21 Hours in Vancouver: Rainy Day Siteseeing and Squamish Falls
Our flight arrived late, 30 minutes after the rental car counter was supposed to close, so we hustled through immigration and out to the rental car area. There was still an agent at the Budget counter and I rushed up, commenting I was glad he was still open. “Actually I closed half an hour ago.â€
But he was kind enough to open back up AND upgrade us to a Premium car, which wound up being a blessing since we would be doing a lot of driving the next day.
We woke up to a rainy, foggy, cold morning with freezing rain and snow in the forecast. Our plan had been to spend the morning walking around downtown Vancouver, the afternoon at Stanley Park, and the evening on the Capilano Suspension Bridge. But both our spirits and our plans were a little a dampened.
We started at Holy Rosary Cathedral on Richards St, which still had a lovely nativity scene set up.
Emerging into a persistent sidewise rain, we abandoned our idea of walking down Robson Street and trudged over to the Vancouver lookout a few blocks away. After looking at the $16.25 per person admission price and speculating on how much we’d be able to see in this weather, we kept going instead to the Tourist Information Center several blocks down.
They had a whole list of rainy day suggestions, but none caught our fancy until Whistler was mentioned. John, the rep helping us, was really nice and helpful, giving us maps and ideas, and candid advice on what would be worth seeing in this weather. We finally decided to drive towards Whistler, taking in some waterfalls, scenic points, and lots of fog along the way.
One of the things that delighted me most on the drive was the ice cascades on the rock cliffs. It looked like gushing waterfalls, though it was just ice dripping down the sides.
Not even an hour later we were pulling into the Squamish Falls parking lot and heading up the trails to see the falls. Between the running water, the ice alongside, and the nearly frozen stream, it was amazing!
Definitely worth the drive and the hike. Though I wished more than once that I had known we’d be hiking trails instead of sidewalks so I could have packed more sensible shoes. My Baretraps knee boots did a great job on the gravel inclines and I wasn’t too footsore, but for actual hikes I prefer sneakers and hiking shoes rather than heels.
On the drive back some of the fog was starting to lift and we had some great views from Porteau Cove.
Our search for a local restaurant along Marine Drive found us a little too late for lunch, so we grabbed some delicious takeout from the Fresh St Market in West Vancouver and headed over to the Capilano Suspension Bridge before night fall.
We were just in time to catch one of the last nights of the Canyon Lights exhibit, which blew our minds. I’ll be doing a separate post about all the attractions, but in a nutshell, it’s definitely worth seeing!
After 2 ½ hours we were satisfied and chilled so decided to head back to the airport a little early for our 9:50PM flight.
Verdict on Vancouver: It’s definitely a place best seen in good weather. So if you’re not into skiing it would be best to go late spring through fall. If you love Holiday lights, go before Christmas as many of the top attractions like Stanley Park and Capilano Suspension Bridge have special exhibits.
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If you are not interested in the special exhibits, there is actually a free suspension bridge in Lynn Canyon Park down the street from Capilano… it sways and bounces the same as the one at Capilano but costs $25 (or whatever exorbitant rate they charge these days) less
The ice on the sides of the cliffs peeking through the fog of the forest looks amazing.