Squamish with kids?

[Dr_Crash]

Hi,

 

I am looking to do a 3-day week-end (depart tomorrow noon, return Monday afternoon) in BC with my kids, ages 3, 6, and 7 1/2. I was thinking Squamish, as they climb (boulder for the little one).

 

I am looking for info re: where to go with the kids, for camping, as well as a place to find things that will be nice for all of them. We are not going to climb all the time (first, I am alone with 3 kids, and second, the attention span of the smaller ones isn't that great), so I'm interested in info re: hiking, lakes to swin into, etc.

 

I am also open to suggestions to other places to go around Vancouver instead of Squamish to spend some cool time.

 

Also, is there a way to make reservation for campgrounds from here? It'd suck to drive all the way there with the kids and have to hunt for a place to sleep.

 

Thanks!

YA

[jmace]

Brohm lake is nice just a short drive north of squish, great swimming, rope swing and stuff... I suppose if you want to boulder and swim then browning lake at murrin park would be nice. Dunno about the camping maybe try cat lake.

 

possibly try here for reservatiions

 

http://wlapwww.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/reserve/camp.htm

[Dr_Crash]

Thanks. Can't see cat lake yet but I'll try harder

 

If say I wanted to spend one of the days at French Beach, can one really swim there? Not too cold?

 

What about Horne Lake? Good place?

 

drC

[PaulB]

I am also open to suggestions to other places to go around Vancouver instead of Squamish to spend some cool time.

The Vancouver Aquarium in Stanley Park is good entertainment for kids. Major attractions are the belugas, a massive sea lion, seals, a dolphin, sea otters, sharks, an octopus and all kinds of smaller fish.

 

Grouse Mountain has great views of Vancouver, some hiking and a couple of grizzly bears to watch. They used to have wolves too, but one tried to steal some food from the bears and got itself killed while tourists watched.

 

The Capilano Suspension Bridge is a bit of a tourist trap (you can go to Lynn Valley and get on a higher, but shorter, suspension bridge for free), but with the new elevated walkway through the forest, it's better than it used to be.

 

These are the big three summer attractions in Vancouver. The Aquarium is the best dollar value, especially if you can spend at least half the day there to see the different shows and demonstrations that go on.

 

What about Horne Lake? Good place?

If you're thinking about the Horne Lake that has sport climbing nearby, it's on Vancouver Island. If you did make the trip over you could check out the caves.

[jmace]

I think those places you mentioned are on vancouver island.

 

heres cat lake http://www.questlinks.com/questpoints/re...nique_id=QT6258

 

Alice lake is nice option as well

[Dr_Crash]

Thanks jmace. It's weird that Cat Lake isn't listed on the BC parks page that lists Alice Lake.

 

drC

[thelawgoddess]

the aquarium

there's also a maritime museum in town.

oh, and granville island rocks

 

i've always to check out the mining museum in britannia beach (near squamish) ... haven't heard from anybody who's been, though!

[murraysovereign]

Thanks jmace. It's weird that Cat Lake isn't listed on the BC parks page that lists Alice Lake.

 

drC

 

Cat Lake isn't a provincial park - it's just a "recreation site" officially under jurisdiction of the ministry of forests. Same for Brohm Lake.

 

There's a private campground in Paradise Valley, just a short drive north of Squamish (10 minutes or so?). Doesn't get as crowded as the ones on the highway, but it's quite nice.

 

The kids will probably enjoy the Railway Museum, too. They had "Thomas the Tank Engine" there earlier this summer, and it was a total zoo - kids dig locomotives. Also some nice walks in the Squamish River Estuary, adjacent to downtown, and there's a newly accessible beach at the south end of downtown - currently hosting the North American windsurfing championships, which might keep the kids' attention for a few minutes at least. More importantly, there's about an acre of wet sand, which is as good as gold for kids.

[Dr_Crash]

Thanks guys. The kids' mother is now threatening to not give me their passports and/or an authorization of travel just to p... me so I am not sure if the trip will still be on. But if it is, there are available campsites at Cat Lake and will also check if Alice Lake frees itself. I sure hope we'll go!

 

drC

[chucK]

We did that mine tour thing a couple years ago and it was pretty cool. Crazy old giant mine buildings and equipment, and you get to go deep inside the mine/mountain in a mine train .

 

The tour patter is very proletarian, continually focusing on how tough the poor workers had it, and how their lives were nasty brutish and short. So you might not want to expose your kids to this if you're Peter Puget, Kaskydghlss, or Fairweather .

 

There's also some gold panning, which is a little contrived/touristy since they actually didn't mine gold at that mine, but the kids like it.

[Self_propelled]

THeres a great public swim center with lots of kid friendly stuff (its not just a lap pool). Not sure the hours but its not far off the road just past the 7-11

[Jens]

There is a great beach at murrin park with a lake for swimming. Lots of soccer moms reading while their kids swim.

 

The bouldering in the woods below the chief might be OK as well as some of the stuff at the little smoke bluffs.

.

[Dr_Crash]

We went and had a lot of fun (once their mom surrendered their passports 3 hours late after I had to involve my lawyer and we had to deal with a 7 hours trip due to a late start).

 

We stayed at Cat Lake (thanks for the tip). The kids liked it so much that we never tried to actually get into Alice Lake.

 

The bouldering in the woods at the base of the Chief was fun. I suck at reading bouldering topos, that's for sure, but there were plenty of people to help us get oriented.

 

Murrin Lake was good too, and my son loved the bouldering traverse there. There were always people climbing the crack next to the parking lot, so we didn't set a rope.

 

Lots of beach time too. Hey, you can't expect a 3 years old to want to climb all the time like her bigger brother does.

 

Fun trip. Great area, and we finally are getting decent weather! (We'll start complaining about the heat soon. OMG.)

 

drC