In what I believe to be one of the most beautiful little communities in the Lower mainland the Baden Powell trailhead for Quarry Rock is located in Deep Cove, North Vancouver.

Quarry Rock is well known around Vancouver and I have to start with a couple of things:

1. This trail is popular (especially for families with kids and dogs) and gets ridiculously busy in the summer (Maybe try some other trails I have written about)
2. It is absolutely not accessible for Wheelchairs or Strollers

Because of number 2, I had to leave my youngest at home. It is just too hard to carry an almost 60lbs minion on your shoulders for 4km. I am currently researching child carriers for kids his size and have narrowed it down to the “Free Loader” http://www.myfreeloader.com/ – I’ll keep you up to date!

That being said this is an awesome hike for kids. The hike is about 4km and would probably take about 1.5 – 2 hours. The elevation gain is just over 100m and most of that happens at the start of the trail. The trail is considered easy but the stairs will challenge the kids.

On this occasion my oldest and I were lucky enough to be accompanied by another family who wanted to come along on one of our hikes. Their kids are incredibly fit and have no fear so they cruised this trail with ease and often would drop down off the trail to explore the rocks and fallen trees in the many creek beds that the trail passes over.

The kids perspective: “There are too many stairs”

This was a common complaint with all of the kids and the reason for the lack of accessibility. There are A LOT of stairs.

We got lucky with the weather, since it was supposed to rain, but we lucked out and just as we reached Quarry Rock a ring of clouds opened up and sun shone down on us while we stopped for water and a snack.

Of course, after the hike, the adults needed a snack… I mean the kids needed a snack, and no visit to the Cove would be complete without stopping for coffee and donuts at “Honey Doughnuts and Goodies” https://honeydoughnuts.com/about-us – These are some of the best doughnuts in and around Vancouver!