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Dog Mountain Snowshoe
Quick Facts: AllTrails link: Dog Mountain Trail Difficulty: green snowshoe trail (took us 3 hours to complete) Traffic: very busy on weekends Facilities: flush toilet in the ski resort View: spectacular views of Metro Vancouver Overall score: 8/10 Dog Mountain Trail is one of the most popular, beginner-friendly snowshoeing trails around Vancouver. It is very…
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Minnekhada Regional Park
Quick Facts: AllTrails link: Addington Lookout and Mid-March-Lodge-Fern Loop. Difficulty: moderate (some muddy and mildly hazardous sections) Traffic: quite busy on weekends Facilities: pit toilet, picnic tables View: interesting marsh views. The view at the Addington Lookout was partially obstructed by trees. Overall score: 6/10 Trip Report: February 2021 On this bright February weekend, we visited…
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Fraser Foreshore Park
To map out our Fraser River Series of parks, we headed to Fraser Foreshore Park in Burnaby on a cloudy fall afternoon. We were very confused by Google Maps because when we arrived at where it said the park was, it was just a long narrow road next to an industrial park. We weren’t sure…
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Burnaby Lake Regional Park
Quick Facts: AllTrails link: Burnaby Lake. Difficulty: easy, stroller friendly Traffic: quite busy on weekends Facilities: flush toilets at Nature House at Piper Ave Entrance and Burnaby Sport Complex. View: peek-a-boo views of the lake through out. Overall score: 5/10. Significant highway noise intrudes the South Shore Trail, and railway noise intrudes the Cottonwood Trail to…
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Colony Farm Regional Park
Quick Facts: AllTrails link: Sheep Paddocks Loop Difficulty: easy, but due to a flight of stairs, not stroller friendly Traffic: light on a weekday Facilities: flush toilet, picnic tables at the community garden View: turns out the best view of the distant mountains was right at the community farm. Views on the dyke trail was…
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Deas Island Regional Park
Quick Facts: AllTrails link: Deas Island Difficulty: easy, stroller friendly Traffic: moderate Facilities: flush toilet near the northern tip of the island, pit toilet in the center. Picnic tables, water access. View: Fraser River, North Shore Mountains on a clear day Overall score: 3/10 Deas Island is a small island (technically a peninsula) at the…
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Buntzen Lake Paddle
Quick Facts Most updated Paddle report: July 2024 Paddle report: February 2021 On a previous attempt, we came to Buntzen Lake around noon on a Saturday to find the park entrance closed again even in January. We joked that we had the least amount of luck with Buntzen Lake out of all the places we…
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Toddler Ski Lessons 10-15: Chair Lift
For Lessons 10-13, we slowly worked on Junior’s confidence on the Magic Carpet. We also took 2 weeks off during the winter break to avoid the epic crowds. We read reports that it took more than 2 hours of lining up in the car just to get to the parking lot. I attempted to bring…
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Discovery Snowshoe Trails on Mt Seymour
For an easy, well marked, well maintained and moderately trafficked snowshoe trail in the Lower Mainland, we recommend the Discovery Snowshoe Trails on Mt Seymour. Day passes are $15 for adults, $35 including snowshoe rentals, and limited season passes are available. We got our season passes before they sold out. An added bonus is that…
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Deep Cove Winter Paddle
Deep Cove is one of the very first places where I learned to paddle. The protected harbour with a well-stocked kayak rental shop right on the water is famously friendly for beginners. There is also the popular Quarry Rock trail (closed during pandemic) that draws a big crowd. As a result, people come out in…