Well, Danne and I have been busy little bees. After leaving our Whistler trip, we headed to Point Roberts to visit some family members. My aunt and uncle have a property down there, so they had some people staying with them for Labour Day Weekend. On Sunday night, we stayed in Delta to visit some friends from the University of Victoria. We headed out to Maple Ridge on Monday afternoon and we ended up doing some touristy things out there.
Golden Ears Cheesecrafters
The first thing we did was visit Golden Ears Cheesecrafters. They make all of their cheeses, except the goat cheeses, in-house. They let us try a bunch of different cheeses before deciding on the one that we found tastiest. We opted for a Havarti Reserve and it was really yummy. It tasted a bit like parmesan and it was great in the superfood salad that we ate the next day. There is also a fruit market right outside of the main building. We bought some cherries there!
Inside the shop, they have a café. My mom says it is quite good! They also sell a bunch of canned goods and knick-knacks. It sells a lot of items that would make good gifts.
Driving Directions
It is really easy to drive to Golden Ears Cheesecrafters. Once you cross the Golden Ears Bridge into Maple Ridge, you just continue along Golden Ears Way which merges into 128 Avenue. You can also access Golden Ears Way if you are driving from Vancouver to Maple Ridge. Just take the exit for Maple Ridge off of Highway Number 1 and turn left onto Golden Ears Way off of Lougheed Highway. You will find Golden Ears Cheesecrafters on your right-hand side. There is plenty of parking!
Malcolm Knapp Research Forest
After Golden Ears Cheesecrafters, we hung out with my best friend and her family the entire evening. We drove back to my mom’s place that night but actually convinced my mom to drive back out to Maple Ridge on Tuesday morning to go to Malcolm Knapp Research Forest.
Before you start your hike, take a picture of the map offered at the information board. Daniel took a quick shot of it, and it definitely helped. There are some spots along the way that they show the map. However, it is quite easy to get confused within the Research Forest so I would recommend having a picture on your phone.
We were going to go for an easy hike, but once we knew there was a viewpoint, we really wanted to just do it right! We followed the blue path all the way up to the viewpoint that has an elevation of 325 metres. The viewpoint is near “C” on the map above. I would suggest doing this instead of walking on the dirt road. It was a lot prettier!
The path is quite clearly marked, so make sure you watch out for the markers when crossing intersections. Sometimes the path continues a few meters down on the opposite side.
You know that you have reached the viewpoint when you see a shelter dedicated to Peggy Helms. There is also a picnic bench there, which would be the perfect spot to eat a packed lunch. If only we thought of that!?
Hike’s Difficulty, Time, and Length
This hike is an easy to intermediate hike. There are some steep hills but overall quite easy. If you are in decent shape then this hike will be no problem. If you do not hike often, then make sure to take breaks. I would also suggest having a water bottle with you.
The hike to the lookout takes about 3 hours roundtrip. We did cut through one of the trails that are no longer maintained since we were hungry and wanted to get lunch ASAP. This shaved a bit of time off of our trip.
We ended up walking 9 km.
Please note: Dogs are not allowed on this hike since it is a research forest.
Driving Directions
Once you are in Maple Ridge, you can follow 232 Street until you reach Silver Valley. Then you turn right onto Silver Valley Road and follow that until the end. It is quite easy to find and there is free parking on-site.
Well, that is what Daniel and I have been up to on Monday and Tuesday this week. We went to the Greater Vancouver Zoo yesterday and are going to hike today. Will write more later!
xx
Jasmine