Stawamus Chief Trail

Stawamus Chief Trail

Vancouver is known to some as having the best Cantonese food outside of Hong Kong. In fact, some may argue that its food is even better after a lot of the top Cantonese chefs left Hong Kong for Vancouver after the handover in the late 90s. So naturally, Joe wanted to make this trip up, and I was happy to oblige, because I had my sights set on all the beautiful hiking trails in their National Parks.

Quick highlights of some of the best foods we’ve had…

Dim sum @ Dynasty
Roast pork and duck @ HK BBQ Master
Brioche donuts @ Mello
Especially the mango mochi flavor (one with the daisy on top)
Yuzu cream cheese cubes @ Raisu

After 10 days in Vancouver, I managed to finagle a hike in. About an hour north of Vancouver is where you’ll find the accessible beautiful Shannon Falls just outside Squamish.

Seen from the lower viewpoint
Closer look from the upper viewing platform.
Conveniently located next to Shannon falls is the Stawamus Chief trail.
The short 3.6-mile loop is nothing short of fun. There are 3 peaks offering slightly different views, and hikers can tailor their hike accordingly. AllTrails recommends hiking counter clockwise, hitting peak 3 first. We went in blind and did it clockwise.
The initial section is what I like to call “Stair Master” hikes involving wooden stairs
And granite steps.
Trail is pretty developed until you get to the chain sections
And this is when it gets fun
With a ladder thrown in
Easy on a dry sunny day, but likely not so when the rocks are wet and slick.
View of Howe Sound from the top of the second peak. We skipped the first peak, but you can spot all the people on the first peak in the distance.
Hiked up a couple of Mello donuts to enjoy at the top.
The trail onward to the third peak with clear route markers is pretty easy to follow.
Mount Garibaldi towering over Squamish townsite.
Attempting a daring shot.
Last push to the top
Third peak offers an unobstructed view of the snow capped Mamquam Mountain.
We had missed this sign on the main trail when we hiked up, and this was the trail we took coming back down.
It looked deceivingly easy in the beginning
But gradually became more challenging.
Scrambling down large boulders was fun, but proved to be a bit much for Joe’s ankles.
The bright yellow route markers were a nice touch
I’m personally partial to this type of rugged trail, but kudos to the parks people for building steps in the other sections.

Total hike time was 3 hours and 45 minutes from trailhead (4 hours and 15 minutes from Shannon Falls area), and I would check this off as a “fun hike with a nice view”.

Leave a comment