Best Guidebooks for Hiking around Vancouver
I’ve been hiking in Southwest British Columbia for over a decade and continue to find trails and summits that blow my mind. Each time I explore a new place, I’m reminded how much beautiful terrain there’s left to explore.
When I’m looking for inspiration for where to visit next, I turn to one of three guidebooks I always keep on my shelf. I’m writing this post to share with you my picks for the best guidebooks for hiking around Vancouver.
Why to Use a Guidebook
In this day and age, it’s common to use internet- and social media-based resources for learning about new hikes. However, I think that old-fashioned guidebooks have several advantages over these internet resources both for the hiker and the outdoors community:
- Most guidebooks will come with an introduction on backcountry safety and Leave No Trace principles that ensures beginners learn how to be safe, responsible, and respectful on trails before they head out. I think that the lack of these types of introductions on blogs and social media resources has contributed to negative trend in trail culture in the last few years and played a role in the ever-increasing numbers of local search and rescue callouts.
- Most guidebooks, especially the ones I list below, are written by expert hikers with decades of experience. That means that not only will they be able to give good advice for each particular hike, but they will have a broad and consistent view of the relative difficulty of each trail. Once readers have tackled one or two hikes from the book, they’ll be able to use the author’s rating system to understand which others are within their fitness and skill levels.
- Most worryingly, the viral way in which information is spread on the internet have contributed to overcrowding on certain trails in recent years, while most stay relatively quiet. When hikers instead use guidebooks, each with dozens of recommendations for hikes in the area, readers will more naturally spread out.
Now that we now why we should use a guidebook for hiking around Vancouver, let’s get into my recommendations.
Safe and Ethical Hiking
Before you head out for a hike:
– Learn the 7 principles of Leave no Trace.
– Leave a trip plan with a responsible person staying home.
– Pack the proper clothing and gear. Check out my gear list for ideas.
Best Overall Guidebook for Hiking around Vancouver
105 Hikes around Southwestern British Columbia by Stephen Hui is my pick for the best overall guidebook for hiking around Vancouver. Like it says right in the title, the book gives a wide overview of a large number of hikes all over this part of the province.
It’s my top overall pick because of the quality of writing and photography. In addition, it’s suited to hikers of all ages and abilities and includes options for both dayhiking and backpacking in all seasons and conditions. This book is a follow-up to the classic 103 Hikes in Southwestern British Columbia by Jack Bryceland and Mary and David Macaree.
What I like: Hui is a great writer and photographer, and I sometimes just flip through this book to read his descriptions and look at his inspiring pictures, of which there is one in colour for every hike. His directions are easy to follow and enjoyable to read.
In addition to all the usual metrics like length, elevation, and difficulty rating, each hike comes with a small, nicely-printed topographic map of the route. It has enough detail to give a nice overview of landmarks in the area and for general navigation. Indigenous place names are also included throughout.
A map and overview table at the beginning of the book make it easy brainstorm ideas for your next hike and flip to the relevant pages.
What I don’t like: For alpine hikes that go off-trail, of which there are a few in this book, the descriptions fall short of allowing the reader to piece together the route. Some other resource will be necessary for navigating those sections.
In addition, I think that the quality ratings applied in this book will only direct readers to the most popular trails. I would have switched around some of the 5-star ratings to account for how crowds would affect the trail experience.
Best Guidebook for Staying Local and Hiking around Vancouver
The Glorious Mountains of Vancouver’s North Shore: A Peakbagger’s Guide by David Crerar, Harry Crerar, and Bill Maurer is my pick for the best guidebook for hikers staying close to home in Vancouver.
It’s a dense, beautifully-written guide to everything a hiker could ever want to do in North Vancouver, West Vancouver, and the Gulf Islands. It grew out of the friendly and helpful Bagger Challenge community, an annual competition among hikers summiting as many North Shore peaks as possible in a single summer.
What I like: In addition to guiding readers on the local hikes, the book offers a ton of interesting information about the history and context of Metro Vancouver and its mountains. I absolutely loved flipping through this book reading about the origins of the place names, the first ascents of each peak, and all kinds of other historical and cultural aspects of our local mountains. It’s a lesson in both colonial and Indigenous history that any outdoorsy Vancouverite will appreciate.
Each hike starts with an entire page of useful factoids that allow the reader to determine if the route is appropriate for them. My favourite is the “bang for your buck” rating out of 5, which evaluates the relative quality of the route against the difficulty. The route descriptions are detailed, precise, and informative, but still manage to be entertaining.
“Best of” lists in the final chapter like “Best Snowshoe Trips” and “Best Swimming Holes” are useful and fun.
What I don’t like: A key map and more detailed table of contents at the beginning of the book and each chapter would make navigating this guide much easier.
Best Guidebook for Advanced Hiking around Vancouver
Scrambles in Southwest British Columbia by Matt Gunn is my pick for the best guidebook for hiking around Vancouver that requires advanced levels of experience and skill. Under the umbrella of scrambling, it covers everything from difficult hikes to unmarked routes on class 3-4 rock. In contrast to the two recommendations above, this book doesn’t have much in terms of interesting writing or inspiring photography. However, it more than makes up for it with precise route descriptions and a solid rating system.
Beginner hikers may find the jargon in this book difficult to understand and will likely find the difficulty ratings to be underestimated. Gunn’s idea of “minimal exposure” may give a beginner serious problems. In general, don’t even open this book unless you already feel comfortable in the backcountry and have already tackled some of the classic “hard” hikes in the area.
At the time of writing, Scrambles is out of print and unavailable online. Check back soon because the publisher has plans to print it again in the future. In the meantime, you can borrow it from the Vancouver Public Library or probably your outdoorsy friend.
What I like: The route descriptions for the access, approach, and scramble of each peak are concise and easy to follow. For some scrambles, photos with lines on them show routes that might otherwise be confusing.
Gunn wanders off the beaten path for most of the routes in this book, and even hikers with many of years of experience will find new inspiring ideas here.
The simple 3-star rating system is very effective. My days on 3-star routes from this book have been some of my favourite in the backcountry of my whole life.
What I didn’t like: Since the book’s publication in 2005, some of the peaks have new accesses and routes due to closed gates or new roads or trails. For those routes, some of the text is no longer applicable, which can be confusing if you’re not aware.
Summary
Guidebooks for hiking around Vancouver have many advantages for both the reader and hiking community compared to using websites and social media as a resource. If you’re looking for hikes all around Southwest British Columbia, I would recommend 105 Hikes for beginner and intermediate hikers, and Scrambles for advanced hikers. If you’re looking to stay close to Vancouver, I would recommend Glorious Mountains.