Outdoor activities in Vancouver
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A
Cypress Provincial Park
Around 8km north of West Van via Hwy 99, Cypress offers some great summertime hikes, including the Baden-Powell, Yew Lake and Howe Sound Crest trails, which plunge through forests of cedar, yellow cypress and Douglas fir and wind past little lakes and alpine meadows. In winter, the park’s Cypress Mountain resort area – site of the snowboard and freestyle skiing events at the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games – makes this one of the city’s favorite snowbound playgrounds. From downtown Vancouver, drivers should cross the Lions Gate Bridge to the Upper Levels Hwy via Taylor Way in West Vancouver. Follow the signs to the park entrance.
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B
Mt Seymour
A year-round outdoorsy hangout for Vancouverites, the third branch of the region’s winter playground network has a 23-run ski and snowboarding area, plus an eight-run toboggan spot and four-lane tubing course. The snowshoe trails and tours are also popular – check out the nighttime snowshoeing and fondue tour ($55). At Seymour you’re much likely to meet the locals. There’s no transit service to the park, so if you don’t want to drive, hop on the seasonal shuttle from Lonsdale Quay ($6 each way).
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