While a series of mountains spans the North Shore, from the Lions peaks in the northwest to Mount Seymour in the east, Hollyburn Mountain (West Vancouver) remains the most historic, overlooked, and enticing summit for those in search of an out-of-the-way yet close-to-the-city experience.
Rising above the western portion of West Vancouver to 4,345 feet, Hollyburn Ridge and Mountain were recently incorporated into Cypress Provincial Park, which is accessible via Cypress Bowl Road from exit 8 on the Upper Levels Highway. This zigzagging road, offering spectacular views of the city, ends at the Cypress Bowl downhill ski center. You can reach the Hollyburn area by taking the turnoff before the end of the road watch for the signs for cross¬country skiing.
Hollyburn has been a popular ski destination since early in the last century. It remains centered on historic Hollyburn Lodge, which was built in the 1920s and, amazingly enough, is still serving burgers and hot chocolate to cross-country skiers and snowshoers. It closes at the end ofthe winter season, so hikers must pack in their lunches, but the lodge is worth a visit — it’s literally held together with baling wire.
The entire Hollyburn area retains a 1930s through 1950s ambiance, which includes dozens of simple wood-frame cabins with split-shingle roofs and stove-pipe chimneys that mock the luxury and accessibility of their Whistler counterparts.
The habitat takes in undulating meadows, a series of tiny lakes (First, West, Fourth, and so on), and a network of trails that wends through stands of aged hemlock and yellow cedar.
Hikers and snowshoers can ascend a series of trails to Hollyburn peak (allow three hours for the return trip), where you’ll experience unimpeded views ofthe Garibaldi and Lions mountains to the north-west, the city and Cascade range to the south, and Georgia Strait to the Gulf Islands and Vancouver Island.
The lack of modern amenities on Hollyburn (they’re found in the Cypress Bowl ski area, and on Grouse and Seymour mountains) is part of its charm. Here pesky Whisky Jacks will compete for the opportun¬ity to eat from your hand — one aspect of a mountain culture that has existed here for more than a century. (Hollyburn was named by West Van settler John Lawson in the early 1900s, after he planted holly trees by the “burn,” or stream, that ran down through his property.)
Cypress Bowl Recreation Ltd., which leases part of the park from the government, posts maps of cross-country and snowshoeing routes at www.cypressmountain.com. No mention is made of hiking, because hikers don’t generate revenue. However, the maps can be interpreted for summer use.
Another source of information is the BC government Web site (www. gov.bc.ca, see pages headed BC Parks). Here, you’ll find detailed trail descriptions and a downloadable map that includes what were once logging access roads and virtually every trail, lake, and peak.
Sigge’s Sport Villa (2077 West 4th Avenue, Kitsilano, 604-731-8818) sells and rents cross-country and snowshoe equipment.
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