Squamish Canyon at Mamquam Falls is Now Open

This experience was compliments of the Squamish Canyon. Views and opinions expressed are those of the author.

There’s a new attraction up the Sea to Sky, which takes you to the edge of a canyon and right over Mamquam Falls. Squamish Canyon opened up earlier this month with a 1.5km boardwalk through the rainforest.

Squamish Canyon at Mamquam Falls

When driving from Vancouver, the turn-off is about five minutes past the Stawamus Chief turn off. There are some Squamish Canyon signs along the highway now that you can’t miss. Then, it’s a dusty drive up the Mamquam River Forest Service Road and then Powerhouse Springs Road to the site which has washrooms, a welcome centre, and cafe.

At the beginning of the walkway is former industrial land, where you’ll notice a difference in the trees as you move between old growth and first generation growth. We were told that part of the land at the beginning of the route used to be a batch concrete plant for building the power plant by the falls, and another part of the parcel was earmarked for logging before the attraction purchased the site.

Setting out on the boardwalk, there are impressive views of not only the canyon and a network of falls, but throughout the forest with visitors in awe of lichen draping from branches, the cool teal of the waters of each pool eroded by boulders over time, moss-covered slopes and towering evergreens.

It’s not just any walk in the woods, it has a playpad for kids, concession, and retail space towards the end of the route. It was rather jarring though to be immersed in such natural elements then come across a gift shop. However, add some draping market lights and it would be quite dreamy for a wedding or event booking, reminiscent of the far side of the Capilano Suspension Bridge.

“People inherently, organically, explore places they have never been,” General Manager Ken Bailey told Miss604. With more and more people visiting the Lower Mainland and Sea to Sky corridor, Bailey said that one of the things people will do is explore further afield.

“What Robin Sherry [founder and project lead at Squamish Canyon] saw a need for is to create sustainable, safe, tourism infrastructure for people to do that exploring.”

In 2018 a Pique article reported on a council meeting: “Detractors asserted that the project would be privatizing and profiting off public land that up until now has been freely enjoyed by all.” The site does already have a trailhead for a hike, which you can find on All Trails (Mamquam Falls).

“Squamish is certainly a growing tourism market in the tourism market and we need more things for people to do. We see people coming in to town every day and in order to sustain that growth you need to create things for people to do.”

The attraction compliments a number of free and paid offerings up the Sea to Sky including Britannia Mine Museum, Britannia Village, Shannon Falls, Sp’akw’us Feather Park, and the Sea to Sky Gondola.

“We have to hit at a level where you’re talking about hundreds of people a day and not just a couple of dozen of people a day,” added Bailey. The attraction aims to usher those hundreds of visitors a day through the woods and over the falls, safely, but also provide them with a new outlook from within the forest along with environmental storytelling in a sustainable way.

“It’s pretty powerful when you’re standing there and the top of the falls is just a few feet away,” said Bailey. I, myself was too frightened to take a look down when walking along the boardwalk overtop of the crest of the falls but those braver than I will enjoy the sight.

“What this experience does is it give you different perspective of what leads to the waterfall, then you look at the waterfalls from the top, from the side. You also get a better appreciation for what happens with the water – the Atlantic Power project that’s there.”

Bailey says the entire walkway was built with wildlife in mind as well. “We have resident black bears, deer, cougars, coyotes, the whole thing was built so that wildlife could move underneath without any impact. It doesn’t stop them or mean they have to find a new path.”

There are roughly 900 different foundations to the structure, with 400 of them being micro-piles. “The soil base that the trees are on is very shallow, so it doesn’t go deep but it goes wide. So you have to go down in between the roots, with sort of an infrared that goes through the soil, looks for the path in between the root system, that then allows us to attach to the bedrock then come up and build. We went to great lengths to make sure we were preserving the flora that was in place.”

Regarding the public hiking trail, Bailey says he encourages those who are able, and who have the time, to do both but says there are a couple of different layers: “That trail is unmaintained and single track, so its not for everybody. It only gives you one perspective of the falls from the riverbank, and it’s quite small where you’re standing. In here, the idea is to give you more of an immersive educational perspective of the land and the area you’re in.”

In the future they would like to have more information along the route about the Squamish Nation and Indigenous use of the land. They will also be open for all seasons so you can stroll the boardwalk during autumn colours, winter rain, sleet, or snow.

Tickets are $44 for adults at the gate, but 20% off online right now. $35.30 for adults, $20.80 for children 6-12, kids under 5 are free. Annual passes are also available.

NOTE: There are a lot of stairs. Like, a lot. I probably won’t bring my mother here, since she needs to use a cane, but Alexis and I did just fine with the length of the route and the massive grand finale staircase at the end before the exit.

View more photos from our whole Whistler/Squamish adventure in this album:

Thanks to Honda Canada for the use of the 2025 Honda CRV Trailsport Hybrid for this expedition to Squamish and Whistler. We barely used half a tank of gas during our trip up the scenic Sea to Sky Highway and it was more than capable on the Forest Service Road up to the Squamish Canyon and up to Whistler. Miss604 has been a Honda Canada Partner for over ten years.