If you think of fall hiking, you are probably picturing strolling through a beautiful maple forest with red and gold leaves everywhere. That kind of scene is quintessentially autumn, but it’s kind of an East Coast cliche. We don’t have much of that near Vancouver. What we do have, however, is a pretty unique fall …
Shoulder season
After a long winter, I’m usually in a rush for summer to start so I can go backpacking. But it can be frustrating since most trails are snow-covered well into June and July. However, if you know where to look, there are lots of places to go on spring backpacking trips in British Columbia. While …
Many people think backpacking season ends on Labor Day weekend. Well, they’re wrong! September and October can be great times to go backpacking, as long as you are prepared. Here are my top fall backpacking tips to make sure you have fun and stay warm. Research a Destination… and a Backup Plan (or Two) The first step of …
Just because it’s winter, doesn’t mean you need to stop hiking. Since it can be tough to find trails without snow, I’ve put together the an absolutely enormous list of snow-free hikes in Vancouver for you. These are trails in Vancouver that you can hike year round… and there’s over 120 of them! I’ve got …
When you think of waterfalls in Squamish, you think of Shannon Falls or maybe Brandywine Falls. Those are both amazingly tall waterfalls with easy tourist-in-flipflops-friendly walks to a viewing platform, overflowing parking lots and tons of people with selfie sticks.. But what if I told you there were other awesome waterfalls in Squamish that you …
Over the Easter long weekend I spent three days backpacking a section of the Sunshine Coast Trail with a group of friends. We hiked from Manzanita Bluff to Rievely’s Pond, then finished near Powell River. Never heard of the Sunshine Coast Trail? The whole trail is 180 kilometers long and stretches the whole length of …
The Big Tree Trail is just 10 minutes by water taxi from the small town of Tofino, but it’s a world away. While most of the rainforest near Tofino in Pacific Rim National Park is second growth, on the Big Tree Trail on nearby Meares Island you can find spectacular giant old growth trees including …
A couple years ago my sister moved to Galiano Island, one of the Gulf Islands that lie between Vancouver Island and the mainland. The Gulf Islands are a short ferry ride away but have a totally different climate zone (think warmer and drier) than Vancouver thanks to the rain shadow effect. That means that Galiano …
It’s likely you’ve heard of the West Coast Trail – a multi-day trek on the West Coast of Vancouver Island that weaves its way along 75 kilometres of towering rainforests, slick sandstone shelfs, and pebbled beaches, with numerous ladders and boardwalks. Coastal hiking is something that BC is known for, but most people think it’s something …