The Stawamus Chief Hiking Trail in Squamish BC, 2023

The Stawamus Chief hike outdoors the village Squamish in British Columbia, Canada is without doubt one of the most common hikes close to the town of Vancouver, solely about an hour’s drive away. The Stawamus Chief is called by the primary nations individuals after their village on the Squamish River.  Stawamus Chief Mountain usually simply referred to as The Chief or Squamish Chief, is the second largest granite rock on the planet, behind the Rock of Gibraltar. There are three peaks, so there are literally 3 separate summits in Stawamus Chief Park.

This rock wall on one of many largest granite monoliths is a bucket checklist spot for rock climbers all around the world. The three peaks are separated by a number of deep gullies which suggests you must go down after reaching one summit to start out climbing the subsequent. The steep path rewards with nice views of the realm surrounding Squamish, together with Howe Sound, and north to Garibaldi Provincial Park when reaching the peaks. It is a steep hike, with chains and ladders helping you to climb this huge rock in some elements. The Chief mountain climbing route is a return route, which means you comply with the identical path up and down. Climbing the Chief takes something from 3 to six hours to finish relying in your degree of health. As an alternate route, you possibly can simply go to the first or 2nd peaks which take roughly 2 to three hours to the highest and again.

No Allow is required in 2023 to hike the Chief. 

Going to Squamish is a unbelievable weekend journey from Vancouver with so many hikes and different actions to do from this stunning little city.

There are a number of different common hikes near Squamish, the Garibaldi Lake hike and Black Tusk are spectacular routes in the direction of Whistler. The Grouse Grind is a difficult hike in downtown Vancouver.

The Stawamus Chief Hike Statistics

Issue: Reasonable

Distance:

Whole Roundtrip – 8.11km

Peak 1 (from trailhead a method): 2.11 km – South Peak

Peak 2 (from trailhead a method): 3.75 km – Heart Peak

Peak 3 (from trailhead a method): 4.6 km – North Peak

Max Elevation: Peak 1: 630 m, Peak 2: 660 m, Peak 3: 702 m

Whole Elevation Acquire: 903 m

Time: 3 hours 29 minutes

Common Mountaineering Time: something from 3 to six hours

When to Hike The Chief

The Stawamus Chief Path mountain climbing season stretches from late March till the tip of October. The Chief mountain path doesn’t get as a lot snow as a few of the different close by mountains and due to this fact enjoys a reasonably lengthy mountain climbing season for the realm.   Summer time is the perfect time to hike the Stawamus Chief. This huge granite rock will get very slippery when moist and mountain climbing right here within the wet season, throughout the winter months, from November to January, is tough and might be harmful. The Chief additionally will get some snow right now of 12 months.

Regardless that summer season has the perfect climate, because of its location near Vancouver this mountain climbing route will get very busy in summer season, peaking at college vacation time round July and August. Mid-summer I might attempt to keep away from weekends, if attainable go within the week it will get very busy with full campgrounds. The perfect time climate and crowd clever might be mid-week in spring or fall. September is in nice situation for mountain climbing right here. I had a fantastic day mountain climbing right here in good situations in mid-September.

Additionally, the path to Peak 1 from the trailhead is the busiest, with crowds scaling down in the direction of Peak 2 and Peak 3.

Attending to Stawamus Chief Mountain

The Chief is positioned on Freeway 99 about 55km from Vancouver and fewer than 5 km south of Squamish. The BC Freeway 99 is often known as the Sea-to-Sky Freeway and is a legendary route with unbelievable views going from Vancouver to Whistler.  To get to the Squamish Chief, flip off Freeway 99 at both Shannon Falls or Stawamus Chief Provincial Park. 

Stroll from the day-use parking space previous the Chief Campground to the place the mountain climbing route begins on the foot of a set of stairs. The path can be simple to entry from Shannon Falls and the Sea to Sky Gondola, the route is well-marked and solely takes a couple of minutes. GPS pin for Chief Parking Space

If you’re staying in Squamish you’ll be able to stroll to the Chief by way of the Sea to Sky Connector Path, it’s 3 km and took me about 35 minutes.

Mountaineering The Chief – the route

There’s a clear path, it’s effectively marked with diamond-shaped path blazes on bushes. The turn-off from the path to completely different peaks is marked with signposts alongside the best way. The Chief has 3 peaks and it’s attainable to hike all three in 3 to six hours in case you are in good bodily situation or you’ll be able to select to solely hike to one of many peaks. 

Mountaineering to all 3 peaks was a complete distance of 8.11 km with a complete elevation acquire of 903m that took us 3 hours and 28 minutes to hike.

The trailhead is on the east finish of the Stawamus Chief campground. The hike begins with a large simple path that goes previous the campsite and the climbing begins at a sequence of wood stairs climbing alongside Oleson Creek.

The primary a part of the path is shared with the Sea To Summit Path goes to the highest of the Gondola and might be very busy for the reason that majority of individuals hike this half. 

Beginning on the first trailhead and mountain climbing to peaks so as from 1 to three, you’ll attain a number of splits within the path, to achieve Peak 1 simply comply with the indicators going left at each junction. To succeed in Peak 2 you flip round at Peak 1 and go down the path to the junction with the path main up once more to Peak 2. To succeed in Peak 3  proceed over Peak 2, the path descends right into a canyon from the place it climbs to the third peak. 

Climbing Peak 1

Distance from the trailhead – 2.11 km

Time to achieve from the trailhead – 50 min

Top 630 m 

Reaching the highest of Peak 1 at 630 m above sea degree took me 50 minutes to hike the two.11 km. Hike solely to Peak 1 from the trailhead takes about 2 to three hours to return with a spherical journey distance of 4.2 km. 

Peak 1 is essentially the most southern peak and is positioned closest to the car parking zone. It’s the busiest half to hike to. There’s a steel ladder and a few chains to help you in climbing the final elements to the highest, be rewarded with unbelievable views of the realm. The highest of the height is pretty extensive open and has a fantastic view of Howe Sound wanting down in the direction of the city of Squamish.  There are sheer cliffs on three sides, subsequent to the mammoth rock face is a good spot to have lunch or a snack. There are not any railings and it’s a great distance down, so watch out on the prime!

Climbing Peak 2

Distance from the trailhead – 3.75 km (by way of peak 1)

Time to achieve from the trailhead –  1 h and 45 minutes 

Top 660 m 

Peak 2 is the center peak, it took me 1 h and 45 minutes to hike the three.75 km from the trailhead to the highest of this peak at 660 m above sea degree. From Peak 1 to Peak 2 took about 50 minutes to cowl the gap of 1.65 km. To hike straight to Peak 2 from the trailhead is about 5 km taking 3.5 to five hours.

When leaving Peak 1 trackback, you might have to attend a bit on the chain, it may be very busy. Observe the path after which descend down the ladder making your method again to the junction. On the junction flip in the direction of Peak 2.

The path is steep this manner with a few sections alongside this route with chains to make the scrambling and climbing a bit simpler. 

The Second Peak is the most important of the three with some nice panoramic views of Howe Sound, Squamish, and the peaks of Mount Garibaldi. You even have some good views of Peak 1 and Peak 3 and the encircling mountains from right here.

Climbing Peak 3

Distance from the trailhead – 4.60 km (by way of peaks 1 and a pair of)

Time to achieve from the trailhead –  2 h and 10 minutes 

Top 702 m 

To get to the third Peak, proceed over the second peak following the path markers. The path descends right into a  valley often called the Saddle. Stroll by a gully with huge vertical rock partitions. Hike to the third peak, the very best peak has good views of  Mt. Garibaldi and the Squamish townsite under.

You may also hike to Peak 3 with out going over Peaks 1 and a pair of, the gap is about 7 km mountain climbing straight to Peak 3 from the trailhead.

Turning round at Peak 3 you will have two selections to return, trackback till you attain a junction, right here you’ll be able to go left and comply with a distinct path, marked on the map because the ‘various route’, it doesn’t go by way of Peak 2 becoming a member of the primary path a lot later, or you’ll be able to return the best way that you simply got here by going again as much as the Second Peak. 

When leaving Peak 1 trackback, you might have to attend a bit on the chain, it may be very busy. Observe the path after which descend down the ladder making your method again to the junction. On the junction flip in the direction of Peak 2.

The path is steep this manner with a few sections alongside this route with chains to make the scrambling and climbing a bit simpler. 

The Second Peak is the most important of the three with some nice panoramic views of Howe Sound, Squamish, and the peaks of Mount Garibaldi. You even have some good views of Peak 1 and Peak 3 from right here.

Bears on the Squamish Chief

The Stawamus Chief Park is positioned in prime bear habitat. Black bears are frequent, whereas Grizzly bears are a really uncommon prevalence. It’s endorsed to hold bear spray whereas mountain climbing the Chief.

Transport to Squamish

It’s a fast drive from Vancouver to Squamish city on the BC-99 S freeway, 63 km taking about 55 minutes. Renting a automotive is certainly the simplest method to get round.  For automotive rental, I like to recommend utilizing Uncover Automobiles to search out the perfect deal. There’s every day public transport between Squamish and Vancouver with the Squamish connector or a number of different bus providers.

Purchase your bus ticket from Vancouver Metropolis Heart to Squamish/Whistler right here.

Sea to Sky Gondola

Get a singular perspective of the mountain city of Squamish, and the encircling alpine surroundings, as you go on this spectacular Sea to Sky Gondola experience. 

Purchase your Sea to Sky Gondola Ticket right here.

Extra Nice Hikes in Canada

With hundreds of kilometers of shoreline and spectacular mountains, Canada is dwelling to a few of the greatest mountain climbing trails on the planet. There are many superb weekend getaways from Vancouver which might be superb for hikers. If you wish to hike for a few days subsequent to the ocean and see a variety of wildlife from orcas to bears you’ll love the difficult West Coast Path or the neighboring Juan de Fuca Path, each hugging the coast on Vancouver island. With superb issues to do on Vancouver Island from seeing orcas to browsing and unreal hikes, this stunning island is a must-visit from Vancouver. For spectacular hikes within the Canadian Rockies, the mountain climbing trails round Banff in Alberta is tough to beat!

Lodging in Squamish and Vancouver

Lodging Squamish

Extremely rated lodging in Vancouver with  location.

Squamish Mountaineering and Packing

Squamish has a few nice campsites. The MSR Hubba Hubba tent is a particularly mild, waterproof, and sturdy tent, I’ve executed some superior hikes with mine. For a tent that could be a little bit bigger (should you go along with a automotive) try this very well-rated tent from TETON Sports activities Mountain Extremely Tent

Garmin Fenix 5 GPS Watch is a unbelievable instrument for monitoring all stats, navigation, and producing maps. The maps and elevation profiles on this article have been generated with my Fenix 5.

For long-term journey and severe mountain climbing the Osprey Packs Osprey Pack Atmos Ag 65 Backpack or Ariel 65 ladies’s model is a wonderful backpack.

To make any water supply drinkable the Lifestraw filter bottle is straightforward to make use of and really helpful. It makes any stream or puddle drinkable instantly.

For mountain climbing within the snow, rain and dust, my Salomon X Extremely Prime boots do a tremendous job, they’re waterproof, gortex, mild, and keep dry!

If you’d like a shoe minimize the Merrell Moab 2 is Waterproof or are nice high quality low minimize sneakers; sturdy, waterproof, snug, with good grip.

Pack a BUFF Multifunctional Headwear – protects your neck and face from sunburn, wind, and climate.

Microfibre towels take up virtually no area, are mild, and dry simply.  Fast Dry Microfiber Journey Towel

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