Many Squamish residents have a favourite local trail—but what makes these trails so valued and unique?
These questions are explored in the Squamish Front Country Trail Inventory report, which Cascade Environmental Resource Group prepared for the (SORCA).
The report takes stock of the community's more than 545 kilometres of trails.
With Squamish's intense growth, it offers an opportunity to understand the value trails hold for their users.
For the casual reader, it offers interesting tidbits on areas mountain bikers, hikers, dirt bikers, trials riders and the like frequent, or may be curious to learn more about.
Love the Alice Lake/Ridge and Highlands trail network? You aren't alone. The study found that its 114 km of trails are treasured by users. User groups identified unique, irreplaceable features of the area, such as granite and slab trails and features, the trails' immersive coastal forest experience, the scenery, including views of Howe Sound and the Stawamus Chief, the area’s unique topography and even the network’s nostalgic importance.
The popular Diamond Head area, which has 99 km of trails, contains the second-longest trail, the report notes, after the Alice Lake region.
“Trails such as Half Nelson and [Pseduo-Tsugas] are ranked in the top 50 mountain biking trails worldwide,” SORCA notes in the report.
Brackendale was prized by dirt bikers as important, especially the Dump Trails, due to the flatter terrain that is best for beginners, the report states.
Valleycliffe is prized for its maze of trails and its access to world-renowned rock climbing locations.
The report was funded with financial support from the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District and the District of Squamish.
There were three phases to creating the report: an inventory of trails, a survey and interview of user group members, and a public survey of trail users.
The user groups included SORCA, Squamish Trails Society, Squamish Dirt Bike Association, Squamish Access Society, S岣祑x瘫wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) member trail users, and community members at large.
Key takeaways
A preface to the report notes the key takeaways that the groups involved gleaned from the results.
鈼� The trail system is central to Squamish’s identity and quality of life, offering experiences for a wide range of skill levels and recreational interests.
鈼� Specific areas like Alice Lake, Diamond Head, and Valleycliffe are not only heavily used but also deeply valued for their accessibility, diverse terrain, scenic views, and trail progression opportunities.
鈼� Irreplaceable features—including granite slab trails, mature coastal forests, and panoramic views—contribute to the uniqueness of the trail experience and cannot simply be relocated or recreated elsewhere.
鈼� Connectivity within and between trail networks and between residential areas and trail networks is repeatedly identified by users as a core value. Losing key connector trails—or allowing development to fragment access—would compromise the integrity of the broader system.
鈼� Trails support local businesses, guide services, tourism, and recreation-based industries that now form a meaningful part of the local economy.
鈼� The community recognizes these spaces as not only recreational, but cultural, ecological, and social assets.
Something that stuck out in the study for Ian Lowe, executive director of SORCA, is the importance of connectivity trails.
He noted that what isn’t desirable is for mountain bikers, in his group’s case, to have to get in their cars to reach a trailhead.
“Because I think a lot of people have come here to avoid that drive, and so that they can literally get their bike and ride from their house.”
“Definitely the connectors were a really big piece that came out of this [report process] for us. … that was a bit of an aha for us—how much people value these connection trails.”
Lowe said he believes that it is possible to have the trails well-connected and noted SORCA has devoted trail crew time and energy to improving the connectivity of trails.
Ultimately, the report shows how much trails mean to their users.
While the report will be made available on SORCA’s website for public viewing, the document is meant to be referred to for land-use planning by private landowners, developers, the District of Squamish, the S岣祑x瘫wú7mesh Úxwumixw, and the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District.
A need for balance
The collective goal is to “ensure that these valued trail assets are not lost or fragmented,” the preface reads.
"Where outdoor recreation was once a byproduct of working in resource industries, it has now become a central reason many people choose to move to and live in Squamish," reads the report's preface.
"The town’s trail networks—used for hiking, mountain biking, trail running, motorized recreation, and climbing access—have become vital community infrastructure."
That value is monetary, as well as cultural and social.
According to a six-month 2023 study, visitor spending from mountain biking in Squamish alone directly added $26 million to the local economy, $31 million to the regional economy, and $44 million to the provincial economy overall.
About 300 jobs in town are related to mountain biking, the preface notes.
Lowe said that it is finding a balance between all the different pressures the town currently faces, which the report speaks to.
“We respect that there needs to be growth, or else prices are going to go even higher than they are right now. Growth needs to happen, and people have private lands that 100% we are riding in their backyards right now. So, respecting that as well. This is a bit of a guide, more than anything… [to] provide at least a little bit of a framework to those groups that need to make these big kinds of planning decisions in the near future or in the medium term.”
He added that he hopes the public takes the need for that balance from the report, too.
“They can't be like, no growth, no growth, no growth, because that's just not realistic. This place is too amazing for that. And likewise, they can't be all growth, no trails.”
Lowe said he hopes this report will serve as a foundation for future master planning efforts aimed at preserving access while accommodating responsible growth.
