Can anyone advise a location in this area for a good hike, look at the water, interesting photo opportunities, and perhaps a good lunch? I'm planning to go on Saturday, if it's not RAINING.

Hi - it's been a long, long time (+30 years) since I was up Hwy 99 towards Squamish but I remember some beautiful waterfalls - an Internet check says they were Shannon Falls just a few kilometers south of Squamish - they're around a 1000 ft drop. Somewhere up that road (don't remember exactly where) there's a great vista of the mountains to the Southwest. What I do
remember is that any hiking involves a <lot> of verticals - the terrain is similar to the Yosemite Valley. Hopefully someone from BC can give you better recommendations but nonetheless the
scenery is fantastic.

(BTW I'll be visiting Portland in September and going on an excursion to McMinneville to see the
HK-1 AKA the Spruce Goose - something any aviation buff should see).

Horseshoe Bay, Whytecliff Park, Shannon Falls.

The first few panos on West Vancouver show some of Whytecliff Park.

Here is most of what is to see in the Western part of Howe Sound

and here are some locations further towards Squamish.

If you are in very good shape, you can go up to the Stawamus Chief (from Shannon Falls), about 700m vertical; excellent view to the entire area, but it takes several hours, so I would rather stay around Horseshoe Bay.

Lighthouse Park in West Vancouver is not really Howe Sound (though there are good views of it from there), but it is a pearl of the entire region; it is ten minutes from Horseshoe Bay (backwards, towards Vancouver).

I don't mean this as showing off, but my panos of this area have almost documentative character.

...and perhaps a good lunch? I'm planning to go on Saturday, if it's not RAINING.

I returned from that area a few weeks ago.... the Brackendale Bistro is GREAT

http://ca.local.yahoo.com/BC/Brackendale/F...tro+Restaurants

Rusty