Also see Part I of Stuff To Do: Vancouver’s North Shore
HIGHWAY 99
Porteau Cove Provincial Park, Hwy 99, south of Britannia Beach. Picturesque spot on Howe Sound. Features a popular camping and Scuba dive site.
BRITANNIA BEACH
Worth a tour is the B.C. Museum of Mining at Britannia Beach. Go underground in a real mine tunnel and later try your hand at gold panning. Open seven days a week March 14 to Nov. 1, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and from Monday to Friday (9-4:30) during the winter. Rates are $18.50 for adults, $13.95 for seniors and students, $11.95 for youth. Five and under is free. Family rate is $55.
NEAR SQUAMISH
Another picnic spot is Shannon Falls Provincial Park, Highway 99, just south of Squamish. Falls are 335 metres high. Stretch your legs on one of the pathways leading past the falls.
The easy, low-elevation hike through the forest to Cheakamus Lake is another stop en route to Whistler. Turn right onto the access road at Function Junction (just before Whistler), then take a gravel road to the left, and continue for seven kms to the parking lot and trailhead. It’s a three-km hike to the first campsite. Along the way, there’s a footbridge across the creek for those headed to Black Tusk. The Cheakamus Lake trail continues on from the first campsite for several more kms to another campsite at Singing Creek. The lake is a deep turquoise colour, thanks to glacial run-off.
WHISTLER
Interested in the First Nations that have traditionally maintained a presence in the Whistler area for thousands of years? Visit the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre, at 4584 Blackcomb Way. This gorgeous new facility – it’s a jewel in Whistler’s pre-2010 crown – is an absolute hub of aboriginal cultural activity. Self-directed and guided tours of the informative museum (home to some valuable historic artifacts such as canoes and regalia plus newer pieces of artwork), eat at the cafe (venison chili or salmon chowder , fresh bannock bread and a beverage just $9.50, I think) are available. Learn basket weaving and crafts, watch artists at work, book an eco tour, or take the cultural forest walk, a nature loop. Open 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. You don’t have to pay admission to eat at the cafe or visit the gift shop.
Take the Whistler Gondola from the village up to the Roundhouse. Once there, ride the chair to the top of the mountain, where you can take an easy hike back down to the lodge or explore miles of gorgeous trails in the alpine. This year marks the summer debut of the new Peak 2 Peak gondola. The 4.4 km span connects two mountains. The 11 minute ride takes you over to Blackcomb Mountain, where there’s the Rendezvous Lodge
and many kms of new and/or improved hiking trails in the alpine there, too. They’re promoting this one heavily, I notice, so be warned it’s pricey. I think it was around $26 for a pass up the Whistler gondola last summer, but that’s jumped to $41.95 for an adult ticket. That includes the Peak 2 Peak “experience”, so you might as well go for it. Don’t bother waiting for the glass bottomed gondola – you’ll get just as good a view from a regular car.
Bike/walk a little or a lot of the Valley Trail. It’s paved and has a yellow centre line separating oncoming traffic from your side of the road. We recently cycled 25 kms in one Sunday afternoon, taking us past sunny lakeside swimming holes and meandering streams and rushing creeks.
You don’t need to spend too much money to have a great time on the water. If swimming’s not your style, buy an inflatable boat and float away at one of Whistler’s dreamy bodies of water. Or rent a canoe or kayak from one of the companies operating on Alta and Green lakes. But I think the inflatable is the way to go on a really hot day. We watched about a dozen or so merry-makers lazily meander along the River of Golden Dreams from Alta Lake en route to Green Lake. They got into a bit of a bottle neck under a bridge, making for an impromptu photo op stop. Passersby shouted for a camera. One was handed over to shore, where a
How to relax, Whistler-style.
pedestrian obligingly took a group shot. The giddy moment captured for all posterity, the camera was handed back and the group burbled away. One of the kids even had an inflatable sofa. A blow up plastic couch! Now that’s living.
Compared to other towns its size, the Resort Municipality of Whistler has an incredible number of amenities serving the locals. If the weather’s bad, winter or summer, head over to the rec centre at Meadow Park. Lounge around in the swimming pools and jacuzzi tubs or hit the well-appointed weight and fitness rooms. Along with an ice arena, There is even a squash court for crying out loud. Rent racquets and eye protectors at the front desk. (Why have squash courts all but disappeared in the Lower Mainland? Well, thanks to the RMOW, I won’t to move back to northern B.C. to get my squash fix!)
