Hiking the Sea to Summit Trail in Squamish

Sea to Summit Trail – Table of Contents

1. Hike Introduction
2. Hike Statistics
3. Sea to Summit Video
4. Map and Elevation
5. Hiking Route Description
6. Directions and Parking
7. Free PDF Download

Sea to Summit Hike Intro

As of June 17, 2022, a free day-use pass is required to visit Garibaldi Provincial Park, Golden Ears Provincial Park, and Joffre Lakes Provincial Park. Passes are available to book starting at 7 am, two days in advance of your planned visit.

Day use passes are not needed when camping, in which case a camping permit is required instead.

For full details on obtaining a Day-Use Pass to access this hike, please visit the B.C. Parks website.

The Sea to Sky Gondola in Squamish opened in 2014, allowing people to travel from sea level to over 800 m in the span of 10 minutes. With the opening of the gondola, also came the opening of some new trails, and access to previously hard to reach trails. One such trail, which is poised to become popular – and one that draws a lot of comparisons to the Grouse Grind – is the Sea to Summit Trail.

The Sea to Summit Trail expands upon the existing Upper Shannon Falls Trail, which is an offshoot of the popular Stawamus Chief hiking trail. The trail is steep, long and challenging. It provides a great workout, and also nice views along the way, including an up-close look at Upper Shannon Falls. Best of all, you can enjoy a beer at the summit lodge, and then buy a ticket to download on the Sea to Sky Gondola.

Near the top part of the trail, you also have the option of diverting onto the Shannon Basin Loop – an alternate route to reach the top.

Sea to Summit Hike Stats

*For a better understanding of the stats and difficulty rating, check out the Hiking Guides page for details. Always carry The Essentials and fill out a trip plan.

Sea to Summit Hike Video

Sea to Summit Hike Map and Elevation

Sea to Summit Trail Hiking Route

The Sea to Summit trail brings you from the base of the Sea to Sky Gondola to the Summit Lodge at the top. You can start at the Stawamus Chief parking lot, the Sea to Sky Gondola basecamp, or from the Shannon Falls parking lot. When I did this trail, I started at Shannon Falls, because, a) it’s where I could find parking and, b) it is the most scenic way to start the hike while only adding a little bit of easy distance to the trip.

Starting from Shannon Falls, follow the signs for the Stawamus Chief. Take this trail leading away from the Shannon Falls viewing platform. Be sure to ignore the signs for the gondola as that will just take you to the gondola basecamp – and follow the signs for the Sea to Summit trail. It’s a short, easy walk and before long you’ll cross over Oleson Creek to join up with the Chief Backside trail.

If you go on a weekend, you’ll be joined here by a mass of people making their way up/down The Chief. Don’t worry, once you zig off this trail the crowd will thin out dramatically. From here you’ll notice the ‘Sea to Summit’ trail markers. Large green diamonds in the trees, starting at #1 and going up to #400 at the summit. The entire trail is well marked and you can follow these markers the entire way.

Climb up the stairs and steep terrain, until, at about 280 m elevation, you see a junction for Upper Shannon Falls trail. Follow the signs to the right, away from the crowd. The next stretch of trail is relatively easy as you work your way back towards Shannon Falls.

You’ll come out under a clearing for the Sea to Sky Gondola itself. You can watch the gondolas zip by overhead and wave at the passengers. You’ll also get a great view of The Spit in Squamish and if you look closely you can probably see kite surfers playing in the water.

From here, it’s some more climbing and a short distance to Upper Shannon Falls. Enjoy the waterfall, and then carry back on up the trail. You’ll emerge from the dense trees to a few bluffs with more great views of Squamish below. Continue to follow the markers and you’ll reach a map at the junction for Shannon Basin Loop.

Going left here will take you on the Upper Sea to Summit Trail (description below). Going right will continue along the Shannon Basin Loop Trail. The Shannon Basin Trail is a slightly longer, but less challenging route to the summit lodge. The Upper Sea to Summit Trail is steeper and more technical, but it is also a shorter and more scenic route.

When you first connect onto the Upper Sea to Summit Trail you will be on a beautiful flat section of trail in the trees. You will once again pass underneath the gondolas before the trail begins to climb sharply upwards again. There are a few sections with chains to assist your climb. It’s a matter of simply following the markers to the summit.

There are only a few kilometers to go from here on the relatively flat trail. Once you’ve reached the summit lodge you can grab a beer and a bite before heading down on the gondola ($10).

The video at the top of this post was shot by Jeff Pelletier and depicts our route as we went from Shannon Falls up the Sea to Summit Trail.

Download the PDF version of this guide for offline use on any device

Directions and Parking

Take Highway #99 heading north past Horseshoe Bay towards Squamish. As you near Squamish, watch for the signs for Shannon Falls and the Sea to Sky Gondola (they’re hard to miss), and simply pull into the lot right off the highway.

Google Map directions are here.

Parking: Since you are hiking up (and not taking the gondola) don’t park at the gondola basecamp as that lot is limited to 3 hours. There is long term parking at Darrell Bay (to the south across the highway from Shannon Falls) and Chances Casino (to the north), and a shuttle operates for these lots on weekends and holidays.

You can also park at the parking lot for the Stawamus Chief Provincial Park, or at the parking lot for Shannon Falls (recommended if you can find a spot).

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Other great hikes in the area

1. Al’s Habrich Ridge (moderate)
2. Hiking the Stawamus Chief (moderate)
3. Hiking Upper Shannon Falls (moderate)
4. View all hiking guides here

Download the PDF version of this guide for offline use

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