We booked a "Sea to Sky" tour on Thursday which was quite an adventure! Our guide Herman is a Vancouver local and also a skateboarder, band member and great tour guide. We travelled the Sea to Sky Highway, (Canadian highway 99) that runs from Vancouver to Whister. It is considered one of the most scenic drives in the world, and it didn't disappoint. The road ran along the coastline, through alpine forests, and it seemed like the mountains were right on the side of the road.
We stopped at Horsehoe Bay, a small community near another ferry terminal. It was a beautiful area with parks, shops and scenic views. The area became a center of activity during the 2010 Olympic Games. It is a popular spot for scuba divers...apparently they sunk a ship in the bay to provide a place for divers to explore. We saw a group getting prepared to go out.l
The next stop was Shannon Falls, the third highest falls in BC rising at almost 1100ft. It's hard to capture the magnificence of the views.
You can hike to the top of the falls, but we didn't have time (or energy!)
Not far from Shannon Falls is the Sea to Sky Gondola, an aerial tramway that goes up 883 meters (about 2900 ft!) It takes 10 minutes to make the trip from bottom to top. There are amazing views over the trees and Howe Sound. We saw eagles soaring around us.
At the top was a suspension bridge, lots of hiking trails and scenic viewpoints. You can choose to hike down, and we saw a few people doing it, but we thought the gondola ride was a lot more fun than the hike would be!
Our final stop was in Whstler, the host for the 2010 Winter Olympics. The Sea to Sky Highway was an integral part of connecting Vancouver to the Whistler area. There is an entire village that was created for the games. Although the area is known for winter sports, there is plenty of summer activity: Skateboards, a huge off road bike park, lifts that go up the slopes, and many hiking trails.
The bikes even had their own repair spot!
And, there's a hardware store in Whistler!
Herman mentioned that he worked with the transportation company during the Olympics responsible for getting the athletes to Whistler. Because there weren't enough hotel accommodations for athletes and spectators, they brought in a cruise ship to house the 800 transportation workers! Pretty creative solution!
I couldn't believe there were so many lifts up to the top, and even a lift that crossed from one peak to another! I can't imagine how busy the place is during the ski and snowboard season.
There are many spots that memorialize the 2010 Olympic games that created the interest in the area.
On returning to Vancouver, Jim noticed this building in downtown Vancouver. We'll have to ask our architect and engineer friends how it stays up!
Sea to Sky was a long day, but full of exciting experiences and good memories.
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