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: SIGNIFICANT ROCK FALL CLOSURES - UPDATED Feb 29th 2024
Details
Continue with onX Maps
Sign in with Facebook
Yosemite, CA
Vancouver, BC
Start: not exact, but should be within about 10m of 49.683436, -123.136635. The start of the route is at the end of a terrace. The trail on the terrace a bit too narrow for comfort (at one spot maybe 60cm wide), and a fall would be very bad.
Pitch 1: Struggle up an awkward wide crack with little in the way of footholds, then climb a decently-sized but (this was early March) wet and dirty crack to belay at a tree.
Commentary: Belay at the end of this pitch - if you link pitches 1&2, the rope drag is horrendous.
Pitch 2: Strike off to the right through a wide gap in the rock, then make your way right - either straddling the edge or precariously tip-toeing - across a knife-edge flake, which ramps up a bit at the end. There's one bolt across the 10m traverse and little in the way of holds. At the end of the traverse, sling the flake's horn and plug some cams in a crack for the push to a tree above. Belay above the tree.
Pitch 3: Move up a left-facing corner with face moves mixed with some solid ableit reachy jams. When you reach a point when the crack disappears, move right out of the corner to some solid jams and jugs and climb up over the large flakes. Move right and up a dirty crack to a black vertical wall. Move left to set up the belay. (Belaying beneath the vertical wall would make for a dangerous fall line for the leader and belayer during pitch 4.)
Pitch 4: Climb on top of a flake on the left side of the belay to find your first bolt. Move up and to the right clipping a couple bolts (5.7-5.8), then straight up to top out (5.6).
The runout between the first two bolts (4-5m) is uncomfortable for both leader and follower. A fall for the leader would be a big and painful swing, and a fall for the follower could slam them into a left-facing corner off to the right. There should be an extra bolt here.
The runout after the last bolt is also ugly. The slab isn't too bad (a little licheny), but it's heads-up 5.6 and the runout between the last bolt and the top-out is about 10m. You'll wish there was another bolt here too.
Descent: move climber's left from the top-out to gain a tree-filled gully. Bushwhack your way down. Mar 6, 2022