Tag Archives: nature

A Trip to Whistler

We made our way to Whistler on a day trip. It’s about 120km from Vancouver, and takes roughly an 2 hours by car.

If you don’t have a car, you can take the Whistler Shuttle and Bus which are offered daily, with frequent transportation from Vancouver to Whistler. Just sit back and enjoy the scenery, or stay in touch, whether with friends or for business with their free WiFi. Depending on whether you’re going from the airport or downtown, fares can be $72 or $55 respectively. This can be pricey, so it’s best to hitch a ride with a friend and split the gas costs It’s also a lot more fun anyways.

idearabbit-whislter Crossing the Lion Gate’s Bridge. Yay! It’s not raining!

Driving along Sea to Sky Highway.

Today, White FlatBear joins us for the trip.There’s something for everyone, like chilling at Starbucks while enjoying the beautiful scenery. If you’re an outdoor person, there are lots of skiing and snowboarding opportunities. In the summer, there are four golf courses to practice your swings and hiking trails to enjoy some breath of fresh air. There are lots of trendy shopping for yourself and souvenirs for your family and friends. There are restaurants and bars, but we found that it was really difficult to find a reasonable priced place that didn’t have an hour or more line up. Take some photos of the Olympic rings that were installed for the 2010 Winter Games. Each winter, the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW), in partnership with the Province of British Columbia, transforms Whistler Olympic Plaza into skating rinks. It’s free admission, so bring your pair of skates. Great for the whole family or for romantic dates. You can also rent skates for $5. Helmets are available at no charge. Note: To keep the rinks safe and family-friendly, hockey and figure skating are not permitted.

Quarry Rock Hike at Deep Cove

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Region: The North Shore
Difficulty: Easy
Time: 2 hours
Distance: 3.8km
Elevation Gain: 100 meters
Season: year-round
Camping: No
Dog Friendly: Yes
Public Transit: Yes
Approx. 30 minutes from Vancouver
Things to bring: towel, granola bar + snack, water bottle, sunscreen, camera

Although you see that it’s under the easy level, and only a gain of 100 meters, this one was tough for me. I dunno if it’s because of the hip and knee problems I have from time to time (although they didn’t bother me that much when I went twice over the summer), but perhaps I was really out of shape, and perhaps the minor heart regurgitation I have could be the reason to have me puffing and dying already at 10 minutes into the hike, while everyone is fine. “this is so easy!” a girl says as she had done the Grouse Grind the day before. Note to self = never to the Grind. And my friend who does the Grind at least a dozen times over the season wants me to go along, but is afraid I’ll never make it up…and with all the warning signs at the entrance, and no emergency to fall back on, I guess it’s just not meant to be in my bucket list. I have no problem with that since I’d rather travel to experience different culture than do the Grind.

I was last in line of a group of dozen to get to the rock. Everyone else was already relaxing and enjoying the spectacular view from above. At least this hike is very rewarding. There is quite a bit of going up and down during the hike. Wear comfortable and supportive shoes, though I have seen many girls in their flip flops. Good luck.

Once you’re down, it’s nice to have restaurants to dine in at, enjoy some ice cream, and chill by the waters. There is more to do here before/after the hike at Deep Cove that makes the journey more interesting.

Lighthouse Park

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Region: The North Shore
Difficulty: Easy
Time: 10 minutes
Distance: 600 meters
Elevation Gain: minimal
Season: year-round
Camping: No
Dog Friendly: Yes
Approx. 40 minutes from Vancouver

This is not the hike listed on Vancouver Trails website. This is a very short ‘walk’ from the parking lot to the actual Lighthouse. It’s only a 10 minute walk, but do come with walkable shoes – though I did see one Asian girl in super high-heels and dressed as though she was headed to Cactus Club or something. Most of the trail is a wide gravel path, but once you go up some stairs, you need to walk over boulders and rocky surfaces to see the Lighthouse well. You will definitely not be able to go up on them with such high heels!

There is also a hike trail, but instead we biked on the streets in the area for a while until my bike had a flat tire Man, the roads here are hilly!! not that I didn’t expect that…my calves burnt and I was panting like crazy.

Huge tree that indicates how old it was

From the viewpoint

Small hut for children to play and learn

Closer to Lighthouse

View of downtown Vancouver

The small parking lot is really bumpy with holes everywhere. Good luck trying to finding a parking lot on a nice summer day…it’s always full. No bikes are allowed on the trails, but there is a place where you can lock up your bikes if you happen to ride up to the parking lot and walk the rest to the Lighthouse.

At the viewpoint there is a small house for kids to play and learn about nature. I was surprised to see no gift shops. LoL. Lighthouse Park is open year-round, park gates close before dusk and there is no camping permitted.