The popularity of Squamish within the #vanlife community has increased to the point that there is great concern about the group’s collective environmental impact. “Wild” or “Freedom” camping has become unmanageable environmentally because of the high numbers of campers. This is a serious issue that causes conflict between locals, home owners, and climbers!
VAN CAMPING / WILD CAMPING
Within District Boundaries
The
District of Squamish PROHIBITS camping within the municipal boundary. This includes sleeping in a vehicle anywhere within District boundaries. A
bylaw gives the District the power to issue tickets for contraventions.
Camping on urban / residential streets is prohibited under pre-existing bylaws.
The “hot spots” that have been of most concern are below.
· The whole of the Mamquam Forest Service Road under the North Walls of the Chief between the junction with the 99 and junction with the Stawamus/Indian Arm Forest Service Road (as a salmon run and sensitive riparian area, camping close to the Stawamus River is especially inappropriate)
· The Powerhouse Springs Road including the parking area for the Fern Hill cliff
· The dirt road to the kitesurfing “Spit.”
Outside of District Boundaries
If you explore forest roads in crown land outside the municipal boundaries, it may be possible to find discreet roadside sites suitable for tents or van camping. However, the provincial authorities do have
some restrictions ;
· Stays are limited to 14 days.
· Campers should follow
Leave No Trace principles. HUMAN WASTE is a major issue.
· Strictly observe any
current fire bans.
DESIGNATED CAMPGROUNDS
Please see the
District of Squamish website for a comprehensive list of designated campgrounds.
Recommended affordable camping:
- At the Chief:
Stawamus Chief Provincial Park Campground BC parks site, spots start at $10.00 CAD/person. No reservations.
- 7 minutes north:
Mamquam River Campground A non-profit site, spots start at $15.00cad/night for a drive-in site. Reservations recommended, not required.
- 20 minutes north:
Chek Canyon Recreation Site A public site; no fees, no reservations and world class sport-climbing. No running water. The road is steep and rough but 4x4 not required
Access Issue: Camping
Details
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I agree with the last poster that the gear on the first pitch was bomber and I had no need for offsets.
We pitched it out as follows:
P1, the 10 b crack to the anchors out right just under a boot shaped flake with a little tree growing out of it. I was past the middle mark on my 70 m rope by maybe 10-15 feet.
P2. Easier cracks to fun moves through roofs and transitioning between cracks in the roof. Bolted anchor out right. (5.9 )
P3. AMAZING 10c traversing finger crack. 10c felt fair to me.
P4. Up an easy corner to a tree belay under bolder roof. Crack filled with pine needles. (5.7) You could probably combine with next pitch if you made sure to manage drag.
P5. Pull around the bouldery roof. You'll be on the rock and just to your left is a little dirt chute with trees, almost to where you think maybe you should be walking up it. Move right on easy ground, and then up into a little alcove/corner with a bolt on the left wall. Bouldery moves past this bolt (10b). End on the big ledge at the base of the final pitch.
P6. Wow. Fun starting boldery sequence to get established in the crack. Crux for me started at an awkward pod and then it stayed hard for a while. Really awesome pitch. As someone else noted it's like 55m. The cracks eases in difficulty as you go higher, but then at the end there is an easy but steep, somewhat dirty exit gulley to finish off.
I struggled on the last pitch but thought the whole climb was really stellar! Jul 26, 2025