5 of our favourite summertime hikes
5 of our favourite summertime hikes
From Squamish to the Skook, there's lots to do in and around the Sunshine Coast
No new video this week as we’re taking some time to slow down a little bit and enjoy our summer. Hopefully you’re able to do the same. We’ll be back next Wednesday (July 14th) with new content.
In the meantime, we’re going to share five of our favourite summertime videos. Hopefully they inspire you to go out and find an adventure of your own in the months to come.
In no particular order...
The Chief and Shannon Falls in Squamish, BC
Watch as Val and her friends visiting from Edmonton make the short drive to Squamish to check out Shannon Falls and hike the famous Stawamus Chief Trail. One of the best things about living on BC’s Sunshine Coast is your proximity to other hikes, locations, and attractions. Places like Squamish and Whistler are holiday destinations in their own right and we’re close enough to pop over for a day trip whenever we want.
Hiking Mount Gardner on Bowen Island, BC
Another off-Coast adventure! Val and two different friends (she’s very popular) go to nearby Bowen Island to hike Mount Gardner.
Like the Stawamus Chief Trail, traveling to Bowen Island, hiking Mount Gardner, and then returning home at the end of the day is easily doable from the Sunshine Coast. They didn’t even use a car for the trip. They walked onto the ferry in Langdale (which is the ferry terminal on the Sunshine Coast), switched boats in Horseshoe Bay, and walked off on Bowen Island.
Hiking to Skookumchuck Narrows on BC’s Sunshine Coast
This is Paul’s favourite video. It’s a short-but-sweet montage of us making the 4km-ish hike to Skookumchuck Narrows (AKA the Skook) near Egmont on BC’s Sunshine Coast. We did this hike in the off-season but it’s great any time of year.
Sea water flows through Skookumchuck Narrows and into Sechelt Inlet. At flooding tide, water rushes into the inlet and at ebb tide, the inlet empties back into the ocean. For the most dramatic rapids, you should time your hike to coincide with either high or low tide (the higher or lower, the better). If you make the hike between the high and low tide, the rapids are only kinda meh.
Click here to download the 2021 calendar of the best viewing times for Skookumchuck Narrows.
Keats Island Lookout Across from Gibsons, BC
Keats Island is directly across from Gibsons and it has incredible views of the Sunshine Coast, Georgia Strait, and Vancouver Island. We were unsure about the trail so the hike up took us longer than it should have but it was well worth the effort.
This hike is one the Sunshine Coast’s hidden gems. Keats Island is boat access only so you either need to paddle over to the island from Gibsons or ride the walk-on ferry that leaves from the BC Ferries Langdale terminal. We’ve done both but in this video, we rode the ferry.
There’s a campground and a provincial park on Keats Island but no store or restaurant. That means you’ll need to plan ahead and bring your food and water with you. The first time we did this hike, Paul didn’t bring enough water and it was a bit of a long day for him.
Allan Beach Access near Sechelt
The running theme with all these hikes/trips is that we’re fortunate to have easy access to so many different outings and activities, including dozens of beach accesses that line the Sunshine Coast.
Some beach accesses are fairly straightforward and lead you right to the water while others are a little more secluded and require some hunting to find. Allan Beach Access is one of the easier ones and has a groomed path through the trees that delivers you to Sechelt Inlet. It’s a nice place to spend an early evening in the middle of summer.
Click here to download your copy of the District of Sechelt Beach Access Guide.