We just got back from a hike that has been on my buckelist for years and I am glad we waited til the kids were a bit older to do it because it was HARD. We have been hiking with the kids before they could even walk. SuperDad used to trek up mountains with baby Nallie in the backpack. I have been scrolling pictures on my phone and we have done a lot of hiking so I decided to compile them all. These hikes make my it-list. This is the Hiker's Dozen: 12 of the most epic hikes in BC - as well as some honourable mentions and ones that I don't think are worth the hype. All the hikes are linked to the map on AllTrails
12. Lindeman Lake
Classic westcoast hike: the kids love a hike with ropes, chains, and ladders and this one has all of them. They loved feeling like ninja warriors scaling up the rock near the end of the hike to sweeping views of the ocean
We love camping at Porteau Cove, and we do this hike every summer. It's fun to watch the mountain climbers as you hike and it's usually not as crowded as other hikes and the view from the top is pretty amazing.
One of our family favourites at Mt. Seymour, we have hiked it so many times in different seasons. It's not well marked but SuperDad knows this route really well.
7.Brockton and keep going to Pump Peak
These two are also at Mt. Seymour, Brockton is an easy one, and we backpacked to Brockton last May to try one night of snow camping. We hoped to see the northern lights as well but it wasn't visible to the naked eye, but our phones picked up some colors. Of course, you can keep hiking from Brockton all the way to Pump Peak. We've done this a number of times as well, it feels like quite the accomplishment when you make it to the top and see the sign post of 1,407m of elevation. Pump Peak is another great hike to do in multiple seasons.
We have done this hike with the kids twice, it's a fun terrain and nice to have a restaurant at the top, more trails if you're not tired, and take the gondola instead of walking back down. You can tell who hiked up and who took the gondola up by how disheveled and sweaty people are at the top. We hiked this on one of the hottest days of the summer. It was a hot mess kinda day, and the overpriced popsicle at the top was well worth it.
Warning: do not attempt this hike unless you have a 4x4 vehicle with a high clearance to make it to the trailhead; that is the hardest part of this hike. We saw some truly sketchy things happen with vehicles trying to make it to the parking lot. Once your vehicle has made it to the parking lot, the rest of the hike is great. The day we hiked Mt. Cheam, the clouds were covering most of the way until we made it to the summit, and it was blue skies, alpine flowers and glorious sunshine. It felt like we had entered another magical universe.
I backpacked here with my sister a few years ago, definitely not as easy with all the overnight gear, but very doable. The best part about camping overnight is that after all the day hikers have gone, you can sit at the top and enjoy sunset and sunrise with very few other people.
3.Garabaldi Lake and keep going to Panorama Ridge
I don't usually like paying to go hiking, but my husband surprised me with a Whistler trip for me and my besties for my 40th birthday. We took the Peak2Peak gondola, which isn't cheap, but wow, this is one stunning trail. Alpine wildflowers and the views are gorgeous the entire way. One of the most beautiful and relatively easy hikes in Whistler.
This hike has been on my bucket list for years, but it's a challenging one, and we finally conquered it this summer! It is just as hard as I thought it would be and I am glad the kids were 11 and 13 when we did it. This one required poles and navigating creek crossings and a super steep scramble for the last section. Lots of marmots along the trail and when you finally make it to the lake, the turquoise color of it will take your breath away. I packed a candle and roasting sticks and the highlight was making s'mores at the top. It took our family 8 hours of moving time. We left the parking lot at 9am and didn't make it back til 7pm. So nice to drive the 20 mins back to Whistler and crash after.
Honourable mentions but didn't make the list:
The kids hiked this one fairly easily during the winter, it took us a few hours up and down and they loved the whiskey jacks at the top.
BCMC or the more popular Grouse Grind.
This is a nice easy hike in the forest, nothing super epic, but perfect to get the family out on a Saturday afternoon
Not an epic hike but really easy for the kids when they were younger, we told them they could take their dragons for a hike and it kept them going the whole way.
Not worth the hype:
Our kids love a challenging hike, steep incline, big rocks to climb on, creek crossings, big logs to climb over and this trail is mostly wide and gravel...you could probably push a stroller up the whole way if you wanted to, the kids were not impressed and although the view is nice at the end, it wasn't very stimulating as a hike
Yes, the view is nice at the top but way too crowded for me. I'd rather hike somewhere further out and more difficult, so there aren't 200 people at the top all trying to take a selfie
So there you have it, we have been hiking with our kiddos since they were born. SuperDad has been chucking them on mountain tops before they could walk. Here is our baby girl soaring to the sky at the top of Pump Peak at Mt. Seymour
Our kids have been hiking as soon as they could walk. We started hiking with them when it would have been easier to jut stay at home and when they didn't even make hiking poles or hiking boots in toddler sizes.
No comments:
Post a Comment