Anderson Beach, Nair'n Falls 6/15 - 6/16

This was my first camping expedition in BC, so I did a bit of research on where to go and found an awesome website (http://www.mowgli.ca/ check it out if you're in the area!) which lists all the best spots for backcountry skiing, cliff jumping, and basically everything fun. It also had one "campground" listed, so we decided to check it out. Anderson Beach isn't really a campground, as there are no designated sites, no management, and no rules. But it is a place where you can camp for free and it's amazing.

It's on the banks of the Squamish River, about 20 minutes northwest of the city of Squamish. Situated in a valley between the Tantalus Mountains on one side and some other huge mountains on the other side, the views are very nice. There are no signs on the main road and even in the parking lot there is nothing about camping and only one small sign that says "Anderson Beach", so you'll need directions to get there (find them on www.mowgli.ca). We parked in the tiny lot and walked about 5 minutes through the woods to the beach. The beach is huge since it's a flood plain and is covered in fine glacial silt. This is great for sleeping on but not so great for staying clean. We got sand everywhere but it was more comfortable than my bed. There are also huge piles of logs and trees that have fallen down the mountains which are really fun to climb on. Only two or three other groups were camping there so we had a ton of space for ourselves.

is it a dog or is it a bear?

anderson beach at night

anderson beach during the day

log pile

We made a fire out of the drift wood on the beach and went to sleep. The next morning we explored around the area for a little while and climbed around the tree piles and then left for a quick stop in Whistler.

First, we stopped at the brewery in Whistler. My favorite Canadian beer so far has been Whistler Brewing Co.'s Bear Pay Honey Lager, so naturally I had to stop there and get a pint (and a case). We explored the Whistler village for a while after that, which was a pretty standard ski village. Mountain biking is huge there so there were a ton of bikers everywhere. It looks really fun, I'm hoping to rent a bike and ride down a mountain before I leave here.

Somebody had recommended that we camp at Nair'n Falls, which is about half an hour north of Whistler in a town called Pemberton. We went there for the night and set up camp and then headed into the town for a delicious poutine and pizza meal. The campsite was in an actual campground and wasn't too memorable compared to Anderson Beach, but there were cool hikes around the area. The next morning we did a short hike to the waterfall, which was pretty cool.

Nair'n Falls

The falls were only about 15 minutes from the parking lot, so we were back quickly with the rest of the day ahead of us. Little did we know that we were in for quite the adventure....

(to be continued)