The Sea To Summit Trail is in Squamish, BC, and starts at the bottom of the Sea To Sky Gondola and finishes at the lodge at the top. We chose to park in the Stawamus Chief Provincial Park parking lot and started our hike from there. As we walked along the pathway we were stopped by park rangers requesting we provide our BC Parks Day-Use Pass reservation number. After providing this, we continued on our way to the trail. The Sea to Summit Trail and The Chief Trail join at the start. The trail starts off with a steep uphill along wooden stairs and continues uphill - great cardio. It is here you will find plenty of hikers until you arrive at the junction. At the junction you need to go right as this takes you on the Sea to Summit Trail. If you go left it takes you to The Chief.
The trail is well marked and there are plenty of steep inclines and downhills. There are some views of Howe Sound but for the most part the trail is amongst the trees.
The sound of rushing water can be heard as you get closer to the falls and you are able to get quite close to the top of Shannon Falls. It is a beautiful sight but take caution.
Sections of the trail requires you to use scramble up large rock or use the ropes/chains provided. Not for the faint of heart.
About 5km into the hike you will arrive at a rugged forest road. If you are tired, you can take the easiest route which is 3.5 km or if you are up for the challenge take the most difficult route - steep and challenging sections requiring the use of fixed ropes. The challenging route is 2.3 km. We took the challenging route.
As we approached the large rocks, we used the fixed ropes to pull ourselves up - the gondola is passing overhead as you climb the rock. We continued hiking through the forest and eventually there was a clearing and we caught a glimpse of the gondola building and lodge.
We spent some time at the top having lunch and exploring the area. We purchased our gondola tickets in person at the guest services desk inside the lodge at a cost of $15. The gondola ride down was great.