Squamish

Rising like a sentinel above the turquoise waters of Howe Sound, the Stawamus Chief—known locally as “the Chief”—is a sheer-walled granite monolith that dominates the Sea-to-Sky corridor. Its three summits offer some of the most accessible alpine climbing and hiking in North America, with trails that switchback through moss-draped forests to panoramas stretching from the Tantalus Range to the distant peaks of Garibaldi Provincial Park. The Chief is not merely a hike; it is a rite of passage for West Coast adventurers, a place where the scent of cedar mingles with the salt breeze off the fjord, and where peregrine falcons nest on ledges that have challenged climbers for generations.

Ascending from the misty waters of Howe Sound to the alpine summit of Mount Habrich, the Sea to Sky Gondola delivers one of British Columbia’s most dramatic vertical journeys. In a mere ten minutes, the glass-floored cabins climb 885 metres, unveiling a tapestry of fjord, forest, and snow-capped peaks that stretches toward the Tantalus Range. At the summit, the 100-metre Sky Pilot Suspension Bridge spans a sheer granite gorge, while a network of accessible boardwalks and alpine trails invites contemplative strolls or vigorous hikes. The Summit Lodge, perched like an eagle’s aerie, serves locally roasted coffee and West Coast fare with panoramic glazing that frames the view like a living canvas. Whether shrouded in coastal mist or blazing under summer sun, the gondola offers a concentrated dose of the Sea-to-Sky Corridor’s raw grandeur.

Clinging to the sheer cliffs of Howe Sound, the Britannia Mine Museum is a cathedral of industrial heritage where the thunder of rock drills once echoed through 210 kilometres of tunnels. From 1904 to 1974, this was the British Empire’s largest copper mine, and today its centrepiece — the gravity-fed Mill No. 3, a 20-storey wooden colossus clinging to the mountainside — dominates the skyline like a relic of steampunk imagination. The experience begins aboard a mine train that rattles into the cool dark of an early haulage tunnel, where interpreters fire up a working mucker and jackleg drill, the concussion palpable in your chest. Above ground, the Beaty-Lundin Visitor Centre unfolds the human story: the 1915 avalanche that killed 57, the fierce 1965 strike that reshaped Canadian labour law, and the remarkable environmental remediation that turned a toxic runoff zone into a thriving marine habitat. The BOOM! show uses light, sound, and special effects to animate the mill’s inner workings, while the gold-panning trough lets visitors keep whatever flecks they find — a small, glittering reward for a day steeped in grit and grandeur.