I can't believe we have such an amazingly beautiful spot like this in Greater Vancouver's backyard!…read moreIt's so peaceful, so gorgeous. Lots of benches to sit and talk or meditate. Amazing for photos.

Pitt Lake is truly a beautiful place only an hours drive from downtown Vancouver. I was moved by…read morethe mountain vista, the vast wetlands, and the gorgeous lake. In addition, in our short time up there we saw two swans, six herons, four falcons, two eagles, and many other feathered creatures I have no idea what their names are. This place is for the birds and bird lovers. As Louise G. said you can rent canoes here, but be careful of the currents in the narrows. If you do rent a boat make sure to ask the very helpful Katzie Development Corporation staff members how to get to the waterfalls and more private beaches. They will also have information on how to rent the cute little cabins you can see from the boat launch. There is a really well maintained dyke with a trail which cross the south side of the lake. So bring your walking shoes or a bike and start exploring.

The boardwalk boasts an impressive backdrop of the Howe Sound, snow-capped mountains, and clear…read moreblue sky. This is the most southerly fjord in North America. With the parking lot being near the highway and free, many visitors (both people and dogs) stroll the area.  Watch out for the webby tents of caterpillars in the trees. They're a bit unsightly. Other things to do at Porteau Cove: - Scuba dive among shipwrecks, artificial reefs, sunken sculptures, and diverse marine life - Explore tide pools - Camp along the waterfront Porteau Cove was a picturesque stop along our Sea to Sky Highway road trip. I wish I could come back here to watch sunset or the stars at night. (Part 2)

I camped at the walk in sites at porteau cove campground. It's good that it's close to Vancouver…read moreand is a great location for viewing stars at night. However, as a campsite, it's quite noisy as there's constantly cars driving along the sea to sky highway, a nearby train, and sounds from the water. The walk in sites are very packed but the ones by the water are pretty neat. The parking lot to the day use area was full on the night of the pereseids meteor shower peak.

Had a fun time in Deep Cove. Due to high tourist season, it is best to go online to register and…read morereserve your kayaks. It will save you a lot of time when you pick up your kayak. Prices are pretty reasonable and we chose the two hour option due to our limited time during the sunset period. The staff were busy but friendly and assisted us with our kayaks. They will brief you about the kayaks, safety and where to go. Now, I would select a longer time to truly appreciate Deep Cove's natural beauty when you aren't dodging other kayaks or boats. The traffic can be somewhat chaotic in the summer time and it is main area for a lot of boaters heading out of the cove. We kayak around three islands within our two hour option, but didn't relax as much as we want. Again, the salt water, slight wind, and being in the 80's made it a wonderful but brief time.

Great place to kayak, incredible views, definitely worth a visit…read more Equipment and gear were great and in great shape. Our guides were knowledgeable and got us in and out of our kayak without us getting our feet wet. I didn't give five stars for two reasons. First, the two guides seemed a bit lax, they mostly paddled with us instead of taking lead and sweep positions, despite the fact that two out of the six of us had never kayaked before. They did look back periodically to check on everyone, but it was still strange compared to other kayak tours I've been on. Second, they didn't take pictures of us, other tours I've been on do it as a matter of course and email or post pictures to everyone. Still, this was a very worthwhile experience, and everyone enjoyed the views, the seals we saw in the water, etc., and no one had trouble keeping up despite the wind and the range of both ages and kayaking experience.

Gorgeous and peaceful lake. The perimeter around the lake has a 3.5 hour easier moderate trail that…read moreis mostly shaded. Toilets at the start (main beach/waterside area) and at the midway point (outhouse at small beach). Thr main beach area has an enclosed off leash area for dogs, ehoch also has a waterside section. There is a doggie washing station, which is very convenient. The good and bad part about this place is the required reserved parking. The good part is that you know that you will have a parking spot. The bad part is that it's required and they won't let you into the area without it. It was free but had a time restriction.

Review from May 29, 2021…read more The parks open 8am to 8pm. I got there around 8:10am on Sunny Saturday and parking was half filled. Some people will leave around 1 pm. I saw empty parking spots. A group of police officers and BC hydro team are patrolling the beach area constantly. Pls don't make a big party more than 10. Behave nice please.

Located in the Lower Seymour Conservation Reserve, Rice Lake is an easy, 2km loop that takes under…read morean hour to complete. Anyone can do the Rice Lake loop -- it's actually wheelchair accessible! There are benches scattered around the lake, as well as an outhouse. You can access it from Dempsey and Lynn Valley Road (by The End of the Line General Store), near the entrance of Lynn Headwaters Regional Park, or from the park itself. Because it's a short, easy walk, I sometimes add it on after I hike Lynn Loop to make it a longer hike. [Yelp collections: Hiking]

Really nice lake in the Lynn Valley area…read more Parking is available in the Lower Seymour Conservation Reserve lot. Not sure if there is any closer parking. The lake itself is surrounded by trails. Nice and easy to walk around. There is also a dock that cuts across a section of the lake. Great for fishing. Apparently there are trout in here. Great place for photos too. I didn't see any rice here. Maybe it's named after some guy or a nearby sushi restaurant.

Belcarra Regional Park (now re-named to acknowledge the Tsleil-Waututh peoples*) is a 1,100-hectare…read moreregional park. It is an extremely popular regional park with beaches, picnic areas, a lake, and numerous hiking trails of various difficulty levels. There is something for everyone at the park, including decent washrooms. The various trails within the park are: Bedwell Bay Trail, Woodhaven Swamp Loop Trail and Woodhaven Trail, Sasamat Lake Loop Trail, Springboard Trail, Admiralty Point Trail, Jug Island Beach Trail, Sugar Mountain Trail, and Buntzen Ridge Trail (and the nearby Buntzen Lake and Diez Vistas trails). Until recently, I had only hiked the Jug Island and Admiralty Point trails (both excellent, easy to intermediate hikes), and on Sunday I had planned to hike around the Woodhaven Swamp Loop, continue along the Woodhaven Trail to Sasamat Lake, and around the lake with my hiking group. Unfortunately due to a recent windstorm, the Woodhaven Trail leading to Sasamat Lake was closed, but we still enjoyed the lovely hike along the Springboard Trail and around the swamp. It was a very easy hike (pretty much a walk), but the trails were beautiful, and being the off-season, very peaceful. I love Belcarra Regional Park and would like to eventually hike all the trails, as well as re-hike the ones I have already done. Unfortunately it is quite difficult to get there by transit, although it is technically possible -- the #182 bus runs from Moody Centre Station to the park, but it only runs once an hour. During the summer months, the #150 runs to White Pine Beach and the #179 runs to Buntzen Lake (I don't recall if it is once an hour or every half an hour). So because transit is so lousy, most people drive, but parking is very limited -- good luck finding parking after 8am on a weekend during the non-winter months! IDEA: to alleviate the parking issue, have transit run more than once an hour! Despite the horrible transit to the park, at least it is technically possible to get there by bus, and with my hiking group (which focuses on transit accessible hikes), I will definitely be going back to Belcarra. *I cannot include the name in my review as Yelp does not recognize Indigenous script. [Yelp collections: Hiking; Parks and Gardens]

This review is about Admiralty Point Park. For return 6km…read morehike, 2 hours to Burns point. Some sections follow rocky shoreline, beautiful view of Burrard inlet. There are some wooden bridges over creek and well maintained trail. Easy hike and good for family hike. You can find small beaches with clear water. I'm sure I will be back in spring time with kayak.

Maple ridge beautiful lake park. A beauty that must be experienced in all seasons. Blue Color lake…read moreis mesmerizing and the wooded forest for hike is brainstorming. Plenty of people come here and book designated picnic tables to celebrate special occasions as many of them have bbq option. Else just the lake side view for any celebration is enough. I have taken many hikes around this beautiful lake and seen breathtaking views so you must go as well. The whole park is huge and I must say I could not explore in just one visit. So you got to come back to it again and again. Enjoy hikes with beautiful lake view but be careful around here as it is pretty wild and some of the trails are not for first timers.

Popular provincial park with a short and long hikes, lakes, and lots of frontcountry and…read morebackcountry campsites. It's very hard to find parking in the afternoon on a summer weekday. The backcountry alder flats campsite has no designated tent pads and a broken door at the outhouse. There are only 6 tent pads at panorama ridge and the booking system has changed from previous years so you have to book the specific site rather than the general backcountry area. When we camped at panorama ridge, there was another 6+ tents scattered throughout the top not on tentpads on a Wednesday in the summer. The wind gets really bad at the top and there are mice that know to hunt for food in the emergency shelter overnight.

We had a great experience. We took advantage of their early bird deal where you buy two hours and…read moreget one free. They had us arrive at 10 AM with the rental lasting until 1 PM, though we had to watch a 20 minute safety video and get lifejackets and everything so by the time we got in the boat and started off, we had about 2 1/2 hours left. I guess that's why they give you the third hour free? Fuel was extra though, which we didn't realize. Regardless, we felt it was well priced compared to other places where renting a boat could be double or triple the price. our boat was clean and looked practically brand new. We really appreciated that there was a cover/canopy on the boat to give us shade. We had amazing weather and the whole trip was lovely. I would definitely recommend doing this.

We were able to walk up on a summer day and book a boat for 8 people! What a great way to see VC!read more