just another day in paradise
Filed Under Places | August 3, 2010
Vacation. There’s nothing like it. Taking the time to get away from phones, faxes, emails and chores…oh the chores (even though some of them tend to come with you, alas). With summer at its midway point, there may not be enough time to take a long trip, so we thought we’d share one of our favourite destinations that’s just a few short hours away – Squamish.
We packed up our car with tent, wee one and assorted paraphernalia and took ourselves up to Paradise Valley, a fantastic private campground that’s 15 minutes north of downtown Squamish and just outside of Brakendale, home of the bald eagles. This campsite is family focused (no amplified music allowed…but amplified toddlers encouraged) with lots of great destinations to explore within walking distance like the Tenderfoot Creek Hatchery or the Cheakamus River, plus you can drive or bike (bikes available to rent at the campground) to Alice Lake Provincial Park.
We were delighted to discover a tiny store on the campground filled with goodies like s’mores packages for campfire time, snacks, drinks and an ice cream bar. Owners Pat and Lynn also make their own eco-friendly line of beauty and camping survival products like bug repellant, soap, shampoo and lotion that are biodegradable and effective (we tried the bug repellant to great success). The showers and bathrooms rival most hotel bathrooms (seriously).
Although we love dinner cooked over the campfire, when we felt like letting someone else do the dishes we headed into Squamish to check out Grilled Fromage. This cheesy mecca has over 60 kinds of sandwiches to choose from in an atmosphere that is appropriately cheesed out with 80′s albums on the wall and ‘The Final Countdown’ blasting through the speakers. Kids of all ages can have their tummies tamed with the Missionary, a simple grilled cheese slices on white bread sandwich, or have their palates tingled with more adventurous offerings like the Blue Suede Shoe with Blue Cheese, apple and bacon. The owner/chef was extra attentive to our kid filled group as he has a wee one of his own at home, and we appreciated the love. We’ll take more tickets to paradise please.
Squamish: squamish.ca
Paradise Valley: www.paradisevalleycampground.net
Looking for other summer getaways that aren’t too far away? You may also want to check out Harrison Hot Springs.
2 Responses to “just another day in paradise”
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Let us know what you think or share your great finds with us so we can share them with other Vancouver mothers!
All great suggestions but you forgot my favourite family-friendly thing to do en route: stop for a picnic lunch at Shannon Falls! The walk to the falls is just long enough to tire out little legs but not too exhausting for old bones ;-)
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