Squamish is nestled in the heart of the stunningly beautiful Sea to Sky Corridor. It is centrally located, a mere 40 minute drive from both the 2010 Winter Olympic Games host cities of Vancouver and Whistler, along the breathtakingly beautiful Highway 99 - also known as the Sea to Sky Highway. Squamish is home to countless business opportunities, truly wonderful people and some of the world’s most stunning scenery! Surrounded by majestic glaciers, snowcapped mountains, endless forests and the glistening waters of the Pacific Ocean - Squamish, meaning “Mother of the Wind” in Coast Salish First Nation, is a young, vibrant and growing community. A 2008 survey found that 60% of the current Squamish residents are under the age of 40!

"Squamish is nestled in the heart of the stunningly beautiful Sea to Sky Corridor and is an outdoor recreation Mecca for locals and tourists alike."

Squamish is an outdoor recreation Mecca for locals and tourists alike - with its thousands of world class rock climbing routes, hundreds of kilometers of mountain bike trails for every level, dozens of outstanding day hikes, numerous jaw dropping mountaineering routes, some of the best kite-boarding in North America, exhilarating whitewater rafting, kayaking, canoeing and of course, first-rate salmon fishing! 

With all those wild Pacific Salmon swimming upstream on one of our many glacier fed rivers that include the Squamish with its four main tributaries: the Elaho, the Ashlu, the Cheakamus and the Mamquam - it is not surprising that the Squamish area has the greatest concentration of wintering bald eagles in the world and an abundant amount of wildlife including black bears, cougars and coyotes. There are the 2 scenic golf courses - including Squamish Valley and Furry Creek - endless kilometres of walking trails, abundant car camping/ backcountry camping sites, mini-golf for the kids, the Sea to Sky Gondola and plenty of beautiful beaches and refreshing lakes.

"Squamish, meaning “Mother of the Wind” in Coast Salish First Nation, is a young, vibrant and growing community. A 2008 survey found that 60% of the current Squamish residents are under the age of 40!"

Squamish is surrounded by numerous BC Provincial Parks including the Stawamus Chief Provincial Park, Alice Lake Provincial Park, Brandywine Falls Provincial Park, Brackendale Eagles Provincial Park and the world famous Garibaldi Provincial Park. If you are into backcountry skiing there are plenty of opportunities only minutes from downtown Squamish, or if you desire, you can drive 40 minutes to the number 1 rated ski resort in the world - Whistler Blackcomb.

Then there are the always popular outdoor community events like the Squamish 50 trail race, BC Bike Race, Squamish Days (Loggers Sports) Festival and the Squamish Mountain Festival to name a few! Is it any wonder why Squamish is known as the “Outdoor Recreation Capital of Canada“ and dubbed “Hard Wired for Adventure?”

"Squamish is becoming known worldwide for its vibrant and eclectic arts scene - boasting the second highest number of residents who are artists by profession in all of Canada!"

Squamish is becoming known worldwide for its vibrant and eclectic arts scene - boasting the second highest number of residents who are artists by profession in all of Canada. Squamish is becoming known as an art destination. The diverse and thriving arts and culture community encompasses potters, theatre, music, visual arts and heritage museums and displays offering a variety of rich creativity inspiring both locals and visitors alike. The work of regional, national and international contemporary artists can be seen at the many venues including the Brackendale Art Gallery, the Wild at Art Festival, the Squamish Beer Festival featuring local BC tastings and the Squamish Farmer’s Market.

With its quaint storefronts and numerous cafes there is plenty of shopping and people watching to be had in downtown Squamish. There is also the newly developed Garibaldi Village in the Garibaldi Estates. There are plenty of exceptional dining opportunities that include a plethora of friendly pubs and diverse restaurants to enjoy.

"There are plenty of exceptional dining opportunities that include a plethora of friendly pubs and diverse restaurants to enjoy."

There is also the beautifully designed Squamish Adventure Centre located along Highway 99 where tourists and locals alike can come to find out what’s up in Squamish. Squamish is also the home to Canada’s first private University known as Quest University. Coast Mountain Academy recently opened its doors as the first private school in Squamish with a fresh and innovative look at academics to those in grades 7 -12.

Whether it is your first home, your next home or your dream home I will be there every step of the way! What sets me apart from the rest? Without question it is my creative approach to real estate marketing, my vast network of connections, my incredible work ethic and most importantly, my goal of putting you and your family first! It would be a pleasure to be a part of your future when you are ready to take that next step

THE HISTORY OF SQUAMISH

To fully understand the Squamish Story, one needs to look back beyond the eras of logging and adventure tourism, past the human definition of time to capture events that happened thousands or millions of years ago, and sometimes kilometres above and below us. The Squamish landscape was and is, under a constant battle of building itself up as small Pacific plates under the continental margin and under gravity driven agents of running water and flowing ice. The dynamic balance is eruption and erosion; fire and ice.

About 10,000 years ago, Howe Sound was being scourged by the recession of the last ice age and received its unique geologic character. Mount Garibaldi (one of many volcanic centres in the Cascadia Mountain Range which includes Mount Cayley, 33 kilometres north of Squamish, Mount Meager northwest of Pemberton, Mount St. Helens, Mount Baker and Mount Rainier in Washington) erupted forming a volcanic cone over the ice. When the ice receded the cone collapsed creating the craggy, and constantly eroding Mount Garibaldi that you see today. 

"The Stawamus Chief, sometimes called the Yosemite of the Northwest, an old magma chamber of an ancient volcano and the world’s second largest granite mononlith."

The Stawamus Chief, sometimes called the Yosemite of the Northwest, an old magma chamber of an ancient volcano and the world’s second largest granite monolith, was revealed as ice eroded the weaker rock. If you look closely, you can still see volcanic and glacial evidence in Squamish’s dynamic surroundings. There are lava flows, basalt deposits, glacial-polished rock formations and the notorious Cheekye debris fan. 

It wasn’t long after the ice receded that the human touch left its print on the Squamish story. Descendants of the aboriginal people who made the epic journey from Asia across the frozen Bering Strait and down the Alaskan Panhandle to Howe Sound, possibly as long as 5,000 years ago, still live in the area today. For millennia, the Sko-mish or Squamish people hunted, trapped, fished and raised their families in this lush Valley.

Their adventure joins a European one on a rainy day in June 1792 when British Captain George Vancouver and his crew sailed their “Discovery” into Howe Sound’s Darrell Bay, just south of Squamish. He met and traded with the local native people, which was a friendly encounter of great interest to both parties. The “Discovery” set sail the following day having named the area “Head of Howe Sound” after Lord Howe a prominent commander in British Navy.

"For millennia, the Sko-mish or Squamish people hunted, trapped, fished and raised their families in this lush Valley."

Traders, gold seekers and adventures followed during the next century but it wasn’t until 1888 when Alec Robertson and his wife traveled out west from Manitoba, built a home and settled at the head of Howe Sound, that non-natives found a permanent home in Squamish. The Roberton’s so loved their new home that their daughter Catherine and her husband Allan Rae settled in Squamish later that same year. A month after the Rae’s arrival in the area they had the first non-native baby born in the valley: a son Edgar. A year later Harry Judd and his wife Annie arrived from London, Ontario. Judd cleared his land in Brackendale and built a dairy farm. With their two sons and eight daughters, their role in the Squamish story and in the development community, was forever etched. 

More settlers started to come and not long after Mr. Mashiter opened the first store and became the first postmaster. The first school was built in 1893 and was located just north of the Mamquam Bridge. There were only 9 children enrolled in the school at that time. In 1902 the first hotel was built on the old dock in Squamish and the upper valley began to open up. During the 1900’s logging began up in the Diamond Head area. Using oxen they skidded logs into the Squamish River, which was the only way of transporting logs at that time. Forestry quickly surpassed farming as the foundation of the economy in Squamish. The Valley was a busy and prosperous place, connected with the growing City of Vancouver only by the sea.

"The next harbinger of change for Squamish was the completion of the railway from Squamish to Vancouver in 1956 and the Sea-to-Sky Highway a few years later."

The next harbinger of change for Squamish was the completion of the railway from Squamish to Vancouver in 1956 and the Sea-to-Sky Highway a few years later. Strangers drove up the highway penetrating Squamish’s familiar and insular world. Adventurers like Jim Baldwin and Ed Cooper, who spent six weeks in 1961 scaling the Grand Wall of the Chief, brought worldwide media attention to the Valley. The influx of outdoor revellers grew when the resort of Whistler, formerly Alta Lake, first took baby steps towards adventure tourism in the late 60’s.

Today, the Squamish story continues to unfold. Changes in the viability and longevity of the Province’s forest industry and the increase in outdoor recreation and tourism related economies are ringing in even more dramatic change. Small high-tech companies are coming to the area, as are commuting urbanites seeking Squamish’s relaxing lifestyle. In and around Squamish the views are world class and 100 percent breathtaking. The is Sea to Sky country and as you drive up along Howe Sound from Vancouver, it is clear why Canadians have named it so. Mountains and rock launch out from the milky sea to blue sky. This beautiful valley is quickly being discovered as North America’s premiere outdoor Mecca with unparalleled quality and quantity of outdoor activities to be explored.