Outdoor Vancouver
The Best Vancouver Hiking Trails
Living on the wet coast, we have to embrace the rain. Much of British Columbia is, after all, a coastal temperate rainforest. In fact, nearly a quarter of the world’s remaining temperate rainforest is in B.C.
While this can make the winter months dark and dreary, the rain doesn’t have to be a deterrent from getting out and enjoying hiking. In fact, a lot of Vancouver hikes are enhanced by the misty atmosphere of a dense west coast forest.
The Bowen Lookout is a short but sweet snowshoe route in Cypress Provincial Park.
The route carries along the Yew Lake Trail before passing through a section of scenic old-growth forest and then climbing uphill about 100 m of elevation. The trail ends with a fantastic viewpoint overlooking Howe Sound and Bowen Island.
Black Mountain is a popular snowshoe trail in Cypress Provincial Park in West Vancouver. While popular, this trail is usually less busy than the nearby Hollyburn Mountain and Bowen Lookout snowshoe routes.
The Flatiron Peak is one of several fantastic hikes at the Coquihalla Summit Recreation Area, near Hope.
The summit has incredible 360-degree views. Yak Peak, Needle Peak, Ilal Mountain, Coquihalla Mountain, and Portia Peak can all be seen, among other mountains
Beth Lake is a less-busy hike along the Sea to Sky corridor which starts near the Furry Creek Golf Course.
The main draw to this hike is the scenic Beth Lake, which is surrounded amphitheatre-style by tall, jagged peaks. Another nice thing about this hike is that it is less often frequented than many others in the area.
The Juan de Fuca Marine Trail covers 47 kilometres of dense, coastal forest. The trail carries alongside and over beautiful pebble beaches, waterfalls, suspension bridges, and the occasional pit of mud.
It is a challenging hike that rewards those willing to tackle it with incredible scenery and a sure-to-be unforgettable adventure.
