Mountain Hiking Trails South Western and Okanagan regions British Columbia, Canada

Vancouver Area Mountain Trails- Howe Sound Crest Trail

Approximately 30 KM (19 miles) from Vancouver, British Columbia. Hiking time-St. Marks Summit 5 to 6 hrs, round trip roughly 11 KM (6.8 miles), elevation gain-440M (1439 feet).
Unnecessary Mtn 7 to 8 hrs, round trip roughly 18 KM (11.2 miles), elevation gain-610M (1995 feet).
Best time is usually July to October.

Directions: From Vancouver drive north on Highway 1 towards Horseshoe Bay. Watch for Exit 8 to Cypress Bowl and take this exit up to the Cypress Bowl ski area. Park in the upper parking lot and look for a large sign on the right side a short distance from the parking lot entrance. This sign has a map of the Cypress Bowl trails including the Howe Sound Crest Trail. Follow the sign posts which will take one onto a service road heading west. A short distance along this service road there will be a trail on the right heading into the forest. This is the Howe Sound Crest Trail leaving Cypress Bowl. The trail provides very scenic views of Howe Sound and has two main high points, St Marks Summit followed by Unnecessary Mountain. Both are good stopping points depending on how long one wants to make the hike.

GPS Data: Right click on link to bring up menu to download (save) file.