Shannon Falls & The Stawamus Chief: Hiking Squamish, British Columbia

Jun 5, 2017 • By Leonidas K. • 8 min read

Canada Travel

One Hour North of Vancouver, A Granite Monster

In June 2017 a friend from Toronto was living in Vancouver, and she spent a whole day driving me through the mountains that ring the city. The highlight was the Stawamus Chief, an enormous granite monolith looming over the town of Squamish, about an hour up the Sea-to-Sky Highway. The hike is no joke: three peaks, steep ladders and chains bolted into the rock, and a six-to-seven hour round trip if you do all three.

This post mixes Shannon Falls (a quick stop right at the base) with the Chief itself. Both sit inside Stawamus Chief Provincial Park. One of my favorite hikes anywhere, so far.

Where Is This, Exactly

Squamish is a small town on the eastern shore of Howe Sound, the southernmost fjord in North America. The Sea-to-Sky Highway (BC-99) runs from West Vancouver up to Whistler, and Squamish sits roughly halfway. The town has reinvented itself from a logging and pulp-mill outpost into “the Outdoor Recreation Capital of Canada”, which is marketing-speak but also kind of true. Rock climbers come for the Chief, kiteboarders for the wind in the sound, mountain bikers for the trails, and tourists for the Sea-to-Sky Gondola that opened in 2014 right next door.

The Stawamus Chief itself is a 700-meter granite dome left behind when the surrounding rock was scoured away by glaciers during the last ice age. It is regularly described as one of the largest granite monoliths in the world. For the Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) people, the Chief is sacred ground, the place where a great longhouse was turned to stone.

Shannon Falls: 335 Meters of Free-Fall

Shannon Falls is the third-highest waterfall in British Columbia and the easiest stop on the day. From the parking lot it is a five-minute walk through old-growth forest to the viewing platform. The water originates from snowmelt high above and tumbles down a series of cliffs before crashing into Shannon Creek. The early Squamish loggers used to use the creek to drive logs down to the sound.

Shannon Falls thunders 335 meters down a granite cliff, the third-highest waterfall in BC

The upper cascade of Shannon Falls plunging from the forested cliffs above

Shannon Creek winding through the old-growth forest at the base of the falls

Drinking straight from the creek (cold, clean, mountain-filtered)

Starting the Climb Up the Chief

The trailhead sits right next to the Shannon Falls parking lot. The first kilometer is a gentle warm-up through coastal rainforest, then the trail tilts up. Hard. Most of the 600-meter elevation gain happens in the first 90 minutes, which is why so many people give up at the first peak.

First view of the Chief looming over the Sea-to-Sky Highway

Trail winding through coastal rainforest at the base

Dense Douglas fir and western red cedar cover the lower slopes

First glimpse of the granite slabs above the parking lot

The trail steepens fast, most of the elevation comes in the first hour

The Sea-to-Sky Gondola hauls the lazy up to a separate nearby viewpoint

The Steep Bit, Chains and Ladders

The upper section uses chains bolted into the rock and a couple of fixed ladders to get past the worst pitches. Nothing technical, but if you are afraid of heights it gets interesting. Three peaks branch off near the top: First Peak (the most popular, shortest), Second Peak (the best views in my opinion), and Third Peak (longest, fewest people).

Stone steps carved into the trail where the grade gets brutal

A mother carries her toddler up the rocky scramble, legend

A breather before the chains and ladders section

First view from the trees toward Howe Sound

Resting on a granite boulder before the final push

Hikers taking in the view from a rock outcrop

Squeezing past trees on the upper traverse

The trail keeps getting steeper near the top

Switchback hauling up toward Second Peak

Looking down at the treetops as the trail leaves the forest

Climbers tackling one of the Chief’s 300+ rock-climbing routes

Summit Views: Howe Sound and the Tantalus Range

From the top you get a panorama of Howe Sound, the snow-capped Tantalus Range to the west, and the Squamish valley running back into the Coast Mountains. On a clear day you can see well over a hundred kilometers. The granite slabs at the summit slope off into nothing in places, which is part of the fun (no railings, watch your step).

Looking south from the Chief over the Squamish River valley, with the snow-capped peaks of the Tantalus Range on the horizon

The town of Squamish spread out 700 meters below

Catching breath on a granite ledge with the Tantalus Range still capped in late-spring snow

Looking south toward Vancouver, hidden behind the coastal mountains

Sitting on the summit with Squamish in the distance

Hikers lined up along the edge of Second Peak, gazing down at the head of Howe Sound

Sitting on the summit with North America’s southernmost fjord stretching out below

Same vantage, wider frame, with the Squamish estuary and log-booming grounds in view

Up top with my friend from Toronto, who drove me around the Vancouver mountains all day

Hikers gathered at the highest viewpoint, a single small pine for shade

The sheer drop to Squamish below, no railings up here

The vertical scale of these cliffs is hard to capture in a photo

Bare granite slabs with hardy alpine vegetation clinging on

The sheer 700-meter back face of the Chief, one of the largest granite monoliths in the world

Another angle on Squamish from the summit ridge

The massive cliffs that draw climbers from around the world

Cooler forest pockets between the exposed granite sections

Squamish valley panorama with the Mamquam Blind Channel snaking out to the sound

Endless wilderness stretching east into the Coast Mountains

A side trail leading into thick brush, easy to get lost up here

The summit area is half forest, half exposed rock

Looking south toward Vancouver, hidden behind the coastal ridges

Letting the feet breathe after six hours on the trail

Howe Sound and the Sea-to-Sky Highway curving along the eastern shore

Tips If You Are Going

Wear actual hiking boots, not sneakers. The granite gets slippery and the chains section needs grip.
Bring at least 1.5 liters of water per person, more in summer. There is no water source past the trailhead.
Start early. The parking lot fills up by 9 AM on weekends in summer.
Allow 4 hours for First Peak only, 5-6 hours for Second, 6-7 hours for all three.
Best season is May through October. Snow and ice in winter make the chains dangerous.