Explore BC // Eagle Bluffs x Cypress Mountain Provincial Park

Every time I go on a hike with my best friends, I count myself as being one very lucky girl indeed. There's nothing quite comparable to the privilege of being able to spend hours outdoors breathing in fresh air, chatting with my girls, and witnessing spectacular alpine views.

Since we began hiking seriously about three and a half years ago, my two closest hiking besties and I have gone on many incredible adventures together-- many of which were located in our city's backyard. One such hike was the lovely (and relatively easy) Eagle Bluffs Lookout at Cypress Mountain in West Vancouver. This trail runs for eight kilometres with a gentle elevation of 350 m (well, gentle compared to hikes I've done that had steep gains of 1,500 m in the same amount of km) and begins at the popular Cypress Mountain Downhill Skiing area. 

Full disclosure: we did this hike back in late spring of 2017; however, I edited these photos and left them in a draft for months until rediscovering them recently. As well, we snowshoed the Black Mountain trail, which goes follows the same path as Eagles Bluff for most of the way, only a few weeks back.

When we hiked Eagle Bluffs, we expected late spring trail conditions; however, because we had just endured a particularly bad winter (unlike this year so far), snow was still covering 90% of the trail. Luckily, we had packed microspikes and trekking poles and were thus able to navigate the icy path with little difficulty. On the other hand, we spotted several groups of grossly under-prepared "hikers" on the way up-- one such group was a pack of teenagers who were wearing nothing more than jean shorts and street sneakers.
 

My two lovely companions on a short break. 

Alpine florals.

We were very blessed with stunning weather on that day. Despite the unexpected snow threatening to dampen our spirits, we were greatly heartened by the sunshine and the promise of a gorgeous view at the lookout.

As you can see, we were greatly rewarded with panoramic, clear views of Eagle Harbour, Bowen Island, and surrounding mountains, such as Brunswick Mountain and the Lions. If you want a relatively quick day hike, I highly recommend this trail on a clear day-- you get so much for the short time spent actually hiking.

A shot of the tattoo that I had just gotten done-- a reminder of my deep love for the Pacific Northwest.

Have you hiked the Eagle Bluffs trail before? If so, what did you think? 

Cheers, 

The Stylish Wordsmith