GUIDED TOURS of OLD-GROWTH in WEST VANCOUVER
Every year the OGCS conducts free guided tours of old-growth areas in West Vancouver. There are two sets of tours, one in publicly accessible old-growth areas and one in the Old Growth Conservancy.
TOURS ARE FREE BUT RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED. EMAIL YOUR PREFERRED DATE TO ogcs.wv@gmail.com.
Unfortunately, children under the age of 10 and dogs cannot be accommodated. Tours may be cancelled due to unfavourable weather. A release of liability will be provided and must be signed before the tour.
Publicly Accessible Old-Growth Area Guided Tours
The tours of Lighthouse Park and Whyte Lake Park include a focus on the local logging history. The three eras of logging in West Vancouver will be described and the veteran trees that survived will be explored. These tours will be on trail at all times.
The tours on West Lake Access Road will visit some of the largest trees in the area. This tour is off-trail and explores more rugged terrain.
- Sunday, July 9 – Lighthouse Park
- Saturday, July 15 – West Lake Road
- Sunday, July 16 – Whyte Lake
- Saturday, July 22 – West Lake Road
Old Growth Conservancy Guided Tours
Tours of the Old Growth Conservancy offer a rare opportunity to go into the apex of the Conservancy. Starting on a short trail, participants learn about the characteristics of an old-growth ecosystem and see them firsthand. The second part of the tour ventures off-trail into areas not normally open to the public and into the apex of the Conservancy where there are trees up to 900 years old.
Tours meet at 10:00 AM in Parking Lot #5 on Cypress Bowl Road, next to the Conservancy. Tours take 3 hours or longer and much of it is off-trail including steep terrain, fallen trees and underbrush. Sturdy footwear is required. The pace is quite slow and dressing warmly in layers is recommended. Please bring water, a light lunch and optionally a hiking pole for stability. Bringing your own hand sanitizer is advised.
- Monday, August 21
- Wednesday, August 23
- Saturday, August 26
- Sunday, September 10
- Thursday, September 1
4 - Saturday, September 16
Self-Guided Tour
Guided tours all full? Does your schedule not match ours? No problem! The self-guided tour lets you choose your own time to walk through the Old Growth Conservancy and learn about the characteristics of an old-growth ecosystem. All it takes is a GPS-enabled smartphone.
Install the free Geotourist app from Google Play or the Apple AppStore then download the Old Growth Conservancy Self-Guided Tour. Cell reception in the Conservancy is limited so be sure to download before getting to Parking Lot #5. Unfortunately access to the apex requires special permission and is not included in the self-guided tour.
