Places to go Snowshoeing in Vancouver, Canada

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Snowshoeing has quickly become one of my favorite winter activities, when the roads along the West Coast of Canada, and PNW become too icy for road tripping. Vancouver has some amazing mountains for hiking, and of course snowshoeing during winter. Below is a list of the local mountains in and around the Vancouver area that you can go snowshoeing at, along with some personal tips to help you enjoy your experience up on the mountains. All 3 of these mountains offer snowshoe rentals, for those who don’t own their own snowshoes, or are traveling to Vancouver during winter and want to go snowshoeing.

1. Cypress Mountain, West Vancouver

Cypress Mountain is a great choice for snowshoeing, with 11 km of snowshoe trails for you to enjoy, along with a stunning viewpoint of the city of Vancouver below. If you find yourself up here on a cloudy day, not to worry, you will be far above the cloud line, allowing for some stunning views of the fluffy clouds. We found this view quite enjoyable on a somewhat cloudy day. I also found Cypress Mountain to be the least busy of the 3 mountains.

2. Grouse Mountain – North Vancouver

Grouse Mountain really does an amazing job with their winter decor, making the mountain feel like a winter wonderland. Visually, this is one of my favorite places to snowshoe, solely because of their Christmas displays and numerous activities to do while at Grouse Mountain, along with their snowshoe trails of course.

Grouse Mountain offers 4 well marketed trails, that are well maintained and groomed. On a clear day, you can even see Vancouver Island from the viewpoints.

3. Mount Seymour – North Vancouver

Fun fact, Mount Seymour was rated the #1 snowshoe resort by Snowshoe Magazine for all of North America, and I can see why. The snowshoe trails here are really well marketed, and wind through a stunning snowy forest. Mount Seymour was the first mountain I ever snowshoed, so I appreciated that their trails were well marketed, with trail maps along the main junctions. We followed one of the snowshoe trails around a frozen lake, and even found a snowy little bridge for photos. 


Snowshoe rentals

All three of these mountains offer snowshoe rentals, but keep in mind that they are a bit more expensive than if you rent from a local shop around Vancouver. Another thing to keep in mind is, on weekends, and even sunny days during the holidays, the mountains can get quite busy, and rentals might be hard to come by. We rented from a local shop in Vancouver, and went up to Garibaldi Provincial Park for some exploring. It was quite convenient to have our own snowshoes on hand, and the rental was very reasonably priced.

Here are a few places you can rent snowshoes from in Vancouver:

The Destination - North Vancouver

Yes Cycle - Downtown Vancouver

Sports Junkies - just off Main Street and Broadway in Vancouver

BONUS: here are two other great locations to snowshoe if you bring your own snowshoes

Garibaldi Lake

Well this one isn’t specifically to the lake, but the road leading into the trailhead for Garibaldi Lake is an amazing place for snowshoeing. There is next to no one around, so the snow is still fluffy and fresh, and the road leading to the trail head runs along a river that is beautiful and snowy. To get here, we turned off Highway 99 just before Whistler into the Garibaldi Provincial Park which is Rubble Creek Road. This road leads to the trailhead for Garibaldi Lake and Panorama Ridge hike. During the winter months, it is not advised to hike these trails due to the avalanche risk being so high, but if you turn off Highway 99 onto Rumble Creek Road, you can park right off to the side of the road and start your snowshoeing adventure here. We did this “trail” on a whim, as my truck just wasn’t interested in making it further down the road, and I’ve very glad we did. It was one of the most peaceful and snowy snowshoe trails we’ve done thus far.

If you make it all the way to the trailhead, you will come across warning signs for the avalanche risk in the area. Since this place is so secluded, and with very little traffic this time of year, I wouldn’t advise going up the trail itself. Enjoy the scenery along the trail, and stay safe. 


Elfin Lakes

This is popular snowshoeing trail in Garibaldi Provincial Park.

Even in late spring, when the lower portion of the trail is clear of snow, you can still find a beautiful snowy trail from the first cabin, up to the lakes. The best part about this trail is, once you pass the first cabin, the trail opens up, winding along side the mountain, with scenic views of the surrounding mountains. It’s amazing.

Before hitting this trail, make sure you check the BC back country avalanche reports to make sure the trail is safe for venturing on.

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