SOUTHWESTERN BRITISH COLUMBIA - British Columbia: Including the Alaska Highway - page 313

SQUAMISH
Squamish (pop. 18,000), 67 kilometers (42 miles) north of Vancouver and 53 kilometers (33
miles) south of Whistler, is surrounded by snowcapped mountains and enjoys a stunning
location at the head of Howe Sound. The name Squamish is a Coast Salish word meaning
“mother of the wind”—the town gets stiff breezes year-round, delighting today's sailors and
windsurfers. Lumber is still the lifeblood of the area: The town holds four sawmills, and
along Mamquam Blind Channel on the east side of town, you can see logs being boomed
in preparation for towing to other mills.
West Coast Railway Heritage Park
See around 65 vintage rail cars and engines in a mock working rail yard (the oldest dates
to 1890), complete with a station garden, a replica workers' home, and a restored station
at the West Coast Railway Heritage Park (Industrial Way, one kilometer from Hwy. 99,
604/524-1011, 10am-5pm daily in summer, 10am-4pm daily the rest of the year, adult $15,
senior $12, child $10), which houses one of Canada's largest collections of rolling stock.
The museum is also home to the restored Royal Hudson, which operates on special occa-
sions (see www.wcra.org for a schedule).
Recreation
Although Squamish has a reputation as an industrial town, it is also the center of a
growing recreation-based economy. Leading the way is rock climbing on the 762-meter-
high (2,500-foot-high) Stawamus Chief, clearly visible across the highway from down-
town. The “Chief,” as it's best known, is one of the world's largest granite monoliths. It
formed around 100 million years ago as massive forces deep inside the earth forced molten
magma through the crust—as it cooled, it hardened and fractured, creating a perfect envir-
onment for today's climbers. The face offers a great variety of free and aided climbing on
almost 1,000 routes, which take in dikes, cracks, slabs, chasms, and ridges. Climbers camp
at the base for $8 per night (cash only) but head into town to the Brennan Park Recreation
Centre (1009 Centennial Way, 604/898-3604) to shower and soak in a hot tub ($5 per vis-
it). If you've never climbed or are inexperienced, consider using the services of Squamish
Rock Guides (604/892-7816, www.squamishrockguides.com ) for a variety of courses with
equipment supplied; expect to pay around $120 per person for a one-day beginner's climb-
ing course. Climb On (38167 2nd Ave., 604/892-2243, 10am-6pm Mon.-Fri., 9am-6pm
Sat.-Sun.) offers a full range of climbing equipment and sells local climbing guidebooks.
At first it may be difficult to see past the industrial scars along Squamish's waterways,
but on the west side of downtown, a large section of the delta where the Squamish River