to Sky region of B.C. Once you’ve hooked a fish, do not overly tire your catch or grab at it when landing it, which can cause abrasions that in turn lead to disease. Simply grasp the shank of the hook and lift the hook bend upwards for the most effective release. Attitude means a lot in fishing. Remember that the essence of sport angling is to try to hook a fish on the most sporting terms you can handle. Use light tackle with artificial lures, barbless hooks, and delicate leaders, adhering to the philosophy that a trout is much more valuable as a living challenge to your skill than as part of a meal.
> LOCATION : East end of Howe Sound, 60 km (37 mi) north of Vancouver, 58 km (36 mi) south of Whistler, 95 km (59 mi) south of Pemberton
> ACTIVITIES : Camping, cycling, fishing, hiking, kiteboarding, nature observation, picnicking, mountain biking, rock climbing, viewpoints, walking, whitewater rafting, windsurfing
> HIGHLIGHTS : Waterfalls, climbing walls, estuary trails— all within sight of each other
WELCOME TO the self-proclaimed outdoor recreation capital of Canada. That may seem like a grandiose claim, but a quick scan of the recreational opportunities in Squamish— or “Squish,” as it’s affectionately known—offers quick verification. Despite the town’s veneer of newness, however, this diversity is not a recent phenomenon. For more than a century, day-trippers have been exploring the mountains, rivers and lakes that surround this tight-knit community of 16,000 at the head of Howe Sound. Members of the Vancouver Natural History Society, for example, regularly journeyed here by boat in the early 1900s on their way to the alpine meadows of nearby Mount Garibaldi. The society, bolstered by the local government, successfully lobbied in the 1920s for the creation of 1947-square-km (752-square-mi) Garibaldi Provincial Park. By the 1930s, hundreds of hikers were trekking and skiing in the provincial park’s Diamond Head region, which affords panoramic views of the Squamish area.
New road and rail connections—including the Squamish Highway (Highway 99), which first connected Whistler and Vancouver in the 1960s—conveniently coincided with a flood of interest in the area’s natural charms. Rock climbing on the Stawamus Chief, a freestanding granite monolith that rises beside the highway at the town’s southern entrance, caught national attention in 1961 when Jim Baldwin and Ed Cooper made the first successful ascent while crowds of more than 10,000 looked on.
Climbers put Squamish on the map—and more than a few magazine covers—as the town began to quietly cement its reputation in outdoor recreation circles. And success bred success. In the 1970s, when the upstart sport of windsurfing took off, a new kind of tourist blew into town. There may not be much surf where the Squamish River meets Howe Sound along the town’s western perimeter, but this confluence is one of the most challenging and easily accessible stretches of water for windsurfers on the West Coast. Predictable winds fan the shoreline. Thanks to these strong blasts, kiteboarding is the latest extreme sport to hit Squamish.
Another technologically innovative piece of sports equipment, the mountain bike, arrived on the scene in the 1980s. The trailbuilding efforts of volunteer groups such as the Squamish Off-Road Cycling Association (www.sorca.com) and the Squamish Trails Society (www.squamishtrails.ca) ensure that new routes appear each year. At last count there were 122.
Roll all these activities together, and you can see why past decades have seen scores of fresh-air enthusiasts leave their footprints— and fingerprints—in and around Squamish. It’s one of my favorite year-round destinations, with a sea-level location that guarantees its low-elevation trails remain snow-free most of the year. The Test of Metal (www.testofmetal.com) endurance mountain bike race in June, softball tournaments in July, and Squamish Days Loggers’ Sports (www.squamishdays.org) on the first weekend in August draw crowds throughout the warm-weather months. Just as numerous are the birdwatchers who gather in January for the annual eagle count or to stroll the estuary dike trails with binoculars in hand looking for trumpeter swans.
It’s important to note that Highway 99 isn’t the town’s main street. That honor more properly belongs to Cleveland Avenue. Not that you’d know it. Any sense of the historic downtown core is all but shuttered from view, thanks to a strip of fast-food franchises that line the west side of Highway 99, which the late Squamish pioneer Rose Tatlow labeled “Hamburger Row.” Tatlow, who was named honorary senator by the municipal council in recognition of her lifelong service to the community, lived on the shore of the Mamquam Blind Channel directly across from Cleveland’s intersection with Highway 99. Little evidence of her modest residence remains other than several fragrant honeysuckle vines. Instead, leafy Rose Park (see page 20) offers a tranquil resting place from which to contemplate the placid surroundings. While Tatlow, who died in 1998, might have condemned town planners for allowing the likes of Taco Bell to dominate the landscape, I’m certain she would have been tickled to have the architecturally pleasing Squamish Adventure Centre as her neighbor.
With the opening of the Whistler Olympic/Paralympic Park, Squamish has also begun to position itself as a snowshoeing and Nordic skiing destination. Aside from the well-known trails at Diamond Head in Garibaldi Park (see chapter 2), local businesses are promoting the 2010 Olympic cross-country skiing facilities in the Callaghan Valley (see chapter 9), which are just a 30 -minute drive north. Squamish presents another choice besides Whistler for people looking for affordability, right in the middle of the action.
> SHANNON FALLS PROVINCIAL PARK
Access: Entrance to the park is well marked, at the traffic lights on the east side of Highway 99, south of the Stawamus Chief roadside pullout.
There is a fine viewpoint at the Squamish lower town limits, 1.6 km (1 mi) south of Shannon Falls on the west side of Highway 99. This is just above the spot where British naval captain George Vancouver and his crew camped while surveying Howe Sound in 1792. The Garibaldi viewpoint marks the approach to a remarkable series of geographical formations, including the eye-catching granite Stawamus Chief Mountain and B.C.’s third-highest waterfall—Shannon Falls, linked to the Chief by a 2.5-km-long (1.5-mi) trail. The white veil of water drops 335 m (1099 ft) from an easily spotted ridge above Highway 99 to a creekbed below that empties into nearby Howe Sound. In the late 1800s, the falls drove a wooden waterwheel to provide energy to a nearby sawmill. In the 1970s, their pure water was used to brew beer. These days the falls deliver mental refreshment to those seeking a soothing getaway from life’s hectic pace.
Shannon Falls is a tourist magnet during summer months, with a parking lot that’s usually full by noon on weekends May through September. A fee of $3 per vehicle per day is charged year-round, or $1 per hour if you’re just stopping by for a quick look. Two large picnic areas accommodate families and groups who like room to stretch out and play while barbecuing. The falls maintain a constant roar while the nearby Chief’s south face looms on high; many visitors understandably take advantage of this striking backdrop for photographs.
It takes only a few minutes to walk up to the falls from the parking lot. A well-built system of smooth trails, wooden staircases, and bridges leads to two
