gnilma's Hiking Adventures 81 - Squamish Estuary Trail \ stacker news ~alter

The Squamish Estuary is located right next to the town of Squamish where the Squamish river meets Howe Sound. This area is a protected area teeming with wildlife. Within the estuary area, there is a trail system for people to walk and explore. Since the area is on flat land, the trails have minimal elevation gain. We visited the estuary back in April of 2021 and started our walk near downtown Squamish. We took the trail named the Ocean Front Loop, which follows the Squamish River, and headed towards the beach of Howe Sound before heading back on an alternate trail back to the trailhead. We did not see many animals during our walk. When we were walking next to the river, the views were also limited to nearby trees and mountains in the background. But once we reached the beach, the view opens up, and we could see a lot further. Lower Shannon Falls #820758 was clearly visible across the water from the beach. As well, the iconic great granite slabs of Squamish were standing tall across the water, behind the fog and clouds. We made our way back an alternate trail to complete the loop after hanging around the beach for a bit.

We started down a wide, flat, and well maintained gravel trail.

The trail follows the Squamish River.

Granite slabs of Squamish still visible on a cloudy day.

Continuing to follow the river. I think this might be a sub arm and not the main arm of the river.

Continuing on trail towards the beach.

Someone made a bench out of logs for people to rest and take in the view.

A small dock on the river. This section is very close to the beach and the waterflow is quite slow.

Reaching the beach. A large dead tree casually sitting in the sand.

The view opens up a lot once we reached the beach.

Someone lay these stones into this pattern / formation. I had no idea what it means or what it was used for. Maybe it's just for fun, or maybe it's for some sort of ritual.