ESCAPE TO THE COVE Discover serene paddling in Deep Cove, just a short hop from British Columbia's busiest downtown - David Webb
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Buntzen Powerhouse Two was
decommissioned in 1972.
Outdoor Explorer
ESCAPE TO THE COVE
Discover serene paddling in Deep Cove, just a short hop from
British Columbia’s busiest downtown
B Y D AV I D W E B B
V
ancouver is a city next to nature. But it’s still a city. And escape routes such as the
Sea to Sky corridor or the eastbound Trans-Canada easily bog down with travellers.
Which is why I look for a quicker path to serenity.
About 15 kilometres from downtown, the Dollarton Highway to Deep Cove makes
a sharp bend north at Cates Park. On this late-spring morning, cove hotspots like
Honey’s Doughnuts and the Quarry Rock hiking trail are already swarming. But at
this time of day, there’s usually still parking at Cates—the best jumping-off point to
some of the most accessible natural paddling in the region.
Cates Park sits at the mouth of Indian Arm, a 20-kilometre-long glacial-carved fjord that
doglegs north off the Burrard Inlet. From its relatively busy beginning, where urban
18 • B C M DAVID CAREY/DREAMSTIME
Outdoor Explorerer
to a svelte kayak.
0 1.5 3 Km Buntzen I paddle out a couple hundred me-
Powerhouse tres, where the sea turns from muddy
One
green to navy blue. I forge north into
Buntzen the fjord, the rainforested foothills of
Dog Mountain Powerhouse the Coast Range as my beacon. Di-
Two minutive Boulder Island sits sentinel at
MOUNT SEYMOUR the mouth of Indian Arm; on the other
side, Belcarra offers a similar close-by
PROVINCIAL respite for outdoorsy types from the
tri-cities of Port Moody, Port Coquitlam
PARK
M
and Coquitlam.
R
BELC ARRA
A
To my left, downtown Deep Cove is
as busy as I’d imagined. But passing
N
REGIONAL
IA
the yacht-filled harbour, with a view of
Quarry Quarry Rock on high, it peters out to
D
Rock PARK
IN
DEEP COVE
IF YOU GO
Belcarra
Boulder
Is. Admiralty Cates Park is located at 4141
Point Park Dollarton Highway in North Van-
couver. Follow the Dollarton a few
Cates Park
more kilometres to its terminus
BURRARD INLET and you’ll be in downtown Deep
Cove, which is also a popular
spot to launch a watercraft.
deepcovebc.com
While in Deep Cove, grab a treat
development and some heavy industry paddleboards are often 10 to 12 feet long,
from busy Honey’s Doughnuts &
are on display, the fjord gets decidedly making storage and transport tricky, in-
Goodies (honeydoughnuts.com)
wilder the further in you travel. Roads flatables can be rolled up and stashed in
or beat the crowds and fuel up at
only take you so far. This is a paddling a closet. Most come with storage packs,
the chic Café Orso. cafeorso.net
route. So I’ve brought my paddleboard. which means wandering a few hundred
A well-trod gravel path leads north- metres or more from your vehicle to the If you want to hike to Instagram-
east from the manicured grass of Cates put-in is much easier than portaging a worthy Quarry Rock on a
Park, where Wally’s Burgers serves up ‘yak. And, of particular note on barna- weekend, arrive before 8:30 a.m.
sandwiches and volleyballers set up cle-ridden shores such as those of Cates or you won’t find parking. Other
their nets. The beaches here are pebbly, Park—and seeming somewhat oxymo- nearby summer-season hikes
barnacled and hidden below the alder ronic—inflatable SUPS are more du- include Dog Mountain and Mount
and maple trees. At high tide, they can rable than most hard-hulled boards and Seymour Summit, both accessed
be completely covered to the banks; boats. They’re light, and the poly-vinyl from the Mount Seymour ski area
thankfully, it’s low-slack when I pack my materials are darn-near bulletproof, so parking lot. bcparks.ca
inflatable stand-up paddleboard (SUP) dropping or dragging it over rocks is no Rent a kayak, surfski or stand-up
down the second set of concrete stairs to issue. (Mine even has rubber bumpers.) paddleboard or book a Dragon
the shoreline. I push off from shore and the yapping Boat tour with Deep Cove Kayak
A classic kayaking destination—Deep poodle that annoyed me for the first Centre. deepcovekayak.com
Cove Kayak Centre has operated in few minutes is quickly lost in the wa- Learn about First Nations culture
town for more than 35 years—more and ter’s white noise. A northerly is gusting; while paddling the waters of
more SUPs are plying these waters as if there is one drawback to the inflat- Indian Arm with Takaya Tours
the sport catches on. There are a few ad- able SUP, it’s that their higher profile First Nation Canoe & Kayak
vantages, particularly to the inflatable and lighter weight can catch the wind. Rentals—open from May 8 at
model like I unfurl and pump-up on the Plus, the SUP-stance in general makes Cates Park. takayatours.com
shoreline. While kayaks and traditional you like a parachute when compared
Looking to purchase an inflatable
stand-up paddleboard? At about
$600, the Body Glove Performer
11 iSUP is one of the best values
on the market. costco.ca
20 • B C M RIGHT: DAVID WEBB
The author plies the
water offshore of
Cates Park, in Deep
Cove, on an inflatable
stand-up paddleboard. harnessed hydro energy from Bunt-
zen Lake for decades. Buntzen Two
was decommissioned in 1972; One still
produces some 60 MW of energy to
this day.
North of Buntzen Bay, Indian Arm
becomes a swath of greenery. Rug-
ged Mount Seymour Provincial Park
rises to the west and remote Say Nuth
Khaw Yum Provincial Park expands to
the north and east—the latter home to
scenic Granite Falls near the terminus
of the fjord. But that’s the realm of ex-
pedition kayaks, sailboats and power-
cruisers. It’s too far for a stand-up pad-
dleboard—or, at least, for this stand-up
paddleboarder. So I spin a 180 and
meander past the shoreline back to the
rocky shores of Cates Park, making fine
time with the breeze now in my favour.
semi-wilderness. This is the traditional every paddle stroke, I concur. Twenty minutes after I deflate my
land of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation, who More history can be found past Bel- board, I’ve returned to the urban land-
plied these waters for thousands of carra Regional Park on the east side of scape to celebrate with a hamburger at
years in dugout canoes. Cates Park is Indian Arm, where twin century-old the Red Wagon diner on East Hastings;
traditionally dubbed Whey-ah-Wichen, generating stations sit onshore. Bunt- that is, I’m swiftly back in the heart of the
which means “faces the wind.” With zen Powerhouse One and Two have city from a sweet sojourn to nature.
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