I don’t know about you, but have you ever had one of those
days when you all of a sudden you get a burst of energy (this always happens
when the sun comes out!) and you think to yourself ‘Man, it would be great to
get out for a hike today.” Well, this happened to me last week. Sadly however, after
doing some much needed research on where to go for a scenic hike that I was
allowed to bring my dog on, I started realizing I probably should’ve left at
6:00a.m. This didn’t help considering it was quickly approaching 1:00p.m. –
What? No judgment, I like to sleep in on my days off!
Then it hit me; the Ancient Cedars hike it is.
The beauty about this hike, besides the hundreds and thousand year old trees, the loop itself is only 5km. Lets face it, its the perfect distance for those getting a late start to the day but still want to take in Whistler’s backcountry and get some fresh air. Even better? The access to this hike is a short drive up a bumpy service road, so not much travel time is needed from Whistler Village. There is a way you can extend the hike to last longer, if you choose to walk around the lakes as well.
Just because the hike is 5km, doesn’t mean you won’t work up a sweat. Right off the bat, after you park the car of course, you start a fairly decent climb over the valley. The trail is well maintained and my dog, Hunter, loves bouncing around the trees on the way up. Before you reach the “Ancient Cedars Loop” that takes you around the historic trees and offers sign boards to explain what you’re looking at, there is a very beautiful lookout that you should check out. It over looks the sue valley and out over towards the lakes below and gives a great panorama of a typical British Columbia forest. It’s moments like these that make me fall in love with this province all over again. The “loop” itself offers some up close and person with some very old, and very massive cedar trees. You can climb on them, walk around them and admire just how small you feel on this earth in comparison.
All in all, the Ancient Cedars hike is a great way to start off hiking in the backcountry, as the elevation gain is quite low, and it gives you a good sense of what to expect for more advance hikes. The views are beautiful, and the fact that you can bring your dog makes me (and him) happy!
