Squamish
Putting the ‘Sea’ in Sea to Sky
Story by David Burke | Images By Joern Rohde
This past summer, the opening of an 11-acre Squamish park provided locals and guests with a spectacular new access point to the northern end of Howe Sound while celebrating the vibrant art and legends of the people who have called the surrounding area home for millennia.
Sp’akw’us (Eagle) Feather Park, built on the reclaimed site of a former chemical plant, features two significant pieces of art created by renowned Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) artists, punctuated at the point of the Oceanfront Peninsula by James Harry’s “Welcome Gate,” a large sculpture that mimics the two ends of a Coast Salish canoe standing on end.
The park also features a playground in which various structures are affixed with QR codes. Park visitors can use their phones to hear the voices of students at the nearby St’a7mus Elementary School, speaking about Squamish Nation art and legends.
“I’m particularly proud of the work of our Squamish mén̓men (children) in designing the playground based on an important Squamish oral history,” Sxwixwtn (Wilson Williams), Squamish Nation councillor, said in a statement. “This important piece of cultural recognition will remind everyone who visits that they are on Squamish land.”
The park’s opening is just the latest in a series of events that have marked Squamish’s transformation from primarily a logging town into a diverse and welcoming community known for its stunning natural beauty and abundant recreational opportunities.
The Sḵwx̱wú7mesh people, who have inhabited the region since long before European settlement, regard landmarks such as the Stawamus Chief and Nch’ḵay̓ (Mount Garibaldi) as sacred. After Europeans arrived in the late 1800s, logging and the forest industry became the area’s primary economic drivers. With the decline of those industries in the 1990s and early 2000s, outdoor enthusiasts started flocking to the area for its abundant opportunities for climbing, wind sports (Squamish means “mother of the wind”) and mountain biking.
In 2021, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) designated Howe Sound as Canada’s 19th Biosphere Region, recognizing Squamish’s unique surroundings. Known to the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh people as Átl’ka7tsem, the fjord’s “rich Indigenous culture, biodiversity and distinct geography” led to the designation. In recent years, efforts to rehabilitate Howe Sound’s environment have resulted in the restoration of salmon runs on the Squamish and Cheakamus rivers, and ever-more-frequent killer whale sightings in the sound.
Brackendale, Squamish’s northernmost neighbourhood, is known as the winter home of the bald eagle, attracting thousands to view the majestic raptors as they perch in the trees and feast on salmon from November to March. exploresquamish.com
Opened in 2014, the Sea to Sky Gondola whisks guests 885 metres (2,800 feet) to the Summit Lodge. The 10-minute ascent reveals stunning vistas of the sound, the nearby Stawamus Chief, 335 m (1,099 ft.) Shannon Falls and the surrounding Coast Mountains. Visitors can enjoy beverages and casual dining while taking in the views from the lodge, walk across the Sky Pilot Suspension Bridge, or stroll on some of the area’s well-marked trails. The Summit Lodge is also a popular wedding venue.
The gondola hosts many indoor and outdoor wintertime activities. Just a short walk from the Summit Lodge, guests young and old can enjoy sliding at an old-fashioned tube park on winter weekends (weather permitting). Winter walking, snowshoe, cross-country and backcountry ski trails radiate out from the lodge; snowshoes, poles, over-boots, and crampon rentals are available. seatoskygondola.com
In Britannia Beach, 11 kilometres (6.5 miles) to the south, the Britannia Mine Museum offers visitors a chance to pan for gold or ride an underground mine train in what was once the most productive copper mine in the British Empire. Through February 2025, the “Ore and Orcas” exhibit explores how copper contamination impacted the marine food chain, and details local efforts to bring the nearby waters back to life. In the Terra Lab, guests can learn about the history of human mineral extraction and practices that can reduce mining’s environmental impact. britanniaminemuseum.ca
Over the past few years, Squamish-based craft breweries, distilleries and cideries have expanded, and the community features a wide range of excellent restaurants.
For more information about all Squamish offers, visit the Squamish Adventure Centre off Highway 99, or exploresquamish.com.