Buckle up for backyard adventures
A Sea to Sky journey offers all the thrills to satisfy your globe-trotting spirit
There’s an antidote to your adventure envy, and it lies just beyond Vancouver city limits.
Let your friends and family ride unicycles backwards through Croatia, milk yaks for artisan cheese in Tibet, or do ice-floe yoga with the penguins in Antarctica. You’re going to the edge, too — for 24 hours and less than the globe-trotting set spends at the currency exchange.
Let’s get started then:
CULTURE VULTURES
Kick off your rollicking high times in the heart of Vancouver, specifically the Vancouver Art Gallery. Impress your friends with a new-found appreciation for the latest in Hong Kong expression, a deeper understanding of Emily Carr’s legacy or skip the whole art thing and grab a seat on the city’s best balcony. Sure, it’s a cafeteria … but the cuisine is international, it’s the closest thing the city has to a piazza and the wine is served cold. Make sure you’ve got a designated driver, though; because a few blocks away awaits your …
ITALIAN STALLION
Anyone with a driver’s licence and bulletproof credit card can rent a Ferrari, Lamborghini, or Maserati for a rip up the Sea to Sky Highway — but you’re not just anyone, are you?
Stride four blocks over to the swanky new Telus Garden office complex. Pretend your overnight bag is an attaché case and you’re a titan of commerce. Don’t head for the elevators though, you’re going to the basement; to pick up your blood-red Fiat 500 Abarth coupe. It’s loud, proud and there’s red stitching on the leather upholstery — just like the real supercars.
More exclusive, though. You have to join the Modo car co-op to rev this baby up. And does it make a sweet noise. Try downshifting to burp this little scorpion while you’re poking your way north across the Lions Gate Bridge. Endless amusement — or annoyance, depending perhaps on gender and seating arrangement.
Did we mention the little firecracker is likely to set you back a paltry $60 for your entire trip (gas, insurance and grins included)?
THE AMALFI COAST (ALMOST)
That raucous exhaust note bounces pleasingly off the retaining walls of chi-chi properties along West Vancouver’s Marine Drive (the Upper Levels Highway is for those not on adventure). If people don’t notice you with all that racket, there is the big old Modo target logo on the doors.
Drink in the mind-boggling scenery as you dive into tight hairpins carved through imposing rock. No scooter or tour bus hordes to contend with either, as you peel onto one of the world’s great drives — the Sea to Sky Highway — at Horseshoe Bay.
THE HILLS ARE ALIVE
Forty gorgeous kilometres later, border-hop into Austria and embrace your inner Maria with a twirl at the top of the world. The Sea to Sky Gondola is five seconds off the highway — jaw-dropping views of Howe Sound and surrounding mountains are 10 minutes and almost 900 metres up the cliffs.
DON’T BE SQUEAMISH
The gondola is attracting a whole new species to the Squamish ecosystem — tourists. They’re now mingling with Canada’s youngest and most outdoorsy population in brew pubs, bistros and a chocolate shop. It’s fun to watch the town change, and you have plenty of time to snoop … your destination is just 15 kilometres down the road.
SAVED BY THE SUNWOLF
You’ve embraced culture, thrashed an Italian sports car (sort of ) on a heavenly alpine road, soared like an eagle on a lofty outdoors adventure, and taken in a mountain town’s youthful spirit — and it’s only 4 p.m. Enough, already.
Even the most intrepid adventurer seeks comfort and serenity at the close of day, and Sunwolf resort in the aptly named Paradise Valley has been offering this to wayfarers for more than 100 years.
The loggers, fishermen and “boom-boom” off-the-grid partiers have left; this charming enclave of a dozen cabins, lodge and renowned restaurant now swarms with families, newlyweds and brunch fanatics from Squamish, Greater Vancouver and beyond.
Jake and Jess Freese escaped frantic lives in England’s capital and bought the place seven years ago. Long on imagination and energy, they’ve set about keeping the charm while updating the “mod cons.”
No fancy design consultants here. The cabins (starting at just over $100 a night) and grounds retain their rustic appearance on the outside, while inside lie sleek interiors and heated bathroom floors dreamed up by the web-savvy DYI owners. The reborn Loggers Shack (oldest building on the grounds) is special, and every stick of lumber has a story. Perfect for couples at just under $200. The Fisherman’s Cottage is great for groups or large families and starts at $330 per night.
Be warned: There is no Wi-Fi on resort grounds, and the entertainment centre consists of barbecues (no restaurant service at night, so far), a piano in the lodge, a communal hot tub and the fire pit.
River rafting and eagle watching are optional pursuits.
In many ways, Sunwolf is the polar opposite of the mega-resort of Whistler 50 kilometres further up the road. The emphasis here is on low-key family fun and the sights and sounds of nature. Kids run pretty much run free as adults relax.
Typical Sunwolf approach? Proximity to two rivers means no new structures can be built here. But some shelter was needed for the waves of devotees who storm the resort’s Fergie’s café no matter what the weather. The owners’ answer was to construct a stylish-yet-rustic dining room on a flatbed trailer and to wheel it into place. Local authorities gave it their blessing after a yearlong fight.
The homespun approach is paying off: one family continues a series of visits that started in 1958, while another man recently drove from Seattle for brunch. (His favourite item was no longer on the menu, but they made it for him anyway.)
Booking a cabin can be tough, and there are 39 weddings slated for the resort this season. Adventure needs a little planning.
As you drift off to sleep under starry skies and rushing-river soundtrack, you can anticipate tomorrow’s adventure — a legendary breakfast at Fergie’s and a whole new scenic drive as you reverse course down the Sea to Sky.
Wait until you tell them back home.