the Adventure Vizsla Life
The Sea to Sky Highway linking Vancouver to Whistler and Pemberton is one of the most beautiful drives in the world. Weekend warriors load up every Friday evening and fill up the parking lots to every easily accessible lake, trail, and park along the road.…
How to start, things to think about, and where to go! I love getting outdoors with my Vizslas and when it snows, we still head out. Cross country and backcountry skiing is a really fun way to keep dogs active with you during the winter…
warnings:
Most of Squamish is officially dogs-on-leash however you’ll find most people skirt these rules outside of the downtown areas. Squamish, including downtown has loads of wildlife you must be aware and prepared for. DO NOT let your dogs off leash if you cannot recall them from wildlife. You will find Black Bears, Coyotes, Eagles everywhere throughout Squamish including residential areas. There are also Cougar sightings almost constantly in one trail or another, and less common are wolves, Grizzly bears, bobcat, and elk. Check trail reports before you go to avoid cougar and bear sightings.
Parking is very limited in the summer in certain places, especially weekends. Avoid busy areas with dogs as a curtesy of other trail users. Trails may close due to Grizzlies and Black bear issues so check before leaving. Roads can close due to flooding/washouts. Roads and parking are also different in the winter as many FSRs are snowed in and never ploughed. Chains are usually necessary in the winters. Check avalanche forecasts and have knowledge before you head out. Many areas have no reception so download or print maps, and have a point of contact if your car breaks down.
Ray Peters–
Very flat, official dog-off leash area, can be close to the highway so be aware, bears, coyotes, lots of options to make your own, also good for biking
Alexander Falls
Winter hike, entrance fee to Callaghan, microspikes advised
Whistler Trainwreck
Several entry points, watch for trains and broken bottles, metal on the ground
Wonderland
Close to highway, so be aware! Great for running on-leash or biking
Cat Lake
Extremely busy in summer, AWD, not ploughed in winter
Starvation Lake/ Cheakamus Canyon
AWD advised to park in the canyon, must leash up to start by highway
Crumpit Woods
Easy to get lost, bears and cougars sometimes present, lots of trail options
Murrin Lake/Jurassic Ridge
Must leash around lake, no dogs around lake, busy in the summer, easy to get lost
4 Lakes Loop
Very busy in the summer, No dogs at Alice lake (walk on road do not follow the map), lots of offshoot bike trails to add-on, limited parking
Smoke Bluffs
Easy to get lost on the trails, Lots of viewpoints
Brohm Lake
Very busy in the summer, lots of trail options, awesome views from viewpoint, places to dip in the lake, leash near highway, very limited parking
Crooked Falls
Road can flood, AWD, Leash around waterfall, No reception
Watersprite
Very busy in the summer, Bears almost constant in the summer, cougar area, no reception, winter route is different, cars will need chains in the winter
Debeck’s Hill
Short but steep and easy to be lost, several options, views aren’t great
Chief
Very busy in the summer, may need daypass, leash around steep areas, 3 peaks for options
Sea to Sky Gondola/Sea to Summit Trail
Buy dog ticket at the bottom to go down by gondola, steep sections, rope areas, microspikes on icy days needed
High Falls
Easy to get lost, Grizzly and black bears, AWD, no reception, leash near falls
Tunnel Bluffs
Very busy in summer, log crossings, Black Bears, paid parking, limited parking
Brandywine
Black bears, busy in summer, closed during snowmobile season, awd to lower parking, 4wd to higher parking, No reception, no trail past meadows
Triconi Peak
Scrambling and boulder fields, 4wd with clearance, wasps, black and grizzly bears,
Lake Lovely Water
Fast water crossing (need boat), wasps, bears, busy in the summer, no reception, no water, no dogs allowed in hut
Seed peak
AWD, routefinding, steep sections with rope, no reception
Be aware of human feces that might be laced with drugs on trails. This is a common problem especially around where people camp, on bike trails, and busy trails. If you notice excessive panting, dilated eyes, excessive drooling, disorientation, turn back immediately and seek help. Another common issue are dogs chasing (or being chased) by bears. In both cases you should be in control of your dogs as there is very little help out of reception. Wasps can sting out of seemingly nowhere (when you pass through a ground nest) and dogs may bolt or be allergic so it’s good to have anti allergy drugs. Lastly, water loving dogs need to be leashed near fast moving water especially Lake Lovely Water, Crooked Falls, High Falls, and Sea to Sky Gondola hike. Dogs have died on these rivers that turn into waterfalls.
These places dogs are absolutely not allowed!
Garibaldi Park (Garibaldi Lake, Wedgemount Lake, Elfin Lakes, Black Tusk), both sides of Whistler due to watershed/park rules (Blackcomb, Whistler peak, Rainbow Lake, Cheakamus Lake, Iceberg Lake, Mount Sproatt) as well as Joffre Lakes and Tenquille Lakes further north.
Check out more on a list of beaches and lakes to take your dog paddling! And here’s a post on how to each your dog to recall off leash as well as a recall challenge to try before heading out into bear country! Support my page by checking out my shop redbarkshop.com
Cross country skiing off leash Now for a fun post: I cannot believe we haven’t been to Callaghan Valley’s Olympic Nordic center (close to Whistler) before! We are super lucky because they have a cross country skiing area that allows off leash dogs (isn’t that the…
At Whistler for her treatment Awhile back, we had a scary episode where Whiskey was suddenly limping and wouldn’t use her left hind leg. We had taken to her to emergency and had no answers after a rather large bill (xrays were fine). It strangely…
This weekend we finally had beautiful weather and enough time to head to Squamish for “The Chief” hike. One of our old favorites it has become so popular that over the last 5 years it’s come to rival the “Grouse Grind” for the must-do hike in Vancouver (even though I don’t consider the grind a hike). I now only do the Chief when conditions are such that I can avoid crowds. In November when the trail is full of ice and snow, the peaks chilly with arctic winds, we met relatively few hikers and had a blast.
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| on top of the Squamish world |
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| Ice and sun |
Whereas 7 years ago when I first did this hike there were few stairs and it really did feel like a natural hike, nowadays the trail is mostly comprised of man-made wooden or rock stairs, especially to the first peak. There are 3 peaks in total and I normally climb the third, then second and call it done. Most people do the peaks in numerical order so you avoid any lineups going the opposite way. Also the trail down from 3rd peak is the most rugged and hardest on bad knees (we’ve got a few bad knees in our pack) so I prefer going up that way.
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| We start at the Shannon Falls parking |
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| Just starting out |
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| Seriously Mom? You want me to climb that? |
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| I’m doing it! Whooop! |
Whiskey was super stoked to get going, especially since she was shivering right out of the car. Of course as soon as we started the upward trail we were all shedding our layers and pretty soon down to one shirt.
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| Puppy on a mountain |
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| On Third Peak |
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| It’s an amazing view from here |
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| Looking north to Whistler |
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| In the summer I would lie down and nap here |
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| Watch out for chipmunks and crows that like to lure the dogs to the edge |
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| Looking south from 2nd peak |
The peak on 3rd was happily wind-free, and as we crossed the quick section to 2nd peak the sun was threatening to set. Coming down from 2nd peak is a challenge with a dog (many people don’t attempt 2nd with a large dog) because there is a ladder and chain section. Whiskey was a little nervous but was carried down with no drama (except the Vizsla drama). Check out those sad sad eyes! She was gripping so hard, I sometimes wonder that she isn’t human.
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| Heading down from 2nd peak |
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| It’s a good thing she’s so used to being carried |
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| Oh that sad face |
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| the drama! It was too icy to put her down |
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| awwwww |
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| Here I’m happy I don’t have a larger dog |
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| We handed her down |
For those that want to avoid crowds in the summer, a nice side trail off from Chief is the Upper Shannon Falls hike. I’m sure we’ll do that one with Whiskey soon! I’m just super stoked that she’s big enough now to do “proper” hikes.
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| Our hiking family |
We were off to Whistler last weekend and though forecast was bleak, we had really good luck with the timing of rain. Because we both work full time, sometimes our lives seem nothing more than walk the dog, eat, work, walk the dog, eat, laundry,…
Boy oh boy! At first I wasn’t so sure about camping but I knew that if it worked out, Whiskey would be the happiest little Vizsla. We had a couple hurdles to overcome but leapt over each and everyone of them: So we were supposed…