After years of lobbying by the Federation of Mountain Clubs of B.C. and the Climbers Access Society of B.C., in 2006 a public climbing park was created at the Bluffs, not just for rope hangers but for everyone to enjoy. An aerial map posted in the climbers’ parking lot details various trails and several viewpoints—the best lie above Pixie Corner and beside Penny Lane, as well as beside Burgers & Fries, the most frequently climbed cliff in Canada. Wood and rock staircases lead up to one section called the Octopus’s Garden. Farther west, the loop trail narrows as it curves between two smooth granite walls where small groups of climbers regularly practice. They won’t mind you watching if you are quiet; safe climbing requires complete concentration.
> SQUAMISH ESTUARY TRAILS
Access: Turn south from Highway 99 onto Cleveland Avenue (the town’s main drag) to Vancouver Street; then head three blocks west to the trailhead and the Squamish estuary. Ability Level: Easy
The interpretive loop trail that leads through the town’s oceanfront estuary makes a fine wildlife-viewing walk. A wooden sign posted at the Vancouver Street trailhead bears a detailed map of the estuary and the grassy dike trail that rambles west past a massive new housing development and log-sort yard beside channeled waterways to Cattermole Slough, home to two hundred bird species, such as meadowlarks and sandpipers as well as overwintering waterfowl such as goldeneye, bufflehead, mergansers, and trumpeter swans.
Meadow Trail leads out on the estuary proper where uncluttered views really open up, with the smooth granite walls of the Stawamus Chief displayed to great effect. Equally arresting, if the skies are clear, is the dagger point of Atwell Peak and its broad-shouldered companion, Dalton Dome. Together they dominate the skyline of Garibaldi Provincial Park to the north. The trail follows the Central Channel atop the Heritage Dykes, the oldest human-made structures in Squamish. In the 1890s, Chinese laborers built these ramparts to reclaim the marshland for hayfields. Herons, Canada geese, and a host of ducks and seabirds work the channel. Strategically placed benches provide good viewing perches. Allow 45 minutes to complete the loop.
The narrow dike path is bordered by brick-red rosehips, and drifts of sedges pattern the surface of the slough. The white stalks of pearly everlasting rival Shannon Falls’ snowy tresses, which can be seen cascading down the slopes to the south of the Chief. Spires of solitary, stunted Sitka spruce anchor the estuary’s perimeter. Bright yellow cedar waxwings flit among the snags, seemingly oblivious to the strong winds, which power kiteboarders aloft in the distance. Wild roses scent the air. Breezes riffle the tall grass. From midsummer through fall, a palette of colors is on display, from blond cattails backed by an evergreen forest to silver poplar leaves framed against a robin’s-egg-blue sky.
Farther inland, two additional estuary trails—Forest Loop and Swan Walk—lead through wooded areas to the west of the BC Rail spur line. The easiest way to reach both trails is to follow Bailey Street, an industrial gravel road that curves around the north end of Chieftain Centre off Cleveland Avenue near Highway 99. Several approaches to the estuary trails are clearly marked here. Take Swan Walk for the best chance of spotting the trumpeter swans. These majestic honkers sport the largest wingspan of all West Coast birds.
> SQUAMISH HARBOUR DOCK
Access: At the intersection of Vancouver Street and Loggers Lane in downtown Squamish.
Until rail and road connections were opened in the 1950s, visitors from Vancouver arrived via boats, which often docked in the Mamquam Blind Channel. Prior to a disastrous flood in 1921, the Mamquam River flowed into Howe Sound along this channel. These days, the quiet backwater that extends to Rose Park (see below) almost drains dry at low tide. A paddle in this tranquil spot provides an excellent way to appreciate many of Squamish’s natural features, such as the Malamute—the “mini-Chief”—that rises sharply from the water directly across the Mamquam Blind Channel from the harbor dock adjacent the Squamish Yacht Club. A ramp here provides easy access to the channel for both hand-carried vessels and boat trailers. Best times to put in are early in the day before breezes begin to freshen on Howe Sound. One of my favorite sights out on the water is an oceangoing canoe paddled by a dozen or more members of the Squamish First Nations.
> SQUAMISH MUNICIPAL PARKS
Access: Adjacent to the district Forest Service office on the east side of Highway 99, on the south side of the Mamquam River Bridge.
At Brennan Park, a large community leisure center with an indoor swimming pool anchors the playing fields. There are tennis courts beside the Mamquam River and picnic tables dotting the recreation trail. You can explore the Mamquam via this dike path to its mouth at the Squamish River. In summer, when water levels are low, there are also good sandbars to fish from.
Loggers Lane leads south beside the park and its campground for visitors, many of whom come to compete in tournaments or the annual Squamish Days Loggers’ Sports on the first weekend in August. It then meanders past the Smoke Bluffs trailhead to Rose Park, named in honor of Squamish pioneer Rose Tatlow, whose home once stood beside the Mamquam Blind Channel. The recently minted park is dedicated to the memory of Squamish’s pioneer families, such as the Carsons and the Wrays, and their sections of the park are formally planted with flowers, cherry trees, and trellised Interlaken seedless grapes that will soon bear fruit. Rose Tatlow, whose homesite, along with an adjacent property to the north, is more sheltered from the sounds of highway traffic, would have approved of the new picnic table on a small deck by Lily’s Garden, with its views of the slough and the climbing bluffs.
> NEXEN BEACH
Access: From Highway 99, follow Cleveland Avenue, the town’s main street, to its south end. Cross the train tracks, then turn right onto an access road which leads to the beach.
Piles of driftwood lie jackstrawed along the shoreline of Nexen Beach. At first glance, Nexen’s hard-packed, dark surface appears more like a mudflat where it stretches out into the shallow reaches of Howe Sound, the southernmost fiord on the North American coastline.
Bounded by an abandoned wharf to the south and an active cargo dock on the north, Nexen Beach is the centerpiece of an ambitious waterfront redevelopment plan set to unfold over the next decade. A passenger-ferry terminal, hotel, conference center, arts center, and more are envisioned to rise on the 28-ha (69 -acre) site. Dozens of wave riders gather at Nexen Beach in July for the North American Windsurfing Championships. An onshore wind blows here with the same sustained intensity that draws windsurfers and kiteboarders to the Squamish Spit, north of Nexen at the mouth of the Squamish River. Nexen Beach is envisaged as a wind-sport training area. Design modifications in windsurfing boards make Nexen Beach the logical place to launch. These newer boards are fatter, a tad shorter, and more rectilinear than previous models. Their most radical design feature is a meter-long (yard-long) center fin that provides greater stability and allows these boards to carry a much larger sail. Launching one is best done in shallower water than is found at the Spit, which makes Nexen Beach an ideal place to practice.
An extensive paved area behind the beach also offers a place for novice kiteboarders to practice their kite-handling skills. If you find Nexen Beach somewhat underwhelming, for instant relief just raise your eyes to the twin sights of Stawamus Chief Mountain’s Grand Wall and nearby Shannon Falls’ white scarf of cascading water. The view is reason enough to pay the beach a visit. One of the beach’s most novel features is a curved