The flagship BC adventure — starting in Vancouver, hiking the North Shore, driving the most beautiful highway in North America up to Squamish and Whistler, and finishing at Canada's most photographed alpine lakes.
Day 1
Description: Your first day in Vancouver is designed to shake off jet lag the local way — slow coffee in Mount Pleasant, a long walk under old-growth cedars in Stanley Park, and a sunset beach picnic on English Bay. You'll get your first taste of how Vancouverites blend city life with wild nature: rainforest, ocean, and skyline all within minutes of each other. Keep it unhurried — the mountains can wait until tomorrow.
Cedar & Moss Coffee — breakfast
Stanley Park
Third Beach — sunset
Kitsilano Beach — dinner
Day 2
Description: Today is Vancouver's west side — the side locals love and tourists rarely see. You'll run the cedar trails of Pacific Spirit in the morning mist, lounge on quieter beaches where the university crowd swims, and end the day at the two best wellness spots in the city: rooftop sauna and cold plunge therapy. This is the "live like a Vancouverite" day, and it's the best way to prepare your body for the mountain days ahead.
Pacific Spirit Regional Park
Locarno Beach
Wreck Beach — lunch (pack it in)
Tality Wellness Mount Pleasant
Kolm Kontrast — evening sauna & cold plunge
Day 3
Description: North Shore day one — you're going up. Start at Capilano's towering suspension bridge in the morning when the crowds are thin, then drive up Cypress Mountain for one of BC's most underrated hikes. Hollyburn Mountain gives you panoramic views of Howe Sound, downtown Vancouver, and Mount Baker in Washington on a clear day. End with a post-hike walk through the mossy canyons of Lynn Valley — pure temperate rainforest.
Capilano Suspension Bridge Park — morning
Cypress Mountain
Hollyburn Mountain — hike
Lynn Valley — late afternoon
Day 4
Description: Today splits between two mountains and the gateway to Sea-to-Sky. Pick your fighter for the morning — Saint Mark's Summit gives you dramatic Howe Sound views from Cypress ridge, while Pump Peak (on Mount Seymour) is shorter, steeper, and rewards with a panoramic dome-top. Tunnel Bluffs in Lions Bay is the perfect warm-up or stop on the way to Squamish. Arrive in Squamish in time for dinner at one of the best restaurants in BC.
Saint Mark's Summit — morning hike (or Pump Peak as alternative)
Tunnel Bluffs — mid-afternoon
Squamish — arrive
The Salted Vine Kitchen + Bar — dinner
Howe Sound Inn & Brewing — hotel
Day 5
Description: Squamish day. The outdoor rec capital of Canada, and you'll understand why by noon. Start with the best breakfast in town, then hit Shannon Falls — one of the tallest waterfalls in Canada — before taking the Sea to Sky Gondola up 885m for coffee with a suspension bridge view. Afternoon is yours for the Stawamus Chief (the iconic granite monolith — three summits, pick one) or the quieter Slhanay Trail just next to it. Finish at Murrin Park Loop for golden hour on the cliffs over Howe Sound.
Fergie's Cafe — breakfast
Shannon Falls Provincial Park
Sea to Sky Gondola
Stawamus Chief — afternoon hike (or Slhanay Trail)
Murrin Park Loop Trail — sunset
Zephyr Cafe at the Bag — dinner
Sunwolf — hotel
Day 6
Description: This is the day you came for — one of the three most iconic hikes in the Coast Mountains. Garibaldi Lake is the classic day hike (11km round trip, turquoise glacial lake with Mount Garibaldi reflected in it), and if you're fit, you can push on to Panorama Ridge for the money shot Hope & Logan's audience has seen a thousand times. If Garibaldi is booked (and it will be — reserve 48 hours ahead), swap for Watersprite Lake's mirror waters or Elfin Lakes for an overnight hut. Post-hike, soak your legs at Alice Lake and head back to town.
Garibaldi Lake — full day hike (or Panorama Ridge Trail extension)
Alice Lake Provincial Park — post-hike cold plunge
Executive Suites Hotel & Resort Squamish — hotel
Day 7
Description: Morning in Squamish, afternoon in Whistler. Drive the last stretch of Sea-to-Sky, with a detour to Cheakamus River's turquoise canyons and Mamquam Falls — hidden spots most visitors skip. Arrive in Whistler Village in the late afternoon, check into the Four Seasons, and book dinner at Araxi, the Whistler classic that's been hosting celebrity après-ski crowds for 30 years.
Mamquam Falls
Cheakamus River
Whistler — arrive
Lil Chef Bistro — lunch
Four Seasons Resort Whistler — hotel
Araxi Restaurant & Oyster Bar — dinner
Day 8
Description: Whistler day — and your biggest hike of the trip. Wedgemount Lake is a brutal, beautiful 14km return trek to a turquoise alpine lake with a glacier at its head. You'll gain 1200m in elevation — earn your dinner. If Wedgemount is too much, explore Whistler Village, ride the Peak 2 Peak Gondola, or paddle Lost Lake. Reward yourself at Il Caminetto, Umberto Menghi's flagship Italian restaurant — the standard for fine dining in the mountains since the '80s.
Wedgemount Lake — full day hike
Sundial Hotel — hotel
Il Caminetto — dinner (or Pepe's Chophouse)
Day 9
Description: The finale — Joffre Lakes, the most photographed alpine chain in Canada. Three stacked turquoise lakes with Matier Glacier hanging above them, all in a 10km round trip. You'll need the free Park Pass (book 48h ahead). On the way back south, stop at Nairn Falls for a quick 3km canyon hike, then loop into the backcountry to Lillooet Lake, Cat Lake, or Strawberry Point for a wild swim. End with the grand finale: Sloquet Hot Springs — a three-tier riverside hot spring that 99% of tourists never find. Overnight at the most beautiful farm cabin in the valley before driving back to Vancouver.
Joffre Lakes Trail — full day
Nairn Falls Provincial Park
Lillooet Lake
Cat Lake (alternative)
Strawberry Point Recreation Site (alternative)
Sloquet Hot Spring — evening soak
The Cabin at Sweetwater Lane Farm — hotel
