With so much hiking around Vancouver, we don’t often get out of our bubble here. But some hiking destinations are worth the trip, and Sun Peaks is one of those places we recently discovered. Just a four hour drive from Vancouver, Sun Peaks makes for a nice weekend escape from the city – and the hiking is incredible!
We recently went up to Sun Peaks to check out the annual Alpine Blossom Festival and hike the lift-access trails they have to offer. Check out the full story from our trip on ZenSeekers!
Wildflower Paradise
And we thought Garibaldi Provincial Park had a lot of wildflowers…
Ridge after ridge, meadow after meadow, there is no shortage of beautiful wildflowers in bloom at Sun Peaks (end of July to early August, annually). The aroma and the scenery is something else!
Whether you’re into wildflower photography or just want to check out the incredible sights, I don’t know of a better wildflower destination in the province.
Incredible wildflowers can be seen everywhere
Hiking for all abilities
There are more than 18 hiking trails, ranging from easy to challenging, available from the Sun Peaks Mid-Mountain (lift-access hiking trails). There are even more hiking trails available at the bottom.
Our day started by jumping on the Sunburst chairlift from the Sun Peaks village. The chairlift provides a scenic ride up to mid-mountain at 1,850 metres. The hikes are rated like ski runs, from easy (green), to moderate (blue), to difficult (black diamond).
Not ones to shy away from a difficult hike, we decided to tackle the summit of Mount Tod (read our trail guide for Mount Tod here), one of the most difficult trails at Sun Peaks. We added in nice detours to the Juniper Loop, and also to Tod Lake for a quick swim to cool down.
Climbing up to Mount Tod 
Taking a break at Tod Lake 
Mount Tod summit
Beyond hiking
We were blown away by the amount of activities available at Sun Peaks. Its basically a quieter, more relaxing version of Whistler.
The resort offers golfing, a Mountain Cross Cart course, plus canoe, kayak and stand-up paddle board rentals. In the village there is no shortage of restaurants, cafes and bars to relax in after a fun day of enjoying the outdoors.
If you want to combine a weekend of great hiking with some free outdoor music, check out Music in the Mountains with Dan Mangan and Bedouin Soundclash on Aug. 25 & 26.
The hiking is amazing, but there’s more to do too!
If you go
To find out about all the special events and things to do at Sun Peaks, head to sunpeaksresort.com
Read more about hiking at Sun Peaks via this ZenSeekers story.
Sun Peaks Resort is 40 mins outside of Kamloops, BC – which includes a full service airport and a resort shuttle.
On mountain accommodations on Sun Peaks are abundant, we recommend looking for accommodations right in the heart of the village, car free and streamlined mountain access.
Explore more via this link to Sun Peaks’ hiking trail map.
