Day Trip to Squamish
The Squamish Yacht Club and the Stawamus Chief
A Quick Getaway From Vancouver to Squamish
The winter doldrums are slowly but surely getting a grip on us these days, so when the sun came out on the first weekend of January, we hopped in the car and drove up to Squamish, intending to do a short hike and have a look around.
It takes about an hour from Vancouver by car, and on our way up there, we were joking that this time surely we would meet some of the characters we have seen on “Virgin River,” the popular Netflix series which is filmed in Squamish :)
Shannon Falls, Squamish
If you follow “Virgin River,” you will see breathtaking fly-by-drone shots over rivers, forests, and the surrounding mountains. We have visited Squamish several times over the years and can warmly recommend the Sea to Sky Gondola.
In past years, we have also ventured to Squamish to photograph eagles during the winter months or visit Alice Lake in the summer for a swim.
A couple of kilometers from Squamish, you can stop at Shannon Falls (the 1.100-foot, 335-meter waterfall in the above photo). There is parking and washrooms nearby, and it only takes a few minutes to walk to the viewing platform.
Hiking in Squamish
We had planned a short hike/walk from Shannon Falls to the Sea to Sky Gondola parking lot and back, as we also wanted to see other parts of Squamish. However, we became more curious and started a strenuous hike up the Stawamus Chief Trail.
From the start, we knew our legs would not carry us to the top, so we intentionally turned around about a third of the way up. We saw other hikers who were in better shape than us as they gracefully approached the ascend.
It was admirable to see, but we told ourselves it was okay because they were mostly a great deal younger than us. The steps were steep, and it was a good workout.
The Stawamus Chief
After our hike, we made the short drive into Squamish, visited a couple of second-hand clothing stores, and grabbed a treat from the bakery. We explored the area near the water, which would give us the best view of the famous rock face, Stawamus Chief. We stopped by the Yacht Club and had coffees from our thermos.
As we headed south on the Sea to Sky Highway and back toward Vancouver, the sun was low on the horizon, making for a beautiful drive home.
As I have mentioned many times in this blog, I am always amazed at what you can explore in one day once you put your mind to it. And this wasn’t even a full day. We departed from Vancouver around 11:00 a.m. and were back by 5 p.m. Here’s to more road trips.
Logs at the northern end of Howe Sound
The photos in this post are made using the following photography gear and editing tools.
Links to my reviews and sources:
Nikon Zf
Voigtländer Apo-Lanthar 50mm f/2 Z
Voigtländer Nokton 40mm f/1.2 Z
