If you haven’t had the pleasure of checking out the Sea to Sky Gondola, you should put it on your to do list right away. The gondola is located in Squamish, BC – about an hour and a half from Vancouver.
You start off at the base where you take the 10 minute ride up the gondola with breathtaking views of Howe Sound, vast forests and mountains. This alone is worth the trip up – it’s great to get a different perspective of how beautiful our province is.
My first visit to Sea to Sky Gondola was a couple weeks ago on our way to Whistler. It was pouring! But even though it was rainy, it was still a beautiful view going up the gondola and up top. If you are going and the weather conditions are similar to when I went, I’d suggest going a little later in the day when the clouds have dissipated a bit – they have a live video camera, so you can see what the summit looks like.
There are three viewing decks when you get up to the Summit Lodge: The Summit Lodge Viewing Deck, The Chief Overlook and The Spirit Viewing Platform. All of them provide magnificent vantage points of the surrounding mountains and trees.
The Summit Lodge and The Spirit platforms are easily accessible; The Chief is about 800 metres away from the Summit Lodge in the middle of the Panorama Trail. You’ve probably seen that particular viewing platform in a lot of Instagram photos! Unfortunately, we were in a time crunch so we werent able to check out the Chief Overlook, but I hope to get back to it in the summer time.
Connecting the Summit Lodge to The Spirit platform is a 100 metre long Sky Pilot Suspension bridge. Not only does it give you a fantastic view of the entire area including the fjiord located right below, but it is definitely a fun experience to walk across (it was pretty bouncy!). If you’re afraid of heights, maybe not the best thing, but if you can swing it (badumtiss!) for 1-2 minutes, you’ll get past it pretty quick!
There are shorter trails between the Summit Lodge and the surrounding areas, but there are more difficult, lengthy trails you can check out on their website. You also have a chance to do some rock climbing and mountain top yoga during the summer months.
At the Summit Lodge, there is a cafeteria with a great seating area that’s all glass, so you get to enjoy the view from the inside as well. There is a small gift shop inside as well.
If you don’t have a car, not to worry – they have a shuttle that leaves from downtown Vancouver and they have a package which costs (at the time of writing this) $69 for Adults (19+) round trip, $59 Senior (65+), $49 Child/Youth (6-18), $25 Children 5 and under.
Regular admission if you buy online: $37.95 (Ages 19-64), $35.95 (Ages 65+), $22.95 (Ages 13-18) and $11.95 (Ages 6-12).
More information can be found on their website: https://www.seatoskygondola.com
Don’t forget to check out my video on the Sea to Sky Gondola right here: