We woke up this morning to a clear and beautiful sunny day. Our initial plan was to go to the aquarium but Ken, our host, told us to make the most of the sun (he is a Vancouverite) and gave us a few suggestions. One suggestion which we followed up on was to catch the bus to Horseshoe Bay near West Vancouver and then take the ferry across to Bowen Island.
The express bus to the ferry terminal was full but we got to see more of the coast and go across the Lions Gate Bridge. At Horseshoe Bay, you could see small drifts of snow on some of the higher peaks and synonymous with this side of Canada, wood floating in the waterways. The sun was out and people were happy everywhere (it’s a Vancouver thing on sunny days).
A quick ferry trip (20 minutes) and we arrived in Snug Cove on Bowen Island. We passed the information booth and missed collecting the map so we were flying blind. Eventually after walking along one of the roads we spotted a trail. We cut through the bush and we ended up at Bridal Veil Falls. 
These 5m high falls were complimented with a fish ladder!! This made my day! 
A fish ladder is a man made structure which assists the spawning salmon get past impassable objects such as waterfalls to get to safe spawning grounds. They are a series of mini waterfalls like steps with tubing which the salmon swim / jump up. Very ingenious.
We followed the Hatchery Trail. It took us through rain forest with some very large trees. Compare Tan with the trunks on these monsters. 
Near a small brook we saw this sign - “Salmon at Work”. I don’t know which council these salmon were working at but it seemed like they were on a very long smoko. That is, we didn’t see a single fish (even with my fish spotting mode turned on).
We followed the Killarney Creek trail down to the estuary, admired some ducks and read the information boards detailing the spawning of the Coho and chum salmon here. Interesting too.
We hung around the marina waiting for the ferry somewhat deluded by how cold it got over a short space of time. The sun had almost gone down and the cloud was coming in! Next time we will bring more than a thin t-shirt and a fleece! 
Another ferry and bus ride and we were back in Vancouver, somewhat chuffed after our pleasant day trip to Bowen Island.
The express bus to the ferry terminal was full but we got to see more of the coast and go across the Lions Gate Bridge. At Horseshoe Bay, you could see small drifts of snow on some of the higher peaks and synonymous with this side of Canada, wood floating in the waterways. The sun was out and people were happy everywhere (it’s a Vancouver thing on sunny days).
A quick ferry trip (20 minutes) and we arrived in Snug Cove on Bowen Island. We passed the information booth and missed collecting the map so we were flying blind. Eventually after walking along one of the roads we spotted a trail. We cut through the bush and we ended up at Bridal Veil Falls. These 5m high falls were complimented with a fish ladder!! This made my day! A fish ladder is a man made structure which assists the spawning salmon get past impassable objects such as waterfalls to get to safe spawning grounds. They are a series of mini waterfalls like steps with tubing which the salmon swim / jump up. Very ingenious.We followed the Hatchery Trail. It took us through rain forest with some very large trees. Compare Tan with the trunks on these monsters. Near a small brook we saw this sign - “Salmon at Work”. I don’t know which council these salmon were working at but it seemed like they were on a very long smoko. That is, we didn’t see a single fish (even with my fish spotting mode turned on).We followed the Killarney Creek trail down to the estuary, admired some ducks and read the information boards detailing the spawning of the Coho and chum salmon here. Interesting too.We hung around the marina waiting for the ferry somewhat deluded by how cold it got over a short space of time. The sun had almost gone down and the cloud was coming in! Next time we will bring more than a thin t-shirt and a fleece! Another ferry and bus ride and we were back in Vancouver, somewhat chuffed after our pleasant day trip to Bowen Island.
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