The Stawamus Chief Trail Hike

Highway 99 (Sea-to-Sky) near Squamish British Columbia Canada

2. Just after this pedestrian bridge, prepare to turn left.

BC Highway 99 near Stawamus Chief Provincial Park

3. At the entrance to Stawamus Chief Provincial Park.

Stawamus Chief Provincial Park British Columbia Canada

4. Stawamus Chief Provincial Park has a campground. The trail to the top of the mountain starts 400 metres from the parking lots, which are not too big, so parking could be complicated on weekends during the busy season.

Directional sign to Stawamus Chief Provincial Park campsites - British Columbia Canada

5. You can check out the map of the park trails at the information board, and then walk through the campground to the trailhead.

Stawamus Chief Provincial Park British Columbia Canada

6. Ahead of you is not a walk in the park.

Warning to Stawamus Chief hikers

7. And to ensure that the point above gets through, one has to climb this fairly challenging boulder to reach the stairs at the beginning of the trail.

Stawamus Chief trailhead British Columbia Canada

8. Now it's time to climb some stairs. There are several opportunities to take a few steps to the right and observe a fine Shannon Creek.

BC Hiking - Stawamus Chief trail - near Squamish BC Canada

9. Stone steps follow.

Stone steps Stawamus Chief Provincial Park - Hiking in British Columbia Canada

10. How about this log stairwell.

Hiking in BC - Log stairwell on Stawamus Chief trail near Squamish BC Canada

11. This is Shannon Creek, which keeps you company for the first 15-20 minutes of the hike.

Shannon Creek near Stawamus Chief trail - Hiking in BC

Here is our video of Shannon Creek:

More ihikebc.com videos are on our YouTube Channel.

12. In about 30 minutes, you reach an intersection where a trail to the UPPER Shannon Falls joins the trail you are on. Do not confuse this trail with the trail to Shannon Falls itself, as the trail to Shannon Falls itself is below us. If you so desire, you may go to Shannon Falls on your way back using the Shannon Falls trail (not the UPPER Shannon Falls trail, though), and then hike a few kilometers North on Highway 99 to get to your vehicle parked at the Stawamus Chief Provincial Park.

Upper Shannon Falls trailhead in Stawamus Chief Provincial Park British Columbia Canada

13. This map clarifies the situation. Look at three letter P's on the map, referring to parking areas. The upper P is a parking lot for those who want to climb The Stawamus Chief (this mountain is very popular with climbers). The middle P is where we parked at the Stawamus Chief Provincial Park. And the lowest P is Shannon Falls parking lot. Also, take a look at the "You Are Here" red dot. This is where the undeveloped trail to UPPER Shannon Falls begins. The developed trail to the Shannon Falls and its parking lot is below that (you can easily see that on the map). You can also see that The Stawamus Chief has three peaks. Most hikers go to the first peak. We went to the second peak originally, but ended up climbing the first peak from the side.

Stawamus Chief trail map

14. We continued our hike through a fine forest, meeting with fellow hikers every now and then.

The Stawamus Chief hiking trail near Squamish British Columbia Canada

15. Later, we skipped the turn to the first peak and are now approaching the second peak.

Between the first and second peaks of The Stawamus Chief - Hiking in Squamish BC Area

16. At this point, we could not locate the continuation of the trail to the second peak, but, instead, found a way to climb to the first peak, as we were between these two peaks.

Stairs to climb to the first peak of The Stawamus Chief near Squamish BC Canada

17. Before you climb, check out this warning. The climb is not too difficult, but, indeed, treacherous.

Climbing warning on the Stawamus Chief Mountain

18. Once you climb up those stairs, you need to walk up the cliff by using the chains embedded into the rock.

The chains on the Stawamus Chief hiking trail - Squamish BC Area Hiking

19. A chipmunk was waiting to welcome us to the top of The Stawamus Chief.

Chipmunk at The Stawamus Chief hiking trail near Squamish British Columbia Canada

20. Here you can see the first peak on the left, and the second peak on the right. It takes about 1.5 hours to get to the top from the trailhead.

The view of the first and second peaks of The Stawamus Chief BC Canada

21. The views from the top are spectacular, especially in clear weather. Here you can see downtown Squamish on the left, and Highway 99 on the right. We are looking North in this photo. The only unnatural noise at the top is a sound of a siren frequently coming from the Port of Squamish (it appears).

Downtown Squamish BC and Highway 99 seen from The Stawamus Chief Mountain

22. If you decide to have a meal break on top of the mountain, prepare to be pestered by at least two chipmunks and one squirrel. This chipmunk jumped on a leg to beg for food.

Chipmunk begging for food at The Stawamus Chief near Squamish British Columbia Canada

23. Looking South, we see Howe Sound and Highway 99.

BC Highway 99 and Howe Sound seen from The Stawamus Chief

24. And a bit to the right we see more of Howe Sound.

Howe Sound seen from The Stawamus Chief by Squamish BC Canada