270m elevation gain)

A photo of a tent in a meadow just before sunrise, as the sun turns the surrounding mountains orange on a clear sky day overlooking the alpine and forest around Jade Lake in Mount Revelstoke National Park in BC.

#8 Jade Lake

In line with my other posts, I’m not afraid to stretch the boundaries of what is considered “southwestern BC”. Jade Lake is located 6 hours away from Vancouver in Mount Revelstoke National Park, so it’s definitely a bit of a stretch to include it in this list, but it’s a great hike! Eva and Jade Lake can be done as either a backpacking trip, or a long day trip. It’s a little over 20km round trip if you want to do both lakes in a day, so I opted to visit overnight. The hike starts from the top of Mount Revelstoke and meanders through beautiful alpine meadows. After Eva Lake, the hike climbs up the pass for a beautiful view of Jade Lake. Most people stop at the Pass, but it’s definitely worth it to add the extra 2km down to Jade Lake, which is a gorgeous alpine lake that receives limited visitors compared to the rest of the park. (20km roundtrip, 525m elevation gain)

A hiker stands on the edge of a rock next to Widgeon Creek with the forest and mountains in the background on a sunny day

#7 Widgeon Falls

Widgeon Falls is a really unique hike because it’s only accessible by boat! In the summer, you can rent canoes from Pitt Lake and paddle across the Pitt River and up Widgeon Creek to the Widgeon Campsite (~1.5 hour paddle). It’s a pretty safe paddle, but you definitely want to be prepared if you’ve never canoed before. The Pitt River is tidally influenced and can become pretty fast moving, so research the current conditions before visiting. I think the best time to go is early spring or early summer. Avoid freshet, which causes high flows in the river, but also avoid late summer because then the flows in the creek can get too low. From the campsite, you can hike through the forest and along the river to Widgeon Falls. It’s an easy hike, but makes for a great adventure! (9km roundtrip paddle, 6km roundtrip hike)

A photo of Palmers Pond on a summer day, with the green meadows, forest, and mountains in the background, on the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC Trail) near Hope in British Columbia, Canada.

#6 HBC Heritage Trail

If you know me well, you might be surprised to see this hike on the list. I did not have a great time on this hike. It’s 80km long and me and Carolyn completed the entire trail in 3 days, resulting in a foot injury. I was quite miserable along a lot of the trail, but it was definitely a type 2 kind of fun because I still think about this trail all the time. Like the name suggests, it’s a heritage trail that connects Hope to Tulameen and was used during the fur trade and by First Nations. The trail has a lot of forest walking and is not for the faint of heart after the 2021 flood caused a lot of blowdowns and washouts. Most of the trail has now been repaired by amazing volunteers, but the real reason you do this hike is for the solitude. We encountered a lot of people when we passed through Lodestone Lake Rec Site, but otherwise, we didn’t see a single person on the trail in the entire 3 day weekend we were hiking. Despite the challenges, I think this is a really special trail and you will be rewarded with views at Conglomerate Flats and Palmer’s Pond. It’s a great option if you like a challenge! (80km, 3300m elevation gain, 4-6 days)

A female hiker stands next to a fence, looking out at the fast moving water of Sechelt Inlet near Skookumchuck Narrows, with the mountains in the background on a sunny, summer day, on the Sunshine Coast, BC.

#5 Skookumchuck Narrows

This is a small and easy trail on the Sunshine Coast, but I really enjoyed visiting it. After you take the ferry to Langdale, drive all the way north to Earls Cove and take the turn off to Egmont. It’s a relatively easy hike, so make a day of it and visit the small village of Egmont and go for a swim in Waugh Lake on the way back. There’s a tiny cafe along the trail, so you can reward yourself with a little treat. The trail hikes through the woods to a series of viewpoints at the Sechelt Rapids. The main reason to visit is to see the series of rapids that develop during tide change, which are popular among kayakers and whitewater enthusiasts. The views of Sechelt Inlet are gorgeous, and it’s really fun to watch the thrill seekers playing in the rapids! (9km roundtrip, 150m elevation gain)

A female hiker floats in an alpine lake while swimming at Blanca Lake, with the mountains in the background on a blue sky, sunny day, north of Squamish, BC

#4 Blanca Lake

Blanca Lake is still a relatively little known hike, but it is quickly becoming popular. It’s located really far down the Squamish River FSR, off the Elaho Mainline on E300 line. 4WD is required to get to the trailhead. You could try taking a car partway up the E300, but it’s 10km long and completely exposed. We picked up a few hitchhikers who were getting ready to quit from the heat. If you make it to the trailhead, it’s a short but steep hike up to the alpine. There’s a steep climb in the first 1.5km, but then the incline is more gentle for the remaining 3km up to the lake. You can visit as a day hike or an overnight. We stayed one night and there is a lot of space for tents. If you have the time, stay 2 nights to explore the surrounding alpine area. There’s no trails, but there’s lots of terrain to explore! (9km roundtrip, 500m elevation gain)

A landscape photo of the trees, mountains, and ponds, from the top of Mount Steele in Tetrahedron Provincial Park on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia, Canada.

#3 Tetrahedron Park

Tetrahedron Park is located on the lower Sunshine Coast and has an amazing hut system that can be utilized all year round. Drive to Sechelt and take Sechelt Inlet Road out to the Gray Creek FSR. A normal car will get you to the lower parking lot, or with 4WD, you can save 1km extra and drive to the upper lot. You can visit Tetrahedron as a day trip, but I really recommend overnight to take advantage of the huts (great for beginners). There’s ~30km of hiking and 4 huts. Batchelor Cabin is best for families, Edwards Cabin is a good base camp for day hikes, and the cabins at Mount Steele and McNair Lake are great for more adventurous hikers. I highly recommend summiting Mount Steele, but exercise caution in the winter and watch for avalanche terrain.

A photo of the hiking trail in South Chilcotin Provincial Park that runs to Lorna Pass. The trail is covered in yellow wildflowers in the middle of the forest, with the mountains peaking out in the background on a cloudy day in British Columbia.

#2 South Chilcotin Provincial Park

South Chilcotin is a huge park with so many options for hiking. It’s definitely not a trip you can do for a day, unless you’re a mountain biker, but it’s great for multi day backpacking trips. I visited the park in mid-summer and did a 90km loop around the core area of the park, from Tyaughton Creek, over Deer Pass, to Spruce Lake. Other trip options include exploring the park via the Castle Creek trail or through adjacent Big Creek Park. For a price, you can take a float plane into the core area of the park and stay at fancy mountain lodges with full catering. What’s really nice about this park is the limited number of people and we had the backcountry sites to ourselves most nights.

A photo of Russet Lake with the grassy meadows and the mountains in the background on a smoky summer day in Garibaldi Provincial Park near Whistler, British Columbia, Canada.

#1 Russet Lake

I decided on Russet Lake as my favourite hike of the last two years. It’s a popular hike in the Garibaldi backcountry, but due to trail length and campsite maximums, it’s hard to do as a day hike and not as busy as other trails in the park. You can access the lake via the Singing Pass Trail (free from Whistler base), or take the gondola and peak chair up to the top of the mountain and hike via the Musical Bumps trail (this is what I did). There’s a lot of up and down along this trail, but you’re in the alpine the entire time and it’s absolutely breathtaking! Once you reach the lake, you can pay more to stay in the very beautiful Kees and Claire Hut, or you can stay in the BC Parks campsite at the lake. Stay an extra day if you want to explore the surrounding area. (24km roundtrip, 550m elevation gain)

GloFest at 8 Corners Tea Room

November 27, 2024November 15, 2024 / Maria / Leave a comment

I want to write about something a little different for this post. November and December are usually slower months for me while I wait for the mountains to fill with snow for ski season. This year, Seth and I decided to do something a little special in November and purchased tickets to attend GloFest. It’s an event that takes place at Camp Howdy, near Belcarra, but is hosted by the 8 Corners Tea Room.

We’ve been visiting the 8 Corners Tea Room on a semi-regular basis for several years now and we’re big fans! It’s a small Tea Room that is open on Fridays and Saturdays. They serve high tea and an a-la-carte menu. The Tea Room is located on a grassy hill overlooking Indian Arm, at the end of White Pine Beach Road in Belcarra, but it is challenging to access because of the crowds at Sasamat Lake. The park is managed by Metro Vancouver, and once the parking lot is full on a summer day, the road is closed. The 8 Corners Tea Room is technically a water lot, so land access isn’t guaranteed.

This has never been a problem for me and Seth, because we’ve always visited the tea room by kayak! I’ve written about the trip in my blog post about kayaking to Ferrar Cove. It’s a favourite for us because it’s a ~90 minute paddle from Belcarra, with a nice break at Jug Island along the way. Since it’s technically a water lot, they have a large public dock where we tie up our kayaks, and then we enjoy a nice sandwich, dessert, and cup of tea at the Tea Room.

The owner and staff are super friendly! We must be some of the only people to regularly arrive by kayak, because the staff always remember us when we climb up over the hill in our kayak gear. Although, I’m sure two people in wetsuits and lifejackets are a lot more memorable than the well-dressed clients they usually get attending high tea! Even so, they always treat us super well and over the years have shared lots of information about their organic teas, which are all sourced from Jeju Island in South Korea.

The Tea Room was closed throughout the entire 2024 season for renovations and we were really sad not to be able to visit this summer. So when I saw they were offering a tea and dining experience through November and December, I was thrilled to sign up for it. The event is called GloFest in November, and transitions to the name Christmas Tea Lights in December. It’s pricey, but the experience includes a boat ride from the pier in Port Moody to the Tea Room; a tea experience where you learn all about the health benefits of their tea and how it is produced and brewed; a 5-course meal in the heated glass domes; and a light show!

We loved everything about the experience! The renovations are still not quite finished on the tea room, so the event is running out of Camp Howdy, which is right next door. They have the forest decorated with lights on the way up from the dock and I liked all the personal touches around Camp Howdy. They have a free photo booth set up and a scavenger hunt around the property. We learned a lot from the Tea Experience and the 5 course meal was delicious! Seth had the sablefish and I had the steak. The night ends with a choreographed light show with music on the domes before you head back to Port Moody.

It is a bit of a long ride from Port Moody, but it was convenient for us since we live in Coquitlam. I believe for the Christmas event, they are also offering boats from Deep Cove, which is a shorter ride and makes it more accessible for people on the North Shore or downtown. So if you’re on the fence about the event or considering it, I’d definitely recommend if you have the financial means. We really loved it and can’t wait until the Tea Room re-opens again next year for us to return via kayak!

Whitewater Rafting the Chilliwack River

November 20, 2024November 15, 2024 / Maria / Leave a comment

I love whitewater rafting! Most of my rafting trips have been done while on holiday, with a few of my favourites including the Tongariro River in New Zealand, the Pacuare River in Costa Rica, and the Urubamba River in Peru. But there are a lot of opportunities for whitewater rafting in BC and after rafting the Elaho River in Squamish with my Girl Guides last year, I decided to try rafting the Chilliwack River this year for my birthday.

The Chilliwack River is very easily accessible from Vancouver and there are several options for rafting with the Chilliwack River Rafting company. Their website advertises several different rafting options. It doesn’t really matter which one you register for, they all leave at the same time and allow you to pick between them at the site. There’s the Classic option, which is great for beginners, and there’s the Canyon option, which is for more experienced paddlers and strong swimmers. There’s nothing higher than a class 3 rapid on the Classic and there are some nice leisurely sections. The Canyon option is on a different part of the river and involves up to class 4+ rapids.

At this point, I have done quite a bit of rafting, so I eagerly signed up for the Canyon option. Seth joined me, as well as my friends Carolyn and Lien. The company tried to persuade Lien out of the Canyon option when he said he hadn’t been paddling before. This is wise advice, but he insisted on joining the rest of us and we all did fine. It wasn’t my first time doing class 4+ rapids, but what I would say is more challenging about this trip than other options is that it is consistent paddling for over 2 hours. It’s common to hit slower sections when running rapids, which provide a nice break for your arms and there’s usually an opportunity to go swimming. On this trip, you have 1 break at the halfway mark, but you’re pretty much constantly running the rapids for 2 hours straight. So it is a really thrilling adventure, but very tiring!

One nice thing about the company is that there are two options for departure. You can leave in the morning, or in the afternoon. Both options include a large buffet lunch at the rafting camp. If you leave in the morning, you get the meal when you finish rafting, whereas if you go in the afternoon, you’re served lunch before you head to the river. It was a nice touch to feed us in advance of the trip, especially since there’s no opportunity to eat on the river.

You take the bus to the launch site, split into groups for the rafts, and meet your guide to go over safety. We were the “sweep” for the trip, which means we ran all the rapids last. I had a really great time on the river, the rapids are super fun and it’s a gorgeous location to spend an afternoon. The break location is a little bit chaotic. There’s no beach to pull out on, so the rafts all stop along the edge of the river and everyone has the opportunity to go cliff jumping (totally optional). I’ve done cliff jumping on a few different rafting trips, and this was definitely the most intense one. It’s not super high, but we went in late June, which is when the river has some of the highest flows, so you definitely want to be a strong swimmer because the current is fast moving in the location where you have to swim back to the boat.

Overall, I don’t think I enjoyed this trip as much as rafting the Elaho River in Squamish, which is interesting because I’ve done that one twice and was looking forward to something new. Overall, Canadian Outback Rafting in Squamish has slightly nicer equipment, the river is more scenic overall, and there’s a nice snack break and photos along the way. Although, I will say, you have to pay for your photos with Canadian Outback, whereas Chilliwack Rafting posts them on their facebook page for free (although there are not as many). The wetsuits were definitely nicer with Canadian Outback, who give you everything you need, including shoes. Chilliwack Rafting does not provide shoes, which is a bit concerning as a lot of people don’t realize that and show up in inappropriate shoes.

But overall, I would definitely recommend! I don’t think you can go wrong with whitewater rafting. Stick to the Classic option if it’s your first time or if you’re not a strong swimmer. But if you’re looking for a thrill, the Canyon option is definitely a great choice! It’s a pricier activity, but it’s a lot of fun!