Golden Ears is one of the biggest parks in British Columbia and one of the closest to the city. Gold Creek runs clear and green over pale gravel, the trails go through proper old forest, and the peaks are still white in July. The bus drops you inside the park.
Pick your date below. The bus leaves from 1025 Dunsmuir Street in downtown Vancouver, in front of the Bentall Centre courtyard.
Dates not open yet
We put seats on sale one season at a time, and this one is not up yet. Nothing is hidden and there is no list to pay to join. Leave your email and you hear the day the dates open.
Cancel 14 or more days before you go and you get 90% back.
Choose your own adventure: we drop you off, and the bus picks you up in the same spot.
A few hours on real trail with roots, rocks and some climbing, so wear proper shoes.
Golden Ears takes its name from the twin peaks at the top of it, which catch the light at the end of the day and turn gold. The park runs a long way north from there into country most people never see.
Gold Creek, where the bus drops you, is the accessible end of it. The creek runs clear and green over pale gravel, and there are trails leading off in several directions from the same car park, from flat riverside walking to steeper routes that climb out of the valley.
Alouette Lake sits at the south end with a beach and canoe rentals, and the water is cold in the way glacier-fed water always is.
The forest here is the point as much as the mountains. Big second-growth cedar and hemlock, moss on everything, and the particular quiet of a wet coastal forest.
Snow on the peaks in July, and you did not have to drive to it.
One stop, inside the park, with the trails starting at the edge of the car park.
We pick you up
In front of the Bentall Centre courtyard, where you will also see a TD Bank. Turn up fifteen minutes early so there is time to get everybody on.
The bus drops you at Gold Creek Parking, right inside the park and within walking distance of a number of the best trails. This is where most people start a day at Golden Ears, and it is where the bus collects you.
Good to know:
Facilities: Facilities in the park are limited, Nothing to buy, in the park or near it
Note: Check the trail you want before you go and keep an eye on the clock. There is no phone signal to sort out a late finish with.
We drop you back
The bus returns to the same place it left from, so you go home the way you came.
This is our estimated return time, not a guarantee. Traffic can change it and some trips do run late, so please leave yourself some room afterwards rather than booking something tight against it.
A full day in a big park with no shop, no cafe and limited facilities.
No food, no drink, no water fill. Facilities inside the park are limited and there is very little just outside it either.
Bring lunch, snacks, plenty of water, sunscreen and bug spray, and treat the day as fully self-supported.
Closed toe shoes, and a rain jacket even when it looks fine. This is a wet coastal forest and the weather up the valley does not always match the weather downtown.
A warm layer is worth having too. It is noticeably cooler under the trees and by the water.
Dates run through the season. If the one you want shows sold out, look again two days before: that is the free cancellation cut-off and a few seats usually reappear.
Placeholder dates · the real ones come from our booking system
We're Canada's outdoor bus service. Since 2010 we've taken more than 300,000 people to parks and trails without a car. You bring a daypack. We handle everything else.
Golden Ears is close enough to the city that its car parks fill early on a good day and stay full. You get dropped at the start of the trail instead.
Gold Creek is a hub. There is easy walking along the creek and steeper routes climbing out of the valley, and you decide when you get there.
This is one of the largest parks in the province. Big trees, green water over pale gravel bars, and mountains that hold snow into the summer.
Short enough that the day is mostly park rather than mostly road, and short enough that a school bus is the sensible way to run it.
★★★★★ 4.6/5.0 on Google
All stops enable guests ample time to explore the destination. This is a highly a good idea trip for those that appreciate spending time in nature minus distractions.OnAir48444 · Tripadvisor · Oct 2025
This is a great service if you don't have a vehicle or just don't want to drive. I'm so happy to have discovered this. There will definitely be more Parkbus trips in my future!James Taylor Wilson · Happy Parkbus customer
Highly recommend them. The bus service is so useful for people who doesn't want to drive and gives return facility. They were on time and bus facility was good too. Total worth the cost if you want to avoid hassle driving/parking.Sidhant Duggal · Facebook · Aug 2022
Factor in the cost of gas, parking and renting a car, it's a lot cheaper than taking a personal vehicle.Toronto Star
Parkbus is a great option for nature lovers, whether it's a day trip or overnight camping getaway.The Globe and Mail
Cancel more than 14 days before departure and you get a 90% refund, with 10% withheld for payment processing. Inside 14 days refunds are not available, except for a medical emergency in the 48 hours before departure, which needs a signed doctor’s note within 14 days of the missed trip and returns 50%. Tickets are transferable: you can change the passenger name up to 48 hours before departure.
If Parkbus cancels a trip, you get a full refund. We decide no later than 48 hours before departure and only on confirmed conditions: the park closed or the park authority asking us to stand down, an evacuation order or alert, an area restriction order, the highway closed, or the trip judged unsafe to run. A forecast is not one of those things, and trips run rain or shine.
Bring lunch, water and shoes you can walk in. We handle the driving and the parking, which at Golden Ears is the hard part.
Not quite the right fit? These all leave from the same spot downtown.
