This is beautiful 

I said to my fellow ex-pats, as we sank down into our tubes atop Mount Seymour’s tubing slope and looked out over the clouds to the snow-capped mountains surrounding us. You don’t see this kind of view in Australia very often.

I am not a big skier/snowboarder/ski bunny. Heck, I’m the most uncoordinated person you’ll ever meet. But being in Canada during winter, I wanted to be one with the locals and play in the snow, so we decided to give tubing a go. Cue Hayley stepping out of her comfort zone.

Getting to Mount Seymour

Mount Seymour is located about 15 kilometres from downtown Vancouver on the North Shore. It has ample parking, but for those of us car-less, it is still easily accessible. From Vancouver take the SeaBus over to Lonsdale Quay and walk through the market to Bean Around the World. From here you can get a shuttle bus direct to Mount Seymour. It is $8 one-way. Visit this website for shuttle bus information.

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On top of Mount Seymour

It takes about 45 minutes to reach the top, but once you arrive there is plenty to do. Of course, there is skiing and snowboarding. Mount Seymour also has a few different snowshoe trails, which seemed to be the activity of the day. We went for a walk to check out the two tobogganing parks: one was for smaller children whilst the other had the bigger thrill.

Then there was tubing. It costs $20 for two hours, but as we were there at the end of the day (the tube park closes at 4:00 pm) we just paid $10 for an hour of fun. Once we were given our instructions we were on our way. There are four lanes, some offering more lead than others. I have never quite done anything like it before. You lie on the tube face first and slide down super-fast, using your shoes as brakes.

It is very different from being pulled behind the boat in the same style of tube. But the fun doesn’t stop there. You also get hooked onto this pulley that takes you back to the start once you’re finished. Sliding up a mountainside in a tube and looking at the marvellous view surrounding us: priceless.

Mount Seymour has a restaurant, cafe and cafeteria. It can also accommodate parties. It’s a park for kids, adults and the inbetweeners like us. Everyone will have fun up on the mountain. If you stay until the sun sets (which is super early in winter anyway) you may be rewarded with a beauty to highlight the already breathtaking view too.