Seasonal Hiking

“A Golden Season. Wide-Open Trails. Pure Columbia Valley.” Every September, the mountains around Invermere and the Columbia Valley light up in a way that feels almost impossible. Whole hillsides turn molten gold as the larch trees trade their green needles for fiery shades of yellow. For just two or three short weeks, it’s like stepping into another world—one that feels secret, fleeting, and wild. Most people have heard of the crowds chasing larch season in Banff and Lake Lou

Deb from Edmonton reached out to Playwest to see if we could get her and her sisters out for some adventures. Of course we said yes! Deb explained that her mom and sisters get together annually at Deb’s cabin in the Columbia Valley for a ladies trip in August. A typical trip involved days spent at the lake taking in all the sun they could, some shopping, dining at some of our local restaurants and a little bit of exploring the area. When we spoke over the phone Deb wanted to

The Columbia Valley is an incredibly diverse ecological hub. This tour explores one of the crown jewels of our area, The Columbia Wetlands. This wetland is a protected migratory nesting area for hundreds of species of birds. The birder can spend countless hours here enjoying the sites and sounds. After a visit along the shores of the wetlands we make our way north crossing many of the tributaries in search of larger mammals and ungulates. As we travel along we keep our eyes p

The title of this blog says it all. It’s not all doom and gloom, it really can be enjoyable to hike when mother nature is weeping. But how, you ask? Playwest Mountain Experience has some helpful tips. Read our top five tips to have fun when backpacking the West Coast Trail in the rain. It starts with the right attitude. That may sound easier than it is but look at it this way; you could be working in the office instead. Take advantage of your time outside and embrace the beau