Sea to Sky and the Coast Mountains

Working out where to go? Browse the trip reports by objective for this area, and check the forecast before you commit.

A different range and a different climate: wetter, lower snowlines in winter, and far busier on summer weekends. Campgrounds here book months out through BC Parks.

Campgrounds — BC Parks

• Garibaldi Provincial Park — backcountry only, by permit; the Black Tusk, Panorama Ridge and Elfin Lakes areas all sit inside it
• Alice Lake — the main serviced campground near Squamish
• Porteau Cove — on the water between Vancouver and Squamish
• Nairn Falls — just south of Pemberton, and the closest to Joffre Lakes

Hostels

• HI Whistler — in Whistler, built as athlete housing for 2010
• HI Vancouver Downtown
• HI Vancouver Jericho Beach — seasonal

Alpine Club of Canada huts

Huts book through the Alpine Club of Canada on a rolling window — six months ahead for members, three for everyone else.

• Kees and Claire Memorial Hut — Russet Lake, on the Spearhead Traverse above Whistler (the club lists it, but its own page is currently broken)
• Wendy Thompson Hut — Marriott Basin, north of Pemberton
• Jim Haberl Hut — Serratus–Dione col, Tantalus Range
• Tantalus Hut — Lake Lovely Water, Tantalus Range

Recreation sites

The alternative to the provincial parks here, and often the only thing close to a trailhead. First come, first served unless noted; fee sites are cash to the operator. See how it works for the rules and the Forest Service road caveats.

• Tenquille Lake – Hawint — the exception to everything: reservation only, $25 a site for tenting or $25 a person for the cabin, booked through the Pemberton Wildlife Association. Co-managed by Recreation Sites and Trails BC with the Lil̓wat and N'Quatqua nations. An alpine lake you hike to, not drive to.
• Cal-Cheak — 63 sites between Callaghan Creek and the Cheakamus, $18, the practical Whistler basecamp when the park campgrounds are full.
• Cat Lake — 48 walk-in sites near Squamish, $18, and a standing bear problem: use the caches and leave nothing out.
• Chek Canyon — free, 32 sites at a climbing area with about 100 routes; steep access road, all-wheel drive recommended. Picnic tables, fire rings, outhouses and bear caches throughout.
• Strawberry Point, Lizzie Bay and Driftwood Bay — the Lillooet Lake string on the In-SHUCK-ch Forest Service Road, and Lizzie Lake further up it, which is the way into the Stein Divide.
• Owl Creek — fifteen sites near Pemberton.

Check each listing before committing: wildfire closures on the In-SHUCK-ch road recur, and several of these sites carry standing access advisories.