How to find the Cypress Mountain cabins

I’d seen photos of some cute cabins tucked away in amongst the trees near Cypress Mountain ski resort for a while before I figured out how to get there.

Down from the Cypress Mountain ski area, you can find around 100 Cypress cabins. They’re privately owned, and not for rent (as far as I can tell). If you’ve skied or snowshoed up at Cypress it’s unlikely you’ll have seen them as they’re pretty well hidden. However, there are trails in the forest which will take you past some of the gorgeous Hollyburn cabins on Cypress Mountain in Vancouver.

I recommend doing this hike with a flask of hot chocolate or coffee. Or, at the very least, stop at the Hollyburn Mountain cafe in the X-country ski area to get something nice to warm up with. Note though that if you do do that, you’ll need a trail pass since you’ll be on the Cypress Mountain trails. If you don’t do that, then you won’t need a trail pass for this snowshoe hike near Vancouver.

Together with a friend, we hired some snowshoes and went on a cabin hunt. Because everyone knows cabins look a lot more cosy when they’re surrounded by snow! 

About the Cypress Mountain Cabins

The Hollyburn Cabins started being built in the late 1920s near the new Hollyburn Ski Camp/Lodge. It’s said that people decided to build a cabin, looked for fresh water and building supplies and then went about building their home on the Hollyburn Ridge.

These builders weren’t necessarily the most experienced, but they learned through trial and error and shared knowledge with other cabin builders.

By 1931 over 200 cabins had been built. There were more restrictions put in place and annual fees collected by the District of West Vancouver.

Nowadays there are fewer cabins but they’re still used. We saw the lights on in a couple of the cabins we passed and saw some people coming out to do some cross country skiing. Dreamy! 

You can read more about the Hollyburn Cabins here. 

A couple of things to note about the Cypress Mountain Cabins

• These are private cabins so be respectful and stay on the paths
• If you’re following a trail that enters the cross-country ski area at Cypress Mountain you’ll need a trail pass

How to find the Cypress Mountain Cabins

The Cypress Mountain cabins are in the Lower Hollyburn area of the Cypress Mountain ski resort. You can access them from the Cypress Mountain Hollyburn Nordic area (which requires a trail pass) or from a parking spot off the main road up to the ski area.

Above is a little Cypress Mountain trail map of the route we took. 

AllTrails is my go-to hiking app for finding, planning, and navigating while I’m out on the trails. With offline maps on AllTrails+ you can be confident you’re still on the right track, even without mobile signal.

Cypress Mountain Cabin Hike

Usually in the winter I just go skiing on Cypress Mountain, but this year I decided to do some Cypress Mountain snowshoeing.

We made up our own little loop for this Cypress snowshoe up around the Cypress log cabins coming back on some of the Baden Powell Trail before rejoining the logging road by which we’d parked up. 

There are no trail markers so I highly recommend picking up the North Shore Trail map linked above or, at the very least downloading AllTrails.

Start by parking at the pullout on your right-hand side as you drive up Cypress Mountain. The pull-out is just before you get to the Nordic Ski Area.

This area can often be full. If so, park up at the Nordic Ski Area and then pay for a trail pass to use their trails. 

If you park at the pull-out out you’ll follow along a fire access road until you get to the Old Forks Trail. Along this trail, you’ll climb up fairly steeply in places and the wind passes dozens of beautiful cabins. 

Just before you arrive at the Nordic Ski Area and managed trails there’s a bridge to your right. Cross over this bridge and continue your hike along the Grand National Trail and then the Cypress Resort Road. 

Last Updated on August 9, 2024 by Hannah