From flat and fast gravel and forest trails to vertical granite and technical trails, Squamish has it all! If you’re curious to find some new running routes in town, I thought I’d share some of my favourite routes.

The newer, upper section of Legacy Climb Trail at dusk.

Areas for running

A friend of mine was moving to Squamish, and she asked me: “Which neighbourhood would be the best for lunch runs?” My response was quite funny, basically “every neighbourhood”. It made me realize how lucky we are, every neighbourhood in town has running trails within sight!

If you’re new to town, here are some of the awesome spots to explore for running:

Valleycliffe / Crumpit Woods: multi-use trails connect right from Valleycliffe all the way to the Diamond Head trail system. You can also spend a ridiculous amount of time exploring the many secret gems around Chief, Slhanay, and the Sea to Sky Gondola FSR.
Downtown Squamish: downtown is close-by to the Chief and the Gondola, and there’s a glacial estuary at the end of Third Avenue. Soon, there will be an Oceanfront trail that follows the entire Howe Sound waterfront.
Dentville: there’s an awesome dike beside the Squamish River, accessible from Dentville. The dike also offers some fun little single-track trails off to the sides, which meander through the beautiful estuary.
Garibaldi Estates: Coho Park has a beautiful multi-use trail, that’s a perfect starting point to link up to Alice Lake, or the Diamond Head trails.
Garibaldi Highlands: access to one of the most popular trail areas in Squamish– the Diamond Head Mountain bike trails, which climb all the way to Garibaldi Provincial Park.
Tantalus / Skyridge: this is an access point to the beautiful Alice Lake Provincial Park trails, and Debecks, which offers up a ton of awesome vertical routes.
Brackendale: there’s the Brackendale dyke, the Ray Peters trail network with tons of cool little singletracks in the forest, and quiet country-feel roads with insane views.

You can see what I mean, right? Literally every neighbourhood has something special.

Routes

After indulging in thousands of kilometers since I moved to town, here are some of my favourite routes in Squamish and within a close driving distance!

Flat and flowy routes

I have a large list of faster trails for weekday runs, to maximize my lunch hour or pre-dinner trail time. These routes are also great spots for workouts. Some are completely flat, others are very flowy with gentle climbs. Here are some of my favourites!

Route Name	Surface	Type	Distance	Vert	Notes	Route
Looking Glass & Ray Peters	Trail	Loop	11.2 km	206m	Nice forest loop!	https://www.strava.com/routes/2829230513950333080
Riverside & Covenant	Trail / Dike	Loop	12.5 km	162m	Follows the Squamish and Mamquam rivers!	https://www.strava.com/routes/2825792130638523270
Alice Lake	Trail	Loop	12.3 km	268m	Beautiful forest!	https://www.strava.com/routes/2825789634901261120
Wonderjacks	Trail	Loop	9 km	206m	Forest!	https://www.strava.com/routes/2825790408192867384
Spit Road	Gravel Dike	Out & back	13.1 km	7m	Flat and fast with views of Howe Sound! Best to avoid mid-day in summer as the road gets dusty if it’s busy	https://www.strava.com/routes/2825793028486191160
Fartherside	Trail / Gravel	Loop	11.8 km	375m	Another nice forest run!	https://www.strava.com/routes/2825807950188430144
Paved Corridor Trail bike path	Road	Out & back	12.2 km	20m	A bike path that’s separated from traffic, which will get lights soon for nighttime running! This path is great for workouts, and for stroller running	https://www.strava.com/routes/2825787451692733248

Super-hilly routes

Sometimes you want a more hikey run, or maybe you’re training for something with a lot of vert. Here are some of my go-to’s!

Route Name	Surface	Type	Distance	Vert	Notes	Route
Debecks Traverse	Trail	Loop	8 km	492m	Fun technical trails + views!	https://www.strava.com/routes/2825796699906140038
Megacy Climb	Trail	Loop	16 km	813m	Very long runnable climb!	https://www.strava.com/routes/2825806057115742264
Evac & Gondola FSR	Trail	Loop	15.9 km	984m	Steep uphill (hiking grade) then an FSR descent. If you’re watching closely, you’ll notice optional singletrack trails off the side of the FSR.	https://www.strava.com/routes/2829233808651217898
Chief 3 Peaks Via Ferrata	Trail / Rock Slab	Loop	8 km	851m	This route involves ropes & rungs & slab, and is hard to follow. Good to have navigation tools with you! I would say, leave your pup at home for this one.	https://www.strava.com/routes/2825803401519495046

Runnable long runs

Squamish is ideal for flowy long runs. These are part of my playlist of long runs…

Lower Word of Mouth Trail, which is a great connector for loops from the Highlands and Northside Connector.

Route Name	Surface	Type	Distance	Vert	Notes	Route
Northside Connector & Word of Mouth	Trail / Gravel	Loop	19.5 km	601m	This route has a bit of everything– a good chunk of trail, some rolling gravel FSR, and a couple kilometers of road at the end.	https://www.strava.com/routes/2825795589294041990
Thompson Trail & Squamish Lakes	Trail / Road	Loop	33 km	951m	Venture to lots of the great lakes in Squamish, including Alice, Cat, and Brohm. A few kilometers are on country roads to link everything in Brackendale and Paradise Valley Road.	https://www.strava.com/routes/2825798831932410688
Paradise Valley Road to Starvation Lake	Country Road / Gravel	Out & back	25.6 km	254m	Beautiful road that turns into gravel and then trail about 2 km from Starvation Lake. Great for workouts and marathon training runs, or just jumping in the lake in summer!	https://www.strava.com/routes/2825797688075923264
Squamish Town Loop	Interurban Trails / Gravel Dike	Loop	26.7 km	176m	A good quick loop for faster running, also great way to explore around Squamish!	https://www.strava.com/routes/2825809689638663046
Lava Flow Trails	Trail / Gravel FSR	Loop	26 km	745m	The Lava Flow trails are a cool place to witness the 15km stretch of ancient lava flow from Opal Cone!	https://www.strava.com/routes/2829370839878769642
Sea to Sky Trail to Whistler	Trail / Road	Point to Point	46.8 km	968m	I wouldn’t do this route if you despise country roads, as Sea to Sky Trail starts with a long section through Brackendale and Paradise Valley Road. Be warned that there are 2 highway running stretches, but the trail section from Starvation Lake north is beautiful and worth it!	https://www.strava.com/routes/2829371254746425978

Summer mountain runs

Once the snowpack melts in July, these are some of my favourite classic Coast Mountain runs within a 30-minute drive from Squamish. These are all must-do’s! Note that all of these routes take you to beautiful places outside of cell reception, so it’s a good idea to bring a SPOT or Inreach device. (The Singing Pass route is an exception, as it’s within Whistler resort.)

Shot by Mark Locki, running the Howe Sound Crest Trail with Tara in 2018.

Route Name	Surface	Type	Distance	Vert	Notes	Route
Elfin Lakes & Opal Cone	Trail	Out & back	32.4 km	1568m	Garibaldi Park beyond Elfin Lake is incredible. Opal Cone is a cinder cone volcano, running there gives you an amazing view of the Garibaldi Neve.	https://www.strava.com/routes/2825802502854965126
Elfin Lakes & Mamquam Lake	Trail	Out & back	40.1 km	1947m	Another gem past Elfin, this route takes you into amazing volcanic running.	https://www.strava.com/routes/2825800950780859448
Howe Sound Crest Trail	Trail	Point to Point	25.8 km	1824m	My favourite trail! Views of Howe Sound, amazing gnarly terrain, alpine lakes! You can make a shorter version of this classic by starting in Lions Bay, heading up the Brunswick trail, and joining HSCT for its second, downhill half.	https://www.strava.com/routes/2829368741248794776
Capilano Mountain (Furry Creek)	Trail / Gravel	Out & back	24.1 km	1730m	The route starts as a gravel FSR run and then eventually becomes nicer and nicer. Amazing views of the Sky Pilot mountains, and the whole Howe Sound Crest trail!	https://www.strava.com/routes/2829408506091642662
Watersprite Lake	Trail	Out & back	17.2 km	708m	This trail has a nice runnable climbing grade! It gets very busy with hikers on weekends, I find it’s ideal to go on a weeknight. The lake at the end is incredible!	https://www.strava.com/routes/2829407636192575098
Goat Ridge Point to Point	Trail / Gravel FSR	Loop	19.1 km	1517m	Goat Ridge is an amazing large, wide ridge. It’s fun to make it a loop, by taking the super-steep trail up from Petgill Lake, and then descending the Disneyland bike trail into Britannia. To complete the loop, there are a few km on gravel FSR after Disneyland Trail to reach Britannia, and then 2.5km on the highway back to the start. If you prefer, avoid the highway running using a short car drop, leaving one in Britannia and one at Murrin Park!	https://www.strava.com/routes/2829369595164180632
Garibaldi Park: Rubble Creek to Helm Creek with Garibaldi Lake & Panorama Ridge	Trail	Point to Point	27.9 km	1782m	One of the most beautiful trails, ever. Run past cinder cone volcanoes, through meadows, and up above the best view of Garibaldi Lake!	https://www.strava.com/routes/2829370134246567064
Singing Pass (Whistler)	Trail	Loop	21 km	1659m	Most people finish their run at the Roundhouse Lodge and then download the gondola, which is free! The resort prefers this because in summer, the terrain below is part of the mountain bike park. This makes it an amazing uphill workout!	https://www.strava.com/routes/2829370481132140522