What BC Parks is doing about the struggle to find parking at popular hikes
Picture this: it’s 10:30 am on a summer Saturday, and you’ve left Vancouver for an adventure in the mountains. Once you press the brakes for traffic jams along the Sea to Sky highway, you realize every parking stall along the entire corridor must be full.
There’s a sign indicating Porteau Cove isn’t accepting any more visitors, and vehicles are lined up at the entrance to Murrin Provincial Park and Brohm Lake. Over at Stawamus Chief parking, late arrivals are circling the lot, waiting for the early birds to finish their hike.
Sound familiar?
Metro Vancouver weekend warriors know that the hardest part of any adventure may be finding parking at the trailhead.
BC Parks tells Daily Hive it’s aware of the problem and has added more parking at a select few of the most popular trailheads. But crowd control otherwise has come in the form of reservation systems — both for day-use passes and for camping.
“As more people explore British Columbiaās spectacular outdoors, weāre investing in our parks to ensure we can continue to provide quality outdoor recreation experiences for everyone to enjoy,” a BC Parks spokesperson told Daily Hive.
The Sea to Sky corridor, in particular, is very popular. It’s seen visitor numbers increase markedly over the last five years.
BC Parks said it’s made the following parking upgrades in response:
- Garibaldi Rubble Creek:Ā Parking lot upgraded to improve traffic flow in 2020
- Garibaldi Diamond Head:Ā Road to Elfin Lakes trailhead improved and widened, with about 20 parking spots added in 2021. Just this year, about 10 more spots were added to the chain-up parking area
- Stawamus Chief:Ā 37 spaces added recently
- Alice Lake:Ā 10 to 15 spaces added at Four Lakes Trail in 2021
But aside from those additions, BC Parks advises adventure-seekers to arrive early or plan their visit by booking a day-use pass.
Part of the problem is that few of the spectacular nature opportunities near Vancouver are transit-accessible. The ParkBus non-profit service tries to bridge that gap by offering coach service to some popular destinations such as Cultus Lake, Garibaldi Provincial Park, Joffre Lakes, and Golden Ears. However, its limitations include nearly $100 for a roundtrip ticket and a single trip per day.
What are your strategies for finding a spot for an outdoor adventure? Let us know in the comments.