Sea to Sky Highway - The Most Scenic Drives in America: 120 Spectacular Road Trips - page 39

5. Shannon Falls
Parkland swallows the highway as the drive continues north, passing through a forest of
evergreens, including Douglas fir and Western red cedar. At the first stoplight past Britan-
nia Beach, turn east into the Shannon Falls parking lot to gaze at the thundering waters of
the more than 1,000-foot waterfall, the third highest in British Columbia. An easy walking
trail along the Shannon Creek leads to a misty viewpoint of the falls. A trailhead also leads
to Stawamus Chief Mountain, a local landmark.
When hiking throughout the region, look for wide tree stumps about three to five feet
tall. These stumps often bear the telltale notches of springboard logging, prevalent in the
area during the early 1900s.
6. Stawamus Chief Mountain
One glimpse of Stawamus Chief Mountain looming over Hwy. 99 and you can understand
why thousands of rock climbers each year flock to this free-standing 600-foot granite
monolith, second only in size to Europe's Rock of Gibraltar. Pull into the Smoke Bluff
parking lot, just across from the Squamish Visitor Center on Logger's Lane to watch
climbers pick their way up the face of The Chief, as locals call the mountain.
ThreehikingtrailsofvaryingdifficultyleadupwardfromtheadjacentStawamusChief
andShannonFallsparks.Hikingthesteeptrailtothesecondpeakaffordswide-openviews
of the Howe Sound and Squamish Valley. Recent improvements to the trail include the
addition of wood-and-stone steps to ease navigation of the mountainside in some places.
Eagles, endangered peregrine falcons, and an abundance of other birds make their homes
among the trees and on the cliff face.