The best walks and hikes around Powell Lake

Tin Hat Hut sits at the halfway point of the Sunshine Coast Trail on the summit of Tin Hat Mountain, with 360-degree views of Powell Lake, the Coast Mountain range, the Strait of Georgia, and Vancouver Island to the west. The hut, built by volunteers in 2011, sleeps 10 and includes a pellet stove, an outhouse, picnic tables, and a fire pit. It’s free to stay on a first-come, first-served basis with no permits required, making it a great overnight destination whether you are doing a day hike or a longer section of the trail.

This is the former site of the old Fiddlehead Farm, a remote rainforest retreat that people from around the world once visited before it was logged and demolished in 2002. The meadow and a still-functioning orchard are all that remain of this once-thriving community, and in the fall, you may even find some tasty apples on the trees if you beat the local bears to them. It’s a great place to take a break, walk through the meadow, and enjoy the surroundings before continuing on the trail.

Fiddlehead Landing is a remote lakeside access point on Powell Lake along the Sunshine Coast Trail, located near the site of the former Fiddlehead Farm and an old orchard on the shoreline. Just uphill, Fiddlehead Hut is a small backcountry shelter perched above Powell Lake, offering simple overnight accommodation and views of the lake in a quiet, forested setting. This site functions as a backcountry trailhead and staging area, with direct access by water taxi from Powell Lake Marina (Contact Justin Behan, who transports hikers to and from the landing at 604-483-6527). Alternatively, land access is via the Fiddlehead Trail as part of a longer, more strenuous backcountry approach.

Sunshine Coast Trail is a fantastic 180-kilometre backcountry route stretching from Sarah Point near Desolation Sound to Saltery Bay on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast, making it one of Canada’s longest hut-to-hut hiking trails. It passes through a wide range of landscapes, including coastal forest, mountain ridges, lakes, and picturesque viewpoints, with free public huts spaced along the route for overnight use. This segment is a relatively steep climb from the lakeshore through dense forest on a mix of dirt trail, wooden boardwalks, and small bridge crossings over creeks. It leads to the open summit, with sweeping views over Powell Lake and the surrounding Coast Mountains.

As you stand on the shore, you can see how these ships are anchored together to create a calm harbor for the floating logs. It is one of the largest concrete ship breakwaters in the world.

As you walk along the shoreline, you can enjoy a wide, sandy beach that is great for swimming or searching for colorful shells during low tide. The water here is usually calm, making it a safe and fun place for you to relax under the sun.

You can watch large boats and small kayaks glide past while eagles soar high above the tall cedar and fir trees. If you visit in the evening, you are in for a treat, as the sunsets here are famous for painting the sky in bright shades of pink, orange, and purple. You can choose between a full hook up sites, partial hook ups, beach front, and tenting sites.

The halfway point of the Sunshine Coast Trail, the Tin Hat Hut is an epic 360-degree mountain-top lookout that provides the quintessential view of the rugged mountains, valleys, and lakes that define the qathet back country experience. This hut, built by qPAWS in 2011, is a fully winterized cabin with a pellet stove. Tin Hat Mountain is named for the tin hats that were worn by loggers who were pioneers in the area, and the mountain itself was once home to a fire lookout station, because of the expansive view it provides of all the surrounding forested areas and views of 32 lakes.” https://sunshinecoasttrail.com/plan-your-hike/hut-to-hut/tin-hat/ When we slept there it was very crowded: it is said that the cabin offers place for 10 persons. However we have been 12. You have to carry your own water up the mountain as there is no creek.