British Columbia is known for its gorgeous natural scenery. I was lucky enough to visit this Canadian province in August 2024 with my friend Ashley. We’d been dreaming of backpacking through the Canadian Rockies and made that happen on our hike to Wedgemount Lake.

While about 24 hours of our trip was spent backpacking, we spent the rest of the trip exploring the towns of Squamish, Whistler, and Vancouver

Day 1

Fly to Vancouver

We landed later than I would’ve liked, but we had limited options since we were working that day. Our flight arrived in Vancouver at 8:30pm, we went through customs, picked up our checked bags, and grabbed the rental car. This was all an easy process, but there was a lot of walking involved, so it was a little time consuming.

Head to Porteau Cove Provincial Park

We were starving at this point, so we grabbed a quick bite at the Tim Hortons right by the airport. Next was a one-hour drive north to Porteau Cove Provincial Park, our campsite for that night. The road is very scenic, but we couldn’t see anything since it was dark. I recommend arriving early enough to get to the campsite before dark if your schedule allows! If not, you’ll be coming back this way at the end of the trip, so you’ll see the views then.

Porteau Cove

We had booked our campsite ahead of time. You can book sites up to four months in advance, and I recommend doing so as soon as it opens. Sites fill very quickly (I’m talking within a few minutes of them opening) online during the peak season. It was nice knowing we had a place reserved for us since we were arriving so late. We had one of the walk-in sites, which isn’t ideal when arriving in the dark, but it wasn’t too far away from the parking area. We stopped by the bathrooms on the way in to get ready for bed. There are full bathrooms with running water close to the campground entrance, and then a few outhouses near the walk-in sites. We set up our tent and were asleep by 11:30.

Day 2

Pack up campsite and drive to Squamish

We started our day around 6am, knowing we wanted to get to the trailhead by mid-day. We wandered around the cove a little and took some pictures. It’s only about a 20-minute drive to Squamish, the next town north. We stopped to get groceries for the next couple of days and picked up bear spray and camp fuel at Valhalla Pure Outfitters, which opens at 8am. Then we stopped for a big breakfast a little north of town.

Breakfast at the Crabapple Cafe 

This little cafe was so cute and the food was delicious! We sat outside on their covered patio and drank yummy lattes. I got the breakfast sandwich, and Ashley got the short rib hash. I highly recommend getting breakfast here if you are about to start a big hike. It was the fuel we needed!

Hike to Wedgemount Lake

We started the grueling hike to Wedgemount Lake around noon, and it took us roughly 4.5 hours to reach the lake at the top. We were glad we were camping at the top and could delay the hike down until the morning. The views from the top were beautiful! Read in detail about our hike here.

Day 3

Hike down from Wedgemount Lake

We left our campsite around 7am and arrived back at the trailhead around lunchtime. We were completely exhausted from our hike!

Lunch in Whistler at Beacon Pub

We parked at a garage in downtown Whistler and walked over to Beacon Pub for lunch. I got the poutine and Ashley got soup and a salad. A hot meal was just what we needed. We were originally planning to wander around Whistler and then head to a campsite for the night, but we were beyond exhausted and wanted a shower and a real bed. We changed our plan and decided to book a hotel in Whistler that night. 

Check into hotel

From lunch, we moved our car over to the Aava hotel and checked in. They had a room ready for us, so we headed straight there. The shower felt amazing! We took a little nap since we hadn’t gotten much sleep the previous couple of nights.

Explore Whistler

We were feeling much more rested that evening (still very sore though), so we felt up to walking around town. We started with some souvenir shopping, making our way to our dinner destination. We ate at Urban Taco Bar since we were craving Mexican food. I got a quesadilla and Ashley got tacos. Ashley really liked the tacos, but I wasn’t thrilled with my quesadilla. It wasn’t anything special.

After dinner, we walked around and stumbled upon a summer concert happening in the park. We stayed for a little bit to watch the band, but didn’t have seats, so we ended up heading to get dessert at Cows Ice Cream. This spot is very popular; there was a line wrapped around the building! It was worth the wait though; the ice cream was superb!

Day 4

Breakfast at Mogul’s Coffee

The next morning, we got breakfast in town before hitting the road. The croissant sandwich and coffee at Mogul’s Coffee were really good! We then drove 45 minutes south to Squamish.

Eagle Run Viewing Shelter

Our next stop was to look for eagles at a viewing shelter in town. It’s located next to The Watershed Grill on the Squamish River. There is a path along the river if you want to go for a walk (we didn’t since we were so sore). This area is a protected bald eagle habitat. We didn’t see any, but I’ve also read you have better chances to see them earlier in the morning.

Sea to Sky Gondola

The Sea to Sky Gondola was probably what I was most excited about on our last day, but there was a lot of wildfire smoke that had come in overnight, so there wasn’t much of a view. The price is steep at $76 CAD per adult, so we decided not to go because of the smoke. I would love to see it someday though!

Howe Sound Brewery

We decided to hang out at the Howe Sound Brewery. The weather was nice, so we sat out on their patio and each got a beer.

Walk around Squamish 

The town of Squamish is charming and they had a farmers market going on. We walked through and popped into a couple of the shops. We also stopped at the Sunflower Cafe for a coffee and a snack.

Drive to Vancouver & check into hotel

The drive to downtown Vancouver takes about an hour from Squamish. We stayed at The Parker hotel, which was lovely. 

Dinner at The Flying Pig

We walked to dinner at The Flying Pig. The food and drinks were amazing! I got the rose sangria (wow!), Caesar salad, and truffle mac and cheese. So good! I highly recommend this spot.

Day 5

We flew home early the next morning. It was a whirlwind trip but so much fun!

You may also be interested in:

Backpacking Wedgemount Lake
How to Spend Four Days in Banff
Hiking Banff
Three Day Itinerary for Jasper National Park