The Baden-Powell Trail is a rugged but well-maintained 48 km hiking trail, that traverses from
Horseshoe Bay in
West Vancouver
West Vancouver is a district municipality in the province of British Columbia, Canada. A member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District, West Vancouver is to the northwest of the city of Vancouver on the northern side of English Ba ...
to
Deep Cove in
North Vancouver, BC. It was named after Robert Baden-Powell,
Lord Baden-Powell
Lieutenant-General Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, ( ; (Commonly pronounced by others as ) 22 February 1857 – 8 January 1941) was a British Army officer, writer, founder and first Chief Scout of the wor ...
, founder of the world
Scouting Movement
Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpacking ...
.
Geography
The trail is about forty-eight kilometres (48 km) long, extending (west to east) from
Horseshoe Bay in
West Vancouver
West Vancouver is a district municipality in the province of British Columbia, Canada. A member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District, West Vancouver is to the northwest of the city of Vancouver on the northern side of English Ba ...
to
Deep Cove in the
District of North Vancouver. In between, the trail winds through the heavily forested
North Shore Mountains
The North Shore Mountains are a mountain range overlooking Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada. Their southernmost peaks are visible from most areas in Vancouver and form a distinctive backdrop for the city.
The steep southern slopes of the No ...
. It also connects with several other local trails.
Points of interest
There are a number of scenic vistas and points of interest along the way. These include:
* the summit of Black Mountain (1217m)
* Hollyburn Mountain Old-Growth forest.
* crossing the
Capilano River
The Capilano River flows from north to south through the Coast Mountains on Vancouver's North Shore between West Vancouver and North Vancouver (district municipality) and empties into Burrard Inlet, opposite Stanley Park. The river is one of three ...
by way of the
Cleveland Dam
The Cleveland Dam is a concrete dam at the head of the Capilano River in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada that holds back Capilano Lake, also known as Capilano reservoir. Part of the Capilano River Regional Park, it stores a portion of ...
* the
Grouse Grind, a challenging fitness venue on Grouse Mountain (closed November- April)
* the famous
Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge
The Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge is a pedestrian bridge located within Lynn Canyon Park, in the District of North Vancouver, British Columbia. It is high from the bottom of the canyon. The bridge was built as a private venture in 1912.
The brid ...
in Lynn Canyon Park
* a section along Lynn Creek
* a narrow bridge crossing the Seymour Canyon
* the Quarry Rock lookout in Deep Cove
* a view of nearly all of Vancouver from "Eagle Bluff," near Cypress Provincial Park.
Identifying the trail
![Baden-Powell trail marker North Vancouver, British Columbia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/Baden-Powell_trail_marker_North_Vancouver%2C_British_Columbia.jpg)
The trail is marked with bright orange triangular tags that are attached to trees alongside the trail and some blue directional signage. In addition, regular signposts indicate directions and provide distance measurements. A number of stairways and bridges are installed along the trail to make it passable in steep, difficult, or dangerous terrain. However, the trail surface is ''not'' completely clear; there are many obstacles such as exposed roots, large rocks, and massive mud puddles. Some sections of the trail are especially steep and can feel somewhat exposed.
Construction
The trail was constructed in 1971 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of British Columbia's entry into Canada as a province. The project was initiated by the Boy Scouts and Girl Guides organizations of B.C. and much of the work of building it was done by their young members.
Events
Every year, an extremely demanding cross-country trail running race known as the
Knee Knackering North Shore Trail Run
The Knee Knackering North Shore Trail Run, also known as the Knee Knacker, was established in 1989 and is a 50 km ultramarathon trail run in that takes place in British Columbia, in the Greater Vancouver area on the second Saturday of July each yea ...
(or Knee Knacker) is conducted along the full length of the Baden-Powell Trail.
Access
The trail has many access points throughout its entirety. On the West end, the trail starts where Highway 99 (Sea-To-Sky) and
Highway 1 diverge, however there is very limited parking at this location. At the East end, the trail starts in Panorama Park, north of the heart of Deep Cove.
See also
*
Scouting in British Columbia Scouting in British Columbia has a long history, from the 1900s to the present day, serving thousands of youth in programs that suit the environment in which they live.
Anglophone Scouting in British Columbia
British Columbia is administratively c ...
External links
*
References
{{reflist
North Vancouver (district municipality)
West Vancouver
Scouting and Guiding in Canada
Hiking trails in British Columbia