Last year, with so much snow early on in the season, snowshoeing became the hottest activity around. Perfect for outings with friends, a family adventure, or a romantic date night. Here are some options for your next local snowshoeing experience.
Where to Snowshoe Near Vancouver This Season
Mount Seymour
Facebook | Twitter
The snowshoe centre is open 9:00am to 4:00pm; 12:00pm to 4:00pm during the holidays (December 26 to January 7). Seymour offers 8 types of snowshoe tours if you’re looking for a guided or package experience. From “Legends and Lanterns” at night to “Chocolate Fondue”, “Baby and Me”, and “Snowfit” options. Check out the Snowshoe Trails Map if you’re coming up on your own. Rentals are available and if you have your own gear, simply purchase a trail pass and head out on your adventure.
Grouse Mountain
Facebook | Twitter
Access to Grouse’s snowshoe trails is included with your Alpine Experience ticket or valid pass. Once you’re up the SkyRide, you can pick up rentals or hit the trails. Tour options include “Baby and Me”, “Boomers and Zoomers”, “Snowshoe Fondue”, “Snowshoe Grind”, guided tours and more. Looking for a challenge? Try the “Snowshoe Grind” at 4.3 km long and with an elevation gain of 215 metres. Drop in for a Snowshoe Social Night Monday or Wednesday.
Cypress Mountain
Facebook | Twitter
Cypress offers self-guided trails on a 11km network through the snowy sup-alpine forests and meadows of the Nordic Ski Area located on the Hollyburn Ridge. Tours offered include “Chocolate Fondue”, “Winter Wanderer”, “Girls Night Out”, “Snowshoe Fondue”, “Music Nights”, and the regularly scheduled “Hollyburn Meadows Tour”.
Bonus: Manning Park
Facebook | Twitter
Pop into the Nordic Centre daily from 8:30am to 4:30pm to pick up your trail pass or rent snowshoes. Explore 4 easy trails, 2 moderate, and 2 difficult in the 64km snowshoe trail network. Cross the Similkameen River Bridge, or Rainbow Bridge, loop around Beaver Pond or Lightning Lakes. If you are new to snowshoeing or are looking to learn more about Manning Park in the winter, consider a guided snowshoe excursion which run during the day and in the evenings.
Snowshoe Tips
- Get there early, and by early I mean before 9:00am as parking lots fill up quickly.
- Check the weather forecast and dress accordingly. Wear sunscreen if it’s sunny. Wear layers that are waterproof. Bring eyewear (sunglasses).
- On your feet, wear insulated, waterproof boots or hiking boots. If you’ll be in deep snow, gaiters will keep your ankles dry.
- Plan your trail route so that you know where you’re going and are in designated areas.
- Bring water. Even if it’s cold you’ll still need to hydrate from the exercise. Also bring some snacks (granola bars, trail mix, etc.) to keep you fueled during the day.
Have fun and be safe out there! Remember to also take lots of photos of the beautiful alpine scenery to share the fun.
The 8th annual Vancouver Christmas Market is in full swing at Jack Poole Plaza, with an expanded 55,000 square foot site filled with festive German jubilation. The treasured holiday tradition features more than 75 huts stuffed with sweets, treats and gifts, coupled with a multitude of festive family activities and live entertainment.
Vancouver Christmas Market
Where: Jack Poole Plaza (Olympic Cauldron at Vancouver Convention Centre West)
When: Until December 24, 2017 11:00am to 9:00pm (closing at 6:00pm December 24)
Tickets: Adult $10, Seniors $9, Youth $5, Children Age 0-6, FREE.
Purchase online to receive a complimentary Season Pass and to get Express Line access.
The tradition for John and me is to enjoy the live music, pick up a cup of mulled wine, devour some schnitzel, then shop for ornaments.
Among this year’s expanded highlights will be Canada’s first-ever Walk-In Christmas Tree: a 30ft tall tree covered with 36,000 twinkling lights that guests can enter to experience a spectacular – and Instagram-worthy light display.
In addition to Deutschland delicacies, rousing entertainment, and returning favourites – such as downtown Vancouver’s only Christmas Carousel and the warming Alpine Haus tent – visitors can wander throughout the market’s quaint pathways of huts, discovering lovingly crafted gifts and treasures that cry out to be slipped into stockings and placed under Christmas trees.
The Vancouver Christmas Market and Children’s Wish Foundation have partnered for the 2017 season in order to raise funds to grant the most heartfelt wishes of BC children diagnosed with a life-threatening illness. During the market’s ‘Children’s Wish Week’, from December 16 to 24, Children’s Wish will be collecting donations and selling ‘wish wands’ at booths throughout the market.
Their mascot ‘Roary’ the lion and representatives from Children’s Wish will be onsite December 16 and 17 to help bring the magic of a wish to the Vancouver Christmas Market. Those who generously make a donation at the ticket booths will receive a complimentary Season Pass to the Vancouver Christmas Market. Continue reading this post ⟩⟩
After almost a month of rain, I was pretty excited that there was sunshine in the forecast last week. However, being located in Downtown Vancouver, a grey blanket of fog prevented that sunshine from reaching us for several days. This phenomenon happens a few times a year and locals associate it with the tag #Fogcouver on social media.
Whether it’s a temperature inversion or marine air, it’s eerily beautiful. Here are some of my favourite photos from the Miss604 Flickr Pool and the #Photos604 tag on Instagram:
Fogcouver Vancouver Fog Photo Roundup
Continue reading this post ⟩⟩
Canuck Place Children’s Hospice kicked off the holiday season with the lighting of thousands of festive lights decorating the hospice grounds last Thursday. The event brought together donors, partners, friends and family members to celebrate the community of caring supporters who contribute to the funding of pediatric palliative care for children and families across BC.
Canuck Place CEO, Margaret McNeil, Angela Cunningham, Lumina Cunningham (who is on the Canuck Place program), Dwayne Cunningham, Hazel Cunningham
“These lights represent the light and love found at Canuck Place. Our valued donors ensure Canuck Place can continue to care for over 715 children with life-threatening illnesses and the families who love them all across BC,” said Margaret McNeil, Canuck Place CEO. “We’re so thankful to have the community join us to help light the house and launch the holiday season.”
The evening featured a performance by the EnChor Choir, festive activities including a visit from Santa, as well as a special ceremony where Canuck Place family, the Cunninghams, with the help of Canuck Place therapy dog Poppy, flipped the switch to illuminate the house and grounds. Dwayne Cunningham is the father of Lumina, who is on the Canuck Place program, and this event reminds him of how Canuck Place has made an impact in their lives.
“Canuck Place provides trusted counsel, expert care, and medical respite for our whole family,” said Dwayne. They are with us at home during times of fear and stress as well as at the hospice from the moment we walk through the doors. We have eaten, slept, laughed and cried at Canuck Place and its warmth has brightened our lives in indescribable ways. Not every moment is easy, but every single moment is beautiful and part of that beauty is because of the loving, professional care that we receive from Canuck Place.
Light a Life with Canuck Place
Canuck Place has also launched their online Light A Life campaign to invite the public to join the donors at this event in contributing to Canuck Place care. This campaign complements the Lighting of the House event and will run until December 31st, 2017.
Follow Canuck Place on Facebook and Twitter for more information. Miss604 is proud to support Light a Life with Canuck Place this season.
This post has been contributed by Ben Hill, Communications Volunteer with the Stanley Park Ecology Society (“SPES”).
Seasonal Symbiosis in Stanley Park
The festive season is often referred to as the season of giving. These days giving gifts is a way to show how much we care for friends and family, but in earlier eras winter festivals and the sharing of food prepared people to survive the harsh conditions.
The plants and animals of Stanley Park don’t wrap their gifts or decorate them with ribbon, but healthy ecosystems also rely on giving. In nature, though, these relationships usually provide benefits for both parties.
Pollination is one of the most important of these symbiotic relationships. When you see hummingbirds or bees clustered around a flower feeding, they aren’t getting a free meal. They pick up pollen from the flowers and deliver it to a different bloom as they flit from flower to flower. While flowers are long gone, there are still many ways that plants and animals rely on each other during the winter months.
Some berry bushes like the common snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus) continue to fruit during the winter. This makes them a vital source of food for small birds and animals when other plants are barren. The plants get benefit from this too as the seeds from the berries aren’t digested and so get spread across the forest. Squirrels are famous for preparing for winter by burying caches of food, particularly nuts that they can dig up. Although researchers have found that grey squirrels can remember the location of these food stores, many nuts remain buried which helps the new growth of trees.
Being outside of breeding season, also has its advantages. Not having to care for young or defend a territory means more opportunities to be part of a group. Birds like sparrows, finches, kinglets and even woodpeckers often flock together in winter to make feeding more efficient and safer. Because these species are adapted to feed differently – for example pine siskins and crossbills eat the seeds from pine cones, while kinglets take insects from pine needles – it keeps competition to a minimum.
For other animals, the colder weather means sharing space with the extended family. It’s not quite Christmas dinner with the in-laws, but mammals like the tiny deer mouse and the skunk will make communal dens to provide extra warmth in winter, although they aren’t social in breeding season. Even racoons will share dens during particularly harsh weather. So while this may be the season of giving for us, sharing resources is what makes the natural world tick.
About SPES Saturday
As a member of the Stanley Park Ecology Society (“SPES”), I wanted to offer the organization an opportunity to share their news, events, and work so I created the “SPES Series” years ago. This is where SPES can contribute and share stories with my audience once a month. Follow SPES on Facebook for more information.
