BC Wilderness Trekking & Canoeing Adventures

My good friend and I reached out to Outdoor Explore Adventure to check out some hiking adventures that were outside the normal group tours you experience in Vancouver. I really can’t say enough positive things about the excursion and our guide, John. I had no idea we would be hiking up the summit of a mountain in the snow as it seemed like a big undertaking. But we had so many laughs and such a blast along the way. From his front door service of picking us up at our hotel, to taking the hike at our pace, it was quite the amazing adventure. This is not a cookie cutter excursion, but an amazing experience to be remembered for years to come. I will be back if I ever find myself in Vancouver again, and wouldn't hesitate recommending John and the crew to any others. Strongly recommend giving this adventure a go!!

I recently returned from the Everest High Passes Trek, in Nepal, organised by Outdoor Explore and had an amazing experience. The guides were so knowledgeable and attentive to our wellbeing. I didn't have to worry about anything on the trek, as food and accommodation were included in the trip cost, which was great! The scenery on the trek was breathtaking. I'd highly recommend Outdoor Explore

This was my fourth trip with Outdoor-Explore - the previous ones being canoeing and hiking in Canada and trekking in Nepal. They have all been well organised and enjoyable. The Middle Earth Trek is in the mountains north of Pemberton in an area where several of the peaks are named after characters in "The Lord of the Rings". Our route took five days and in that time we climbed mountains, hiked through forests, crossed boulder fields and snow slopes and wandered through Alpine meadows awash with flowers and dotted with lakes. From the summits there is an almost endless vista of dark mountains, green valleys and lingering snow. Given that everything has to be carried - tent, clothes, food, etc. - this should be considered as a tough trek but there was no rush and there was plenty of time to enjoy the surroundings. Even though there were limits on what we could carry, the food was well balanced and the quantities were just right. I already have my eyes set on another couple of treks with OE.

My daughter and I went on an amazing off-trail backpacking adventure through the alpine in Whistler. Mitch was an incredible guide with lots of experience, enthusiasm, patience and information about the area. The company was easy to work with and created a 3 day, 2 night awesome adventure!! I would highly recommend this company and these guides!

Would I trek with Outdoor Explore again? The simple answer is YES. My first trip was a short trek in the Canadian Rockies where the weather messed up our plans. The second was a much longer trek in the Everest region of Nepal. On both trips the OE guides were knowledgable about the region, they responded flexibly to changing situations and to requests, and they were always supportive. When I found I was walking slower than I expected at high altitude, there was never any pressure to do more or go faster. Having enjoyed two trips, I'd be happy to join them on another.

Always good fun out with the Outdoor Explore team. First time out with these guys I was worried I wouldn't be able to keep up, but they helped make me feel comfortable and safe the whole time. Solid, confident, and proficient guides. Amazing way to visit the outdoors, seeing places that would be hard to access alone....

We had a fantastic 3 days, 2 nights camping trip in the mountains at Whistler. As we arrived from overseas OE provided backpacks and thermarests ... and when our luggage was lost by the airline OE threw in extra jackets, sweaters, caps and the like, so we only had to buy new boots and basic wear.

Danielle (and her shadow guide Andrew) did an excellent job, and the difficulty of the trip was made challenging (as expected), but not torturous.

We had some slight miscommunication before the trip due to the lost luggage, but this was easily overcome.

While on holiday in Vancouver my husband and I went on the 5 day Powell Forest canoe trip with Outdoor Explore earlier this month. We had little experience with Canadian canoes and it took us a little while to get the hang of things but once we were going it was wonderful paddling across the 4 lakes and the scenery was fantastic. The trip was very well organised, all the equipment and food was arranged for us but we had to bear in mind that everything had to be carried between the lakes so we had to make sure that our personal kit was as light as possible. The portaging was the hardest part of the trip as the boats were heavy and some of the bags were heavy too but thankfully the longest one was only 2.8 km so not too far and we managed between the group to carry everything. Each night we stopped at a camp site on the lake which were all equipped with flattened areas for the tents, composting toilets and some had fire drums. Fortunately there wasn't a fire ban so we could have a fire each night. You really felt you were out in the wilderness when all the food was in a bear-proof barrel tided to a tree at night, all other smelly items had to be put up a tree or up a bear hang. We even had to dig a hole to spit our toothpaste in so that the smell didn't attract bears to the area. It was all very exciting for people who come from the UK where we don't have any bears. We had a thoroughly enjoyable time and would do the trip again."

My husband and I joined this tour without knowing what to expect. It was our first ever guided mountain hiking tour. We decided on a half day hike and met John at the pickup location. We hiked up Mt. Seymour and ended on top of Dog Mountain. We were pleasantly surprised that there was still quite a lot of snow up in the mountain, even in early June! The scenery was quite nice but hiking was slightly difficult for me (The guys seemed to be hiking with ease). The mountains were quite steep, the snows were melting and it rained earlier that day, so the ground was slippery and muddy along the trail. John tried his best to lead us on a safe path but I still managed to have one of my hiking boots stuck in the mud and my other foot was sinking in, hahaha... but eventually I made it to the top and the experience was worth every bit of my efforts. It's an experience that I would probably never forget! The view on the top of the mountains was great, just a bit too cloudy. I would give it a 5 star rating if it was not for the rainy weather.

We did the Squamish day hike option. We had the BEST experience on our hike. Terry was an awesome guide, he let us set our own pace and was so helpful and supportive throughout the entire hike (as we are not very experienced hikers). We had a delicious hot lunch/coffee/tea, prepared by Terry at the top. The hike was challenging in the best way and worth it at the end! I could go on and on, but won’t—basically, if you’re thinking about booking, DO IT! We could not have asked for a more beautiful and rewarding experience.