Mount Gardner Hiking Trail, Bowen Island, BC

Helge from Oberwinter writes:

Hi,
we (group) of exchange students from SFU hiked this hike yesterday and cached the good weather.
The marking is kind of spare but we did it.
I have tracked the track so if anybody wants the .gpx for a GPS, download it here:
http://www.zeitnetz.net/helge/gps-tracks/MtGardner_Bowenisland.zip

Have fun

Posted: September 27, 2009 08:45:21 PM PST

Jayme from Kenai, AK (living in Vancouver) writes:

A group of friends and I hiked the trail today. We were astonished at how easy it is to lose your way on the mountain, even with a map. We accidentally missed the Skid Trail and ended up heading around to the North Summit.

A couple of times, we followed orange/pink markers that seemed to lead us to dead ends. At one point, our party split up with the more athletic members attempting to find a way up to the North Summit. We still aren't quite sure where we went wrong. (Luckily, cell phones do work on the mountain!) Best part was that the few people hiking the mountain were friendly and helpful.

I would definitely consider this a challenging hike, and not suitable for someone who's just trying out their first "intermediate".

Posted: September 13, 2009 10:14:12 PM PST

Julie from Vancouver writes:

We hiked to the summit of Mt.Gardner from the ferry, June 14, 2009. It was a very nice hike. It took us about 2 1/2 hours to reach the top from the ferry. It was a beautiful day and the view was fantastic. We followed the Skid Trail. (We took the new ferry from Granville Island to Bowen Island -- saved us the drive to Horseshow Bay and it was a blast!)

Posted: July 13, 2009 08:14:06 PM PST

Seb from Vancouver writes:

I tried this hike last week-end. Until Mount Gardener road, it is a very easy and pleasant hike. However, I missed the starting point of the skid trail and continued on the gravel road. The markers on the trails are very bad and not enough numerous. Moreover, the trails are very difficult to follow at some places. I even never reached the summit. Very disappointed, but I will try again at fall with a good map.

Posted: July 7, 2009 04:33:33 PM PST

Sam from Richmond writes:

Nice little hike. We started and ended our hike at the ferry terminal which was easy enough; the walk to/from the trailhead from the ferry is a pleasant stroll through a flat park.

We chose to go up the mountain via the southern, Skid Trail route. It is nice and shady, well maintained, and well marked. It can be steep at times. This way brings you first to the higher South summit, which is a very short walk away from the North Summit. The North Summit was somewhat crowded, and the communications towers are obviously an eyesore, however the views are spectacular.

For our descent we took the trails on the North side of the island and then the gravel road.

In general I would say that this mountain is a bit confusing; there are plenty of junctions. Make sure to bring a map... and if you take the south side route like us, make sure you don't go down the "mid island trail"!

Posted: May 25, 2009 12:10:03 PM PST

Lee from North Vancouver writes:

Went to Bowen Island for the first time and hiked up to Mount Gardner. It was a challenging hike and difficult to follow some of the markers on the way up. The radio towers were a bit of a surprise but we had lunch on the helicopter pad with one of the most amazing views out towards West Vancouver and English Bay. The walk back down was much easier but it took quite awhile to get back to the ferry. We enjoyed a couple of beers before catching a late evening ferry back to the mainland.

All in all it was a challenging hike, great view, but nice to get out of the city for the day.

Posted: May 10, 2008 10:21:58 PM PST