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Stunning Colours of Sandy Cove Beach Trail near Harrison Hot Springs

Insane Water Blues Spiced with Fair Amount of Rocks at Sandy Cove Beach Trail @ Harrison Hot Springs, BC Canada

Looking to visit Harrison Hot Springs, a popular BC tourism destination, sometime soon? Of all the amazing things to do in Harrison Hot Springs in the summer, we encourage you to go hiking! The area around Harrison Lake offers a variety of easy kids-friendly hiking trails. We'll tell you about our absolute favorite – Sandy Cove Beach trail aka Whippoorwill trail!

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Insane Water Blues Spiced with Fair Amount of Rocks!

What is your favorite color you'd like to find on a typical beach trail?

Is it the turquoise blues that feel your heart with joy? Is it the tropical greenery that makes the butterflies in your stomach dance? Or is it the shiny gold and diamonds that play on the crystal clear waters?

Sandy Cove Beach Trail offers it all and more. You are surrounded by wilderness in its purest sense. Look around! Can you believe the picture is real? or is it some sort of virtual reality trick.

You are breathing with full lungs the warm air that feels thick with sunshine and is full of dry pine-tree aromas. Close your eyes! Can you feel the energy? Can you feel young and alive?!

We have planned this hike for a few months, and have chosen what feels like the most beautiful day!

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Sandy Cove Beach Trail – Quick Facts

This Harrison Hot Springs hiking trail can be split into two: the hike to Sandy Cove Beach and back, and the full loop. The hike to the beach and back is about 1.2km. The full loop is 4.5km.

We've done to full loop in the against-the-clock direction: took us about 4 hours (2:45 pure moving time, as we hang out on the beach a bit).

The trail is a bit more difficult than what we've expected of a typical kids-friendly hike – the terrain is quite rough.

The full Loop in our opinion is not suitable for children under 5, even if you carry them in a hiking backpack. We'd recommend you only do the Sandy Cove Beach and back.

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Directions

GPS / Google Maps anchor point (driving): Harrison Hot Springs Resort, Esplanade Avenue, Harrison Hot Springs, BC, Canada

If you are heading to Harrison Hot Springs from Coquitlam Centre, it will take you about 1.5 hours to get there.

It took us about a half-hour more as we made a stop at Abbotsford to have a hearty lunch before we hit the trail. Our place of choice – Five Guys (burger place).

We are not generally into fast food, but in this case, the quality of Five Guys' burgers is outstanding – their food is restaurant quality and it doesn't feel like fast food at all. (FYI: higher price-tag as well). Here they are on the MAP.

Back to Harrison Hot Springs for more fun!

Once you've found parking around the area of the Harrison Hot Springs Resort, there is an approx 10 min walk to the trail-head. Look for GPS / Google Maps: Sandy Cove Whippoorwill Point Trailhead

Park at Harrison Hot Springs Resort or in the nearby area. There is plenty of free parking around. Be mindful – it is usually PACKED on weekends during the summer. There are many other Harrison Hot Springs hikes, both kids-friendly and some harder ones. Still, Sandy Cove Beach Trail aka Whippoorwill trail is one of our most favorite things to do in Harrison Hot Springs.

Plan for a half-day hike: at least 5 hours if you do the full trail, and at least 3 hours if you are only planning to go to Sandy Cove Beach and back.

Once you leave the resort area, there will be no more washrooms (even the wooden-hut ones), nor there will be any food or water options. On a hot day take plenty of water + snacks for a nice beach picnic.

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The Trail

Ok, so you hit the road! The first 10 min to the trail-head is gravel-paved and bicycle/stroller accessible. It will take you all the way to the water-treatment facility. There is a small pond with actual HOT spring water coming from underground – tons of fun to walk over huge fallen trees and watch steam coming up even on a hot summer day.

When you get to the water treatment facility – right to the very end, the trail-head is hidden to your left. It is hard to spot with a naked eye, so they've posted a sign to what it looks like nowhere… The trail goes steeply up right away and is a kind rock-climbing exercise 🙂 Hiking poles are strongly recommended!

We do not recommend this trail if you have mobility concerns, recent injuries, little children that are not used to these trails..

YES, I said it, the full Loop in our opinion is not quite a kids-friendly hike and not suitable for children under 5, even if you carry them in a hiking backpack. We'd recommend you only do the Sandy Cove Beach and back.

Yes, Cosmos has done the full loop with us, even though he is only 3.5 yo. However, he is used to hiking with us a lot and, secondly, in retrospect, we wouldn't have done the full loop with him yet – we'd wait will he is a bit older.

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Sandy Cove Beach

If you hike against the clock, the first part of the trail, despite some steep climbs and rough terrains, is well-traveled and we consider it a kid-friendly hike. You'll meet many people going in-and-out. It will take you no more than an hour to get to the beach.

The sand is soft, the water is cold though – but a perfect playground for your little ones.

If you made a decision to proceed to the full loop, good luck finding the trail exit! Hahahaha! Just kidding..

You'll need to walk all the way to the far end of the sandy beach and cross a little stream covered with bushes. Right past that you'll see a set of rocks that look like stairs – you'll need to climb them to find your way. Once above in the forest again, the trail is pretty hard to spot.

Do NOT follow the orange plastic-bag type markings – those will take you into the wrong “short cut” route – but you are here to see the views! to breathe full lungs of wild air! to experience the serenity of insane blues!

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“Back-country” Trail Loop

The full-loop past Sandy Cove Beach is pretty narrow and rough, with steep rocky drops here and there. Scary! A lot of bushes and large fallen trees to climb over. We'd recommend that you have your hiking sticks (or trekking poles) with you. We did not and in the end, our knees and feet were sore from constant ups and downs.

The views are spectacular though!

We had our AllTrails mobile app on the whole time so we are not lost in the wrong direction. Still, a few times we did.

A quick reminder to ALWAYS follow Leave No Trace principles when hiking in the backcountry.

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Harrison Hot Springs

When we came “back out of the woods” there was still plenty of time to chill around and many fun things to do in Harrison Hot Springs town.

We have had a weird craving for hot dogs and ice-cream – both quickly satisfied.

Hot Dogs: There is a tiny hole-in-the-wall Hot Dog stand right next to Lakeview Restaurant. Their hot dogs are massive! and they have very creative options such as teriyaki-mayo hot dogs. I (Alexandra) haven't' had a hot dog in maybe 5 years and this one was phenomenal!

Ice-Cream: top-quality spot called The Green Star right inside Harrison Village Mall – they serve delicious Dairy Queen options. yummy! Cosmos was ecstatic and promised to hike with us even more! haha!

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Stay SAFE adventuring outdoors with your kids + Outdoor Ethics:

Hiking With Kids: 12 Simple Safety Rules Every Parent Should Follow

8 Best Natural Sunscreens For Kids. Organic. Chemicals-Free.

Leave No Trace & Outdoor Ethics – Zero Impact Family Adventures

10 Basic Safety Rules When Biking With Kids

Camping With a Baby – Six Baby Gear Essentials To Take With You

60++ Hilarious Hiking & Camping Memes You Absolutely Have To See

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Fun Family Learning

Want to have even more family fun outdoors when hiking trails with your kids? Check out our PerfectDayToPlay FREE printable Scavenger Hunt sheets!

Are you a local hiking enthusiast? Can you recommend other hiking trails near Harrison Hot Springs? Do you know any other kids-friendly hikes around Fraser Valley or anywhere in BC? Send us a note!

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Enjoy!

Cheerfully yours,

Alexandra, Alex & Cosmos

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