Maybe you are travelling from the airport or perhaps, you have designated time to experience the Sea to Sky Highway. Either way, the natural, wild, beauty this section of highway holds will blow your mind. It is littered with history and is known as one of the most stunning sections of road in the world. Discover all the scenic views along the highway that leads you to Whistler!
Horseshoe Bay
Horseshoe Bay is small community and home of the BC Ferries Terminal. It’s a great place to make a stop and grab an ice cream to have down by the ocean. Beside Horseshoe Bay is Whytecliff Park, a popular scuba-diving spot and swimming area where sea wild life can be seen. This little village is picturesque sitting beside the sea.
FACT: Horseshoe Bay houses 3 ferry berths, making it the third largest BC Ferries terminal.
Porteau Cove
This provincial park is a very popular area for scuba diving. It contains artificial reefs including two sunken vessels. Swimming, picnicking, camping, swimming, windsurfing, and boating are other activities that can be done at Porteau Cove. You will want to stop by this park even if you are not using it for activity. The park has a beautiful view of the Howe Sound and you can expect hues of pink, purple, red and orange at sunset.
FACT: On July 29, 2008, a rockslide took place at the Porteau Bluffs, just north of Porteau Cove. No one was injured. The bluffs then became a concern during the 2010 Olympics.
Squamish Chief
You will undoubtedly know you are staring at the Squamish Chief when you turn the corner on the highway and are face to face with a massive, granite rock face. The park that the Squamish Chief is located in has many hiking trails as well as a beautiful waterfall called Shannon Falls. The area is also known for rock climbing, slack lining and the Sea to Sky gondola.
FACT: Wikipedia states, “It is often claimed to be the second largest granite monolith in the world.”
Brandywine Falls
A stunning waterfall of epic proportion, 70 metres to be exact. This sight is located just outside Whistler and is a short walk in front the highway. The waterfall was formed as the land washed away, slowly making the water fall larger and larger.
FACT: No one knows exactly how the falls came to be called Brandywine but according to the BC Parks website, “one possible explanation is that two surveyors (Jack Nelson and Bob Mollison) from the Howe Sound and Northern Railway made a wager for a bottle of brandy about who could estimate more accurately the height of the falls. When the height was actually measured with a chain it was Mollison who won the bottle of brandy and Nelson then named the falls Brandywine.”