The Sea to Sky Gondola has been taking visitors to view the amazing natural sights of Howe Sound since 2014. Located just outside the town of Squamish, just 50 minutes from downtown Vancouver and an hour from Whistler, it’s a great place to stop along the Sea to Sky Highway.
Updated for 2021
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We visited on our way to Whistler during our Canadian road trip, stopping for what we thought would just be an hour or so. The Sea to Sky Gondola had been recommended, but I hadn’t done much research and so didn’t know what to expect. It turned out that there is a lot to do on the summit and you can easily spend half-a-day or even longer exploring the trails and admiring the views.
The Sea to Sky Gondola
Our kids would have been happy just to take the 10-minute ride up the gondola and then head straight back down again (and then up again!). The cabins seat eight passengers and you can easily fit a pushchair in as well, although they’re not that handy at the summit.
The scenery on the ride up and down is wonderful. This was our first stop on our trip and, coming from Mexico City, we were blown away by the views of Howe Sound, the Tantalus Mountain Range, and the famous Co-Pilot and Sky Pilot mountain peaks.
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The summit
There are three main viewing platforms at the summit. The Summit Lodge Viewing Deck is the first that you come across, and provides sublime views over Howe Sound and Co-Pilot and Sky Pilot Mountain Peaks.
The Chief Overlook Viewing Platform is not for those with a fear of heights! This narrow platform cantilevers over a sheer drop with views up the Squamish Valley towards Mt. Atwell.
The Spirit Viewing Platform is an interesting one for kids as it includes interpretive information on the surrounding landscape and what it means to the Stawamus First Nations people.
The Sky Pilot Suspension Bridge is one of those wonderful bouncy suspension bridges that I loved and my daughter hated (she was convinced we were going to fall!).
There are 8 main hiking trails at the summit of varying length and difficulty all providing a wonderful outdoor adventure.
The Panorama Trail is a 1.6km long loop trail that through coastal forest that enjoys some wonderful viewpoints with handcrafted cedar benches from which to admire the scenery, and is a really easy walk to do with little kids. You can even use a pushchair on this track.
Other family-friendly trails include the Spirit Trail and the Lookback Trail.
We were unaware of which walks might suit us best so we opted for the Wonderland Lake Loop, mostly because we all liked the name. This was a really pretty walk that involved some clambering over rocks and tree roots. It says it’s only 1.6km long but it felt much longer and took us almost an hour to complete.
There are also a number of backcountry trails but these are for experienced hikers only. Other summit activities include rock climbing and the Via Ferrata, a “vertical adventure” where you climb and walk assisted by metal rungs and a specialised cable system. This is open to children over eight years old.
The Sea to Sky Gondola for families
The gondola and the summit are very family-friendly. Free interpretive walking tours depart form the trail map board adjacent to Panorama Trail at the top of the gondola at 1pm daily. These are led by local guides who will introduce you to the various trails, activities and the history of the area.
There is also a free family tour, the Alpine Alley Family Tour, that takes place Thursday to Sunday at 11.30am. Meet at the trail board next to the Panorama Trail. These are limited to 20 guests per tour so arrive early! These trail walks include balancing areas, animal games, rock climbing and more.
Also at the summit is a small play area with a tightrope, which my kids enjoyed a lot.
The Sea to Sky Gondola in winter
We visited during the summer but I would love to go back during the winter months. Winter activities include snowshoeing, winter walking, ski touring and tubing.
Tips for visiting the Sea to Sky Gondola
We were woefully underprepared for our trip to the summit; no food or change of clothes for the baby and no sun screen or water for us. Fortunately, there’s a restaurant and shop at the summit so we were able to buy some of what we needed, but we did end up with a very hungry and wet baby on the gondola ride down.
Plan to spend a few hours at the summit. There are plenty of walking trails to choose from, views to admire and then lunch to be eaten. Make sure your kids are wearing tennis shoes (trainers) for walking – or anything rather than Crocs!
Buy your tickets in advance online and you’ll save a few dollars per ticket.
Thanks for sharing! I haven’t had a chance to visit the Sea to Sky highway or do the hikes in the area but I hope to change that soon! I think we’ve all been in the situation where we went into an activity woefully unprepared (our latest was Muir Woods in San Francisco)
Great article and I’ll look back on it when we get a chance to go here!
Thank you! And I’m glad we’re not the only ones who are often completely underprepared! 🙂
Ahhhh….the beauty of the BC coast! Being a BC girl at heart, I absolutely loved reading about your adventure! We’ve never done this one, only the gondolas in Whistler, and I love that this one has an interactive family tour! Great post!
Thank you so much! We completely fell in love with BC this summer, you live in an amazing place!
I’ve been to Whistler once. That area is so beautiful. I love bouncy bridges too, the way they make your stomach queasy. Kids are so funny, preferring the transportation over the destination. lol
It is so beautiful, isn’t it? And yes, you can never quite tell what the kids will love most!
Ohhh suspension bridge. I don’t know if I am brave enough for that. We love gondola rides though. Those are ALL over the place here in Europe.
Ha! I know what you mean about the bridge! Although fortunately it wasn’t that bouncy 🙂
Oh the views!! Absolutely beautiful, I wish I could be there crossing that suspension bridge! Thank you for sharing, I hope we get to visit some time 🙂
The views were incredible! Not least because we live in a megacity where views like this are few and far between (or rather, non-existent!)
This looks totally amazing – we would LOVE this! I have friends in Vancouver and every year I tell myself we will go and visit them and tour around the area. This has just been added to my list of reasons to go 🙂
Oh you must go! I can’t tell you how much we fell in love with BC! It’s such a wonderful place for families – I hope you get there soon!
Wonderful wonderful wonderful views! I think I might react like your daughter on the suspension bridge: I’m not a fan of heights! But in a place like this I would force myself: wouldn’t miss the experience. I’ve only been to Quebec but would love to visit this part of Canada.
Thank you! I’ve only visited BC but hoping to get to Quebec this year 🙂
Hi – can you take a 10 month old baby across the bridge?
Hi Ceri, we visited the Sea to Sky Gondola when my youngest was four months old and I carried him in a baby carrier without any problems. Hope that helps!