A Guide to Snow Camping Near Vancouver

February 19, 2025February 6, 2025 / Maria / Leave a comment

Camping is one of my favourite things to do in the summer, so I would always be sad when the season ends and I’d have to wait a whole year to sleep in the backcountry. I quickly came to the conclusion that I didn’t need to wait and decided to get into snow camping!

It’s definitely not for the faint of heart. It is much more intensive than camping in the summer and it is a lot of work to stay warm. Not to mention, quality 4-season camping equipment is not cheap. I’ve written an entire guide to winter camping and how to stay safe and warm. Once you’ve established you’re ready to try winter camping, the next dilemma is assessing where to go! First check out my guide to avalanche safety and then take a look at some of these recommendations.

Beginner Walk-in Camping (with warming hut)

Lone Duck I Campsite

A small log cabin at Lone Duck II Campground covered in a fresh layer of snow on the ground and cabin, with tall trees with the sun peaking out behind the trees, in E.C. Manning Provincial Park in British Columbia, Canada.

This is my number one pick for snow camping if you’re brand new to it. The Lone Duck I Campsite is located in Manning Park and is a first-come-first-serve site through the winter. It has a field for tenting and a communal hut with a woodstove for eating and hanging out. You do need to bring your own firewood, but the benefit is that this campsite is only a couple hundred metres from your car. So if you don’t have the money to invest in quality winter camping equipment, you can just lug in a bunch of gear from your car and not have to worry about fitting everything in your backpack. The site is located right next to Lightning Lake and has immediate access to cross-country skiing and snowshoeing trails. Permits are available through camping.bcparks.ca

Mount Seymour Group Campsite

As the name suggests, this is a group campsite, so if you’d like to use it, please make sure you actually have a group. But if you do, this is one of the easiest and closest options to Vancouver for snow camping. Its located off Mount Seymour road, just below the ski resort. The site is a large field with a warming hut and outhouse, only 100 metres from the parking lot. Similar to Lone Duck, you can use the hut to keep warm and it’s easy to carry in lots of warm gear. Reservations are required and can be booked through camping.bcparks.ca

Beginner Backpack Camping

Falls Lake Campsite

Falls Lake is my top pick for beginners that want to go backpacking because it’s only a short hike from your car. It gives the illusion of remoteness, but in a pinch, if you’re really cold in the middle of the night, it’s not too far to hike back out. Falls Lake is located off the Coquihalla Highway at the exit for Zoa Peak. In the summer, you can drive almost to the campsite, but the road isn’t plowed in the winter, so it’s a short ~2km hike to the lake along the unplowed road. There is an outhouse at the lake and reservations or permits are not required.

Lightning Lakes

A group of hikers have set up a snow camp in a clearing in the forest, with a 4-season tent and snowshoes and shovels around at dusk. There are many snow covered trees on the mountain in the background at Lightning Lakes in E.C. Manning Provincial Park in BC.

Lightning Lakes is another great option for snow camping when the lake is frozen. In the winter, the lake usually completely freezes except around the bridge between the first and second lake. Technically, there’s no official campground here, but there is some open forest area at the end of the second lake (~3km hike) where you can set up camp. I know some people will head as far as Flash Lake to get access to the summer campsites, but the trail to Flash Lake is adjacent to steep terrain where there could be overhead avalanche risk, so I haven’t gone past the end of the second lake. There is no outhouse, so only consider this location if you’re comfortable digging winter catholes. A permit is required from camping.bcparks.ca

Red Heather

Red Heather hut is located halfway to Elfin Lakes in Garibaldi Provincial Park. You can’t camp here in the summer, but snow camping is permitted in the winter. It’s a 5km hike up an old forestry road to get to the site. This hike is a bit longer than the other beginner options and is all uphill, but I include this in beginner backpacking because there is both a warming hut and an outhouse at this site. You cannot camp in the warming hut, you must set up somewhere in the meadow, but it’s a great option to have access to the hut. Chains are required to drive the last 2km to the trailhead (or you can park at the lower lot) and a backcountry permit is required from camping.bcparks.ca

Intermediate Backpack Camping

Ottomite Peak

Ottomite Peak is located off the Coquihalla Highway at the Zopkios Rest Stop. This trail is a bit longer than the beginner trails noted above and has uphill travel to the peak, but overall it’s not a challenging trail. It’s ~4.5km along an old forestry road and it passes through simple avalanche terrain only. There is no official campsite, but there’s a nice place to pitch a few tents at the top of Ottomite Peak. The area is more popular for ski touring, but I was the only one camping there where I visited. There’s no permits for this option, but also, no outhouse.

Zoa Subpeak

Zoa Subpeak is also located off the Coquihalla Highway and shares the same trailhead as Falls Lake. Park on the side of the road and hike in over the unplowed forestry road. Once you reach the summer parking lot, you can hike up along Pipeline Road until you hit the winter trail to Zoa Peak through the trees. The key with this trail in the winter is to only head as far as the subpeak, which is ~5km. The trail to the subpeak is a bit steep through the trees, but it’s all in simple avalanche terrain. The trail to the actual peak goes through challenging terrain, so I don’t recommend it. There’s lots of open space near the subpeak to camp for the night and I’ve heard it has better views than the actual peak. There’s no permit required, but again, no outhouse available either.

Intermediate Backpack Camping (AST Required)

Poland Lake Campsite

An orange tent is set up in the snow for camping with snowshoes and shovels outside the tent and a large snow covered lake and snowy trees in the background, on a sunny blue sky day at Poland Lake in E.C. Manning Provincial Park in British Columbia, Canada.

Poland Lake is located in Manning Provincial Park and has an actual campsite. The winter route to the campsite is a bit tricky because you can’t park at the ski resort overnight, so you have to park at Strawberry Flats. You can either walk along Gibson Pass Road, or you can take the trail that runs parallel to the road. However, it’s important to get off the trail partway to avoid going through the middle of the ski resort. You have to hike along the side of a beginner ski run to get up to the official trailhead. This trail is all in simple avalanche terrain, but I noticed a fair bit of overhead avalanche risk when I visited, so I think it’s better to have AST. The campsite is on the far side of the lake, but we opted not to hike across the lake, so I can’t confirm if there is actually an outhouse there. This trail is almost 8km, so it’s definitely a more challenging option due to length. A backcountry permit is required from camping.bcparks.ca

Elfin Lakes Campsite or Hut

Elfin Lakes is a very popular campsite, which people can misconstrue to mean that it’s safe to go there. In the winter, you can opt to either book the hut (which is very popular and books early), or camp in the snow. At 11km, this is by far the most challenging trail on the list. 11km may not seem that long, but it can be very tiring in deep snow with a large pack. Plus, a lot of the trail is located along the ridge, which can be windy and have poor visibility. But the main thing to be aware of is that this trail passes through challenging avalanche terrain, so I don’t recommend it without AST. If you are comfortable in avalanche terrain, I highly recommend this campsite and trail, as both are very beautiful. Reservations are required for the hut and a permit is required for camping from camping.bcparks.ca

Pump Peak

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.

I left Pump Peak for last because this trail and peak are both located in challenging avalanche terrain (whereas Elfin Lakes just passes through challenging terrain). Pump Peak is a super popular trail due to its proximity to the city and the incredible views. It definitely attracts a lot of people without AST, but I don’t recommend camping here without it. It’s a great option if you want to stay near the city, but I wouldn’t consider it a beginner trail. Once you feel comfortable in avalanche terrain and camping, check this one out. Permits are not required, but you do need a day pass in order to park at the base of the mountain, available at camping.bcparks.ca

Mount Seymour Snow Camping

February 5, 2025January 27, 2025 / Maria / 1 Comment

This post will be a bit different from my usual snow camping trip, but there’s so many ways to enjoy the outdoors and I like highlighting all of them! It is on my bucket list to one day snow camp on Pump Peak, but if you’re nervous about the exposure (and avalanche terrain) and want to get out with a group, there’s an excellent alternative just below the base of the ski resort!

This trip was done with my Trex unit, which is a special branch of Girl Guides of Canada that is focused on outdoor adventure for teenagers. It’s not part of the core guiding program, which is for all ages (Kindergarten to grade 12), and is more well rounded and focuses on art, STEM, physical and mental well-being, and activism, in addition to camping skills. Trex is for teens (including girls, trans-girls and non-binary individuals) who want to go to the next level with their outdoor skills.

This winter we reserved the Mount Seymour Group Site to practice snow camping! The site is located next to the P1 Parking Lot and is closed to the public unless you have a booking. It’s a very economical option for non-profit groups, but a little more expensive for others (but still very reasonable). The site has a warming hut with 6 picnic tables and a large field to camp in. Unfortunately, our camp was at the end of a week of particularly warm weather, so there was very little snow on the ground. We weren’t able to practice making snow shelters, but it was still a good opportunity for Trex to camp outside in below zero conditions in a safe environment.

We were able to hang out and eat all our meals in the shelter, which has a wood stove. So it was easy to keep warm before bed. As a precautionary measure, one of the guiders (in this case me) slept in the hut all night to keep the fire going in case of emergency, but all members did great overnight and everyone slept in their tents for the full night!

Given the proximity to Seymour, we were able to take advantage of the nearby recreation activities. We walked up the road to the ski resort base and spent some time playing in the snow along the trails. We didn’t do a full hike, but nearby options include snowshoeing Dog Mountain or Brockton Point, or exploring within the Mount Seymour trails. We got some wet snow in the morning, followed by sunny breaks in the afternoon and an absolutely gorgeous morning on our second day.

There’s not too much else to share about the site. Like I said, you do need a booking to stay there. A day pass is required in the winter to visit Mount Seymour, but you can just use your permit for the group site to get up the mountain. It’s only a minute walk from the parking lot at P1 to the site and there is an outhouse. There’s also a tap, but it’s turned off in the winter, so make sure you bring all the water you need with you. We used snow melt for washing dishes, but didn’t want to drink it since there hadn’t been any fresh snow in at least a week.

The only downside is that people will continually walk through your site despite 3 signs instructing them not to and informing of a fine. Please don’t do this, especially when youth groups are using the site. I was there with minors, and while I know you just want to take a photo with the pretty snow on the trees, I have a responsibility for their care and can’t have randoms walking around the site where they sleep, taking photos. The site was closed for 2 years during COVID, so people seem to think it’s just fair game now.

Overall, we had a great time. We’ve also stayed at the Lone Duck group site in Manning Park. I would say the Lone Duck site is nicer (it’s more private, gets more snow, and it’s right on the lake), but the real benefit of Mount Seymour is how close it is to the city. A great option if you’re looking for a safe way to try snow camping!

Ski Resort Series: Sasquatch

January 29, 2025January 27, 2025 / Maria / 1 Comment

If you’ve been reading my blog for awhile, you might be aware that I’ve been going on a ski trip with friends every winter since 2016, we missed two years because of the pandemic, so this year was our 8th Annual Ski Trip. We always go to a different resort every year, with the goal being to ski as many resorts as possible!

Last year we went to Manning Ski Resort, but it didn’t result in a blog post because the skiing was so terrible last year that only one run was open! This year, we’d planned to go down to Mount Baker. Unfortunately, our AirB&B fell through at the last minute and we ended up going to Sasquatch Ski Resort instead because it was easier to find accommodations there at the last minute.

Sasquatch is located northwest of Harrison. It’s quite close to Vancouver, with the driving distance similar to Whistler, but it’s not very popular considering the proximity. I think the main reason for this is that it’s a relatively small resort and it’s not super easy to get to. In addition to winter tires, you are also required to carry chains when driving up the mountain to the small ski town. The road is only paved halfway, which is why tire chains are needed. That said, I’d heard it’s a fun little mountain with low crowds and good snow, so I’d been wanting to visit for a while. We were able to scrounge up enough sets of chains on facebook marketplace and decided to go for it!

There were 8 of us, plus 2 dogs. We left after work on Friday, with most people arriving early evening. We had a really nice townhouse near the lifts. It wasn’t completely ski out access, but only a short walk to the lodge. As is our custom, the trip was as much about eating as it was about skiing! I made pisco sours (which I learned how to make in Chile last year) as a welcome drink, and Brandon provided a delicious raclette, while we took turns lounging in the hot tub.

Sasquatch has a relatively small village. There is a lodge and rentals and a cafeteria, but there’s not a lot else in the town besides accommodations. The stargazing is surprisingly phenomenal at night though! We had a bit of a slower start to the day. We all bought our passes online because it’s $20 cheaper to buy in advance. Once you have an RFID card, it’s easy to load up, but the line to pick up your card for the first time is pretty long in the morning. If we had our time back, we would have gone down to get our passes the previous evening since there is night skiing available until 8pm.

We ended up not needing chains to get up the mountain. It has been at least a week since the last snowfall, so the roads were clear the entire way up. There was a good base of snow on the mountain, but given the lack of fresh snow, it was pretty crusty. There are two main lifts going the whole way up the mountain, and a half lift in the middle.

The groomed runs were in really nice condition, but all the other runs were in rough shape. There’s lots of spaced out glade runs all over the mountain that I think would have been really fun on a powder day, but after giving one a try, we steered clear for most of the day because they were so crunchy and hard to navigate. There are several key groomed runs that cut back and forth across the mountain, and a lot of more rugged terrain, but we mostly stuck to the groomers on this trip.

The lifts are really slow. One seems to have been upgraded and is not too bad, but the other one (Sasquatch chair I think), is REALLY slow and pretty uncomfortable because there’s no cushions on any of the seats. We played a lot of Harry Potter 20 questions on the way up to pass the time. While the snow wasn’t the best, the runs were all open and we had the real benefit of a beautiful view! Sometimes you get cloudy powder days and those are great, other times you get sunny, crunchy days, and I’ve learned to appreciate those for the views! It was warm and sunny and we could see all of the Harrison backcountry, which was very beautiful!

Carolyn and I had a good time making reels on the slopes and skied until around 3pm in the afternoon. I cut out early to cook up a Jiggs Dinner for everyone! Jiggs Dinner is a traditional Newfoundland feast – I used to do it every year on the ski trip, but it is a lot of work, so I haven’t done it since pre-pandemic. I didn’t end up having Jiggs for Christmas this year, so I decided to bring it back for the ski trip! While it was cooking, we sang karaoke on a machine Adriana found in the games closet and did a boxed escape room that Carolyn had brought. After a delicious meal and far too much dessert, we all relaxed in the hot tub!

My original plan had been to snowshoe on Sunday, but I was feeling pretty wiped out, so me and Seth slept in (as much as Sadie would let us), and then drove back to Vancouver after check-out. A few friends stuck around to do some more skiing and snowshoeing on the local trails. While I had a better experience than at Manning, I’m still keen to re-visit both mountains again. I still need to ski most of the terrain at Manning and I would really love to come back to Harrison on a powder weekend. Both resorts are close enough that you could get up early and drive there just for the day. Especially since Sasquatch has night skiing! it was a fun little mountain and I would like to explore it more.