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Squamish: The Sea-to-Sky Adventure Getaway

Day Trips & Getaways

Squamish: The Sea-to-Sky Adventure Getaway

Whistler's cooler, cheaper neighbour sits 45 minutes up the Sea-to-Sky with a gondola, a giant rock, and brewery rewards at every trailhead.

Squamish is Whistler with the pretension surgically removed: same jaw-dropping Sea-to-Sky scenery, half the price, a different address, and a personality all its own. It sits where Howe Sound's fjord meets the Coast Mountains, ringed by the Stawamus Chief, which is one of the biggest granite monoliths on Earth and a genuinely satisfying fact to drop mid-hike. The activity menu is absurd: ride a gondola to an alpine suspension bridge, clip into a via ferrata up a cliff face, kayak a glassy estuary, then do the whole debrief at a waterfront brewery while the mountains turn pink behind your pint. The trails are friendly, the town runs on outdoorsy good vibes, and the 45-minute drive is easy to justify. This is the kind of day you tell everyone about, then immediately start planning again.

adventurousactivescenicmountainfunoutdoorsy
Duration
Full day
Best time
Daytime
Price / person
~$130–350 / person
Setting
Outdoor
Neighbourhood
Downtown & Oceanfront Squamish
Best season
spring, summer, fall

Estimated ~$130–350 / person for per person for a weekend (gas, a night's stay, gondola/activity, food), as of 2026-06-22. A ballpark, not a quote. Call ahead or check the website for exact pricing.

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Plan your getaway

Squamish, BC · from Vancouver

door to door

~1 hour up Highway 99

from Vancouver

70 km

how long

Weekend

best window

May-October

Getting there

Drive the Sea-to-Sky Highway (Hwy 99) north from Vancouver, ~70 km / 1 hr, no ferry or tolls. The road is paved, scenic and open year-round (carry winter tires Oct-Apr). The Sea to Sky Gondola and Via Ferrata should be booked online in advance on summer weekends.

A car is the easiest way to roam between the gondola, the Chief, the estuary and the breweries; rent in Vancouver before you go.

No car? There's a route for that↓

Car-free is doable: the Epic Rides / Sea to Sky Connector coach runs Vancouver-Squamish-Whistler daily, and downtown Squamish, the gondola and Shannon Falls are reachable by local transit and short walks. Once there you can bike or walk most of town.

books out

The Sea to Sky Gondola, Via Ferrata and kayak tours sell out on summer weekends, book those plus your room ~1-2 weeks ahead. Cabins like Sunwolf book earliest.

Don't miss

  1. 1Ride the Sea to Sky Gondola + walk the Sky Pilot Suspension Bridge
  2. 2Hike the Stawamus Chief (First Peak) for the fjord view
  3. 3Clip into the guided Via Ferrata up the cliff (no experience needed)
  4. 4Kayak or SUP the calm Squamish Estuary
  5. 5Brewery crawl: Howe Sound Brew Pub + House of Lager at Oceanfront
  6. 6Britannia Mine Museum on the way home (underground train + gold panning)

Where to eat

Fergie's Cafecafelunch★ 4.5

Brunch on a lawn beside the Cheakamus River, where the eggs benedict arrives roughly as fast as the eagles do. Locals queue anyway, wrapped in patio blankets, because some institutions earn it. Open 9am-3pm daily; expect weekend lineups

~$15-25/person
The Salted Vine Kitchen + Barrestaurantdinner★ 4.3

Share plates and duck breast in a 1910 building that has watched downtown Squamish grow up around it. Pacific Northwest cooking that dresses up nicely without asking you to. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays

~$40-90/person
Backcountry Brewingpub fooddinner★ 4.7

A brewery in a business park serving wood-fired pizza and sours with names like Grandpa Joe's Insurance Fraud Pale Ale. The naming committee is unwell; the pizza is entirely serious.

~$20-35/person
The Watershed Grillpub foodlunch★ 4.5

The River Burger was once voted best in BC, but the heated riverside deck, where eagles patrol the gravel bars at eye level, does most of the seducing. Blankets provided, honestly. In Brackendale, a 10-minute drive north of downtown Squamish

~$20-30/person
Alice + Brohm Real Fruit Ice Creamdessertsnack★ 4.8

Real frozen fruit smashed into ice cream while you watch, in flavours like blueberry basil. A takeout window roughly the size of a closet, with a following roughly the size of Squamish. Takeout only; downtown location open 1-8pm

~$6-10/person

Where to stay

Sunwolf Riverside Cabinsriverside cabinscozyromantic

Secluded cabins among the trees on the Cheakamus River, 15 min from town, no TVs, fully unplugged, ideal for a couple. Fendi's Cafe on site.

see this spot →book / details →
from ~C$250/night, higher on peak summer dates
Squamish Adventure Inn & Hostelhostel / budget roomsgreat for solo

Friendly, climber-and-hiker crowd right by the Adventure Centre, the easy, sociable pick for a solo trip.

see this spot →book / details →
dorm beds from ~C$50; private rooms from ~C$140/night
Crash Hotel Squamishboutique downtown hotel

Stylish rooms steps from downtown bars and food, book the weekend ahead in summer.

see this spot →book / details →
from ~C$115/night off-peak; summer weekends run notably higher

Trip details as of 2026-06-22. Prices and ferry schedules change, so confirm when you book.

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