Nice place to stay outside Vancouver ca

June 17, 2017 8:13 AM

Hi. I'm going to be in Vancouver for a few days next week and would like to find a nice small town to stay for a night in outside of the city. No more than 2 hours drive hopefully. Any recommendations for short hikes or other things we must do would be welcome. Thank you in advance for any suggestions.
posted by batou_ to Travel & Transportation around Vancouver, BC (6 answers total)

Bowen Island, for sure. You have to take a ferry, but it's not difficult, and so worth it. It is the best way to get a small town feel close to the city and there is beautiful access to.the outdoors. Lots of options om airbnb.
posted by PercussivePaul at 9:14 AM on June 17, 2017 [1 favorite]

The Sunshine Coast is beautiful. Small towns, great hiking and water.
posted by jennstra at 12:34 PM on June 17, 2017

Whistler is about 1h 40 away. Nice mountain stuff. Good hikes, etc. It's a bit pricey but we had a great time there.

The family - me, my partner, two kids 13 and 9 - took the gondola to the top of Whistler mtn, hiked around, then took the Peak to Peak gondola across to the other mountain, hiked some more and then a chairlift down. It was a nice day.
posted by kaymac at 1:30 PM on June 17, 2017

Bellingham, Washington, is lovely. I like it so much I moved here. It's on Bellingham Bay, so has lovely coastal areas. It has wonderful hikes and mountain bike and road bike trails. It's near the Cascade Mountains so has lovely mountain hikes and waterfalls. And it's significantly cheaper than Vancouver and much of British Columbia. It's less than an hour south of Vancouver.
posted by Capri at 1:49 PM on June 17, 2017 [1 favorite]

I would suggest Abbotsford or Squamish. Both are less than an hour away from Vancouver. In Abbotsford you can stay at Twin Creeks Lodge. My two very close friends went there for retreat and loved it.
posted by cst at 9:22 PM on June 17, 2017

Harrison Hot Springs .
Squamish. Has the Stawamus Chief.
Howe Sound
Hiking Trails sorted by diffculty and time.
posted by what's her name at 6:29 PM on June 18, 2017 [1 favorite]