Hut-to-Hut Hiking on The Sunshine Coast Trail, British Columbia

View of Jervis Inlet coming down Mt. Troubridge—C.Helbig

My friend Morag and I learned about the 180 km Sunshine Coast Trail—Canada’s longest hut-to-hut hiking trail— at the Vancouver Mountain Film Festival. Eagle Walz, the trail’s co-founder and president of the Powell River Parks and Wilderness Society (PRPAWS), enticed us with images of spectacular mountain and coastal vistas, old growth forests, secluded lakes and the promise of a real roof over our heads (for free!) at the end of each hiking day. We were hooked!

Hiking in Tetrahedron Provincial Park, Sunshine Coast, British Columbia

Edwards Lake, Tetrahedron Provincial Park—C.Helbig

Tetra where? As the crow flies, it’s only 50 km from Vancouver, but many folks have never heard of Tetrahedron Provincial Park and its great hiking trails. Perhaps we can thank geography for that. The park is located on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast, accessed via a 40-minute ferry ride from West Vancouver. Then, it’s another 75 minute drive, the last 35 minutes on a gravel, forestry road northeast of the town of Sechelt. With so much awesome hiking on Vancouver’s North Shore and Howe Sound, many of us don’t bother venturing further afield. Last weekend, a couple of my pals and I decided to give Tetrahedron a try. We liked what we saw, despite poor weather.