Winter is prime time in eagle country. The best viewing spot is from the top of the dike beside Government Road, directly across from the Easter Seals Camp. From here you may see thirty or more eagles at any one time. (The Squamish River didn’t always flow this close. Longtime residents remember when hayfields stretched a kilometer west of where the dike stands. This land was flooded when the river assumed its present channel in 1940.) A wheelchair ramp leads up onto the dike from Government Road. Two benches, whimsically fashioned from driftwood, provide good perches for enjoying grand views of the river, valleys, and mountains. Information kiosks mounted on the dike, including an inspirational Skomish First Nations display, detail the natural history of eagles.
North of Brackendale, Government Road meets the Squamish Valley Road coming west from Highway 99. Signs on Highway 99 indicate the turnoff to Squamish and Paradise valleys. Just as you begin driving west from 99 towards the small Native settlement of Cheekye, also the Squamish name for Mount Garibaldi, one of the best views of Mount Garibaldi’s Atwell Peak, Dalton Dome and the red lava ridge below it rises in the east. The best time to catch it is late in the day when the sun lights up the rock face. A bridge crosses the Cheakamus River at Cheekye, and on its far side the road divides into the Squamish Valley Road to the left and the Paradise Valley Road to the right.
> SQUAMISH VALLEY ROAD
Access: 12.5 km (7.8 mi) north of downtown Squamish via Government Road; 4 km (2.5 mi) west of Highway 99 on Squamish Valley Road. On the west side of the Cheekye Bridge the road divides. To the left, the Squamish Valley Road continues northwest while to the right the Paradise Valley Road heads north. Check your gas gauge before exploring the Squamish or Paradise Valley roads. The nearest gas station is in Brackendale.
Reasons for making the journey up the Squamish Valley are plentiful. In early summer, daisies, elderberries, and thimbleberries color the roadside while glaciers cloak the surrounding peaks, from the expansive Tantalus Range at the valley’s southwest corner north to the aptly named Icecap Peak and Powder Mountain, a reminder that parts of B.C. are still emerging from the most recent ice age. In July, the broad Squamish River, augmented by creeks strung like shoelaces from the receding snowline, gets low enough to entice experienced paddlers and rafters. As the water levels drop, sandbars appear, creating soft campsites for stargazers. Given that the valley rises steeply beside the road, hiking trails are few—though you can explore the well-marked High Falls scenic route, a short distance north of Cloudburst.
Partnered with the Squamish River Forest Service Road, the Squamish Valley Road runs northwest for 40 km (25 mi), winding through shady stands of tall broadleaf maples towards a small settlement informally known as Cloudburst. The Squamish River accompanies the road in places but is hidden for the most part, and this is an easy place to cycle. There’s also a particularly good viewpoint of Tantalus and Zenith mountains from the one-lane bridge across Pillchuck Creek, about 13 km (8.1 mi) from the Cheekye River Bridge.
The valley is a narrow floodplain with rarely a cleared homesite. When you do spot a house, it typically sits atop large raised earthen pads or on stilt supports, which provide incomparable views of Mount Tantalus and its companion peaks. A tantalus is a stand on which crystal decanters are displayed, and Mount Tantalus certainly displays the frozen crystals on its slopes to best advantage. Tantalus is also the name of a mythological Greek king, and the names of adjacent peaks here, including Alpha and Omega, also reflect this.
Much of the first 19 km (11.8 mi) of the road passes through a series of Squamish First Nation reserves, which are posted as private property.
> SQUAMISH RIVER FOREST SERVICE ROAD
Access: 17.5 km (10.6 mi) from the Cheekye River Bridge
Just past the farmyards of Cloudburst (watch for cattle on the road) is the gateway to Tree Farm 38. The Squamish Valley and the Squamish River widen here for the next 20 km (12.4 mi). By July, when water levels have usually dropped to their seasonal lows, sandbars appear and provide excellent picnicking, camping, and fishing spots. Dolly Varden char and cutthroat trout run in the silty gray river, which never warms up enough for more than a quick plunge, even on the hottest days.
Squamish River
Just north of Cloudburst a bridge spans the Squamish near its confluence with Ashlu Creek. Rough picnic and camping spots dot the far bank. The creek is one of the few major tributaries that feed the Squamish from the west.
Beyond Ashlu Creek on Squamish River Road, granite walls rise above the east side of the Squamish River, forcing the road to hug the slopes. You soon pass BC Hydro’s Cheakamus powerhouse. It receives water pumped through a tunnel from Daisy Lake—a reminder of how interconnected this valley is with Whistler.
Cars are often parked near a water tower north of the powerhouse. This is a good spot to begin a hike of the High Falls Creek Trail or to launch a raft, kayak, or canoe. In summer the current here is often ideal for a leisurely paddle downstream. If you’re traveling with a group, leave one vehicle at the tower and another at one of several locations along Government Road, or even at the Squamish Spit, for when you pull out of the river. You can then drive back with a partner to reclaim the vehicle at the water tower.
> HIGH FALLS CREEK TRAIL
Access: 20 km (12 mi) from the Cheekye River Bridge Ability Level: Intermediate
Picture yourself standing beside a towering torrent of water falling with such force that the ground shakes like the boxcars coupling in the Squamish railway yards. Welcome to High Falls, one of the most powerful places I’ve ever visited around Whistler—which says a lot.
From the well-marked trailhead just north of the powerhouse, the High Falls Creek Trail follows the north side of the creek from which it takes its name. On busy days, parked vehicles line the shoulders of the road at this popular location.
This is a challenging fourto five-hour hike (best undertaken May through October), though hikers can make use of fixed ropes as they scramble hand-over-hand across outcroppings on the steepest stretches of the rock-and-root trail. The trail is not recommended for young children. Viewpoints of the falls, the Tantalus Range to the northwest, and the Squamish River as it braids its way through the valley below await you along the 6 -km (3.7-mi) route. Some require short detours to reach. In places, signs warn of treacherous footing and steep drop-offs. That said, the greatest threat along this well-worn trail is dehydration.
The canyon into which High Falls Creek cascades is so steep and narrow that what lies above and below is not revealed at any viewpoint— only a slice of white effervescence endlessly repeating itself as plummeting water shatters into millions of droplets. The hydraulic motion is so hypnotic that you’ll be hard-pressed to pull yourself away.
Expect to catch your first good look at the falls after an hour of steady climbing. The higher you hike, the better the views. Eventually, the trail leads away from the falls into a forested zone of welcome quiet before connecting with the Branch 200 Road. Rather than retrace your steps, you may well decide to descend along this open road that leads 4.5 km (2.8 mi) to the Squamish River Forest Service Road. From there it’s a 1.6 -km (1-mi) ramble south back to the trailhead. Along the way you’ll be rewarded with some of the best views of the Squamish Valley seen all day.
> ELAHO RIVER
Access: 39 km (24.2 mi) from the Cheekye River Bridge
Almost year-round, one of the Squamish Valley’s most compelling sights is the hundreds of small glacier-fed waterfalls that pour off the mountains on the western side. The silty waters of Shovelnose and Turbid creeks, cascading down off the slopes of Mount Cayley, Mount Fee, and Brandywine Mountain above, pass beneath the road as it nears the northern end of the valley. Stop at one of several bridges for panoramic look-arounds in the area. The ragged crest of Mount Cayley is particularly