Mount Gardner Hiking Trail, Bowen Island, BC

seaves from Vancouver writes:

I agree with Dan - if you've got the means to get to the south side of the mountain, it's a great place to start from. The trail is well-marked and doesn't have a lot of confusing junctures. And the forest is beautiful all the way through. I'd say it's a rigorous intermediate route with some steep uphills, but softened out by easier sections too.

I easily found the trailhead at the end of Laura Road, off of Westside. This approach isn't a good option for day hikers coming over from Vancouver by foot, but worth it if you've got wheels. The trail takes you to the south summit, or you can continue up to the north.

Posted: January 22, 2012 08:18:10 PM PST

Dan Archer from Vancouver writes:

Climbing the trail on the south side near Bowen Bay is very rewarding and much nicer than the "main" trail on the north side, which is nearest to Killarney Lake - although the Skid Trail jutting out from the northern trail about halfway is quite charming and dark with mossy oaks, splendid cedars and a brook runs through it - sorry about the dull Hollywood phrase.

On the south side,there are no transversing powerlines and the trees are mostly old growth strands. Moreover, the trail on the south side is still well-marked - the problem is that this great trail is hard to find. Consult a map, take a left off Laurel Road and then look for a turn-a-round with a huge map board. You won't be dissapointed.

Posted: July 25, 2011 12:51:43 PM PST

Vince from Vancouver writes:

All in all this hike was quite frustrating. Can relate to the many comments off wasted time looping around the wrong way, or getting lost completely on the north route.

The south route may be the easier of the two to navigate on the way up, as the north route as near as our group could tell just dead ended in the forest.

No doubt the island gets a lot of tourism business, perhaps someone from the municipality who has the knowledge could properly mark out the routes to avoid a lot of confusion and frustration for visitors and increase their likelihood of returning.

All that being said, beautiful day on the island and definately worth the ferry ride over!

Posted: July 4, 2011 07:36:26 AM PST

Christian from Hamburg, Germany writes:

Took the ferry from Horseshoe Bay on a beautiful sunday morning. Walked from the cove to the summit in 3 hours plus. Followed the reasonably well marked skid trail red signs. One does need to pay attention a couple of times though, as it is easy to take the wrong turn in at least one occasion. The view from the summit is awesome and worth the effort, especially since all the approach is in a gorgeous forest.

Fairly challenging towards the top but very safe. Great first hike in this beautiful spot. Perfect day out.

Posted: May 9, 2011 08:44:22 AM PST

Stella from North Vancouver writes:

I have hiked Mt. Gardner on many occasions over the years. This past Friday I took the Bluewater shuttle bus to Windjammer Road and decided to take the trail to Mt. Gardner from that side. It was pleasant with a wonderful viewing spot of Paisley, Wortcombe and other small Islands. However, the trail did get very steep and narrow (due to washouts?) and I finally found my way to the north summit. The new signage is such an improvement, though there are still some trails that are confusing and I did waste close to an hour on the loop trail inadvertently retracing steps. It took me 4.5 hours, jogging downhill in places to make up the lost time. Not an intermediate hike. I was say challenging in the upper areas.

Posted: September 7, 2010 01:56:09 PM PST

Rob from Steveston writes:

Our family did the hike today, Aug 14, 2010 in the beautiful weather. It was a great hike and the kids were pushed to their limits, they are 5 and 8...but both made it all the way to the North Summit. The toughest part was the roadway past the gate, the rocks are loose and footing sketchy.

The trails were well marked and it was easy to understand our way around the mountain.

Posted: August 14, 2010 03:31:16 PM PST

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