May 16, 2008 | Tips from Travellers >
Bowen Island, Hiking
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With the sun shining, a friend and I decided to head over to Bowen Island to get out of the city and do a bit of hiking. I caught the 8:30am ferry from Horseshoe Bay and enjoyed the scenic 20-minute sailing to Snug Cove on the quiet island community of Bowen.
The goal for the day was to hike to the top of Mount Gardner, but the first stop on the agenda was for a cup of coffee at the local coffee shop near the ferry terminal. From there, we headed first to Killarney Lake to check it out and then onto where the trail starts to Mount Gardner. The trail was quite steep as it first headed up a gravel road before branching off onto a narrow trail that wound through the forest. We had found a trail map and other information from a
Vancouver hiking site, so we had a general idea of what to expect.
After a couple of hours of hiking, we made it to the north peak where we could see one of the most amazing views. It was a fairly clear day so we could see as far as the Sunshine Coast to the north, the mountains along Howe Sound to the east, and West Vancouver and the city off in the distance.
After laying in the sun and enjoying the view for an hour or so, we headed down the opposite side of the mountain as the trail wrapped around and lead us back towards where we started. We made the final descent back down to Killarney Lake and then walked back to the Snug Cove ferry terminal. Before catching the ferry back to the mainland, we rewarded ourselves with a beer and burger on the patio of Doc Morgan's Pub next to the Marina.
Bowen Island was a great place to spend a sunny day hiking and exploring the laid back island community.