Want to swing over a canyon waterfall, or do you prefer to walk along a boardwalk through a forest while the kids zip along overhead?
Squamish’s Robin Sherry is hoping to build a zipline and eco tour attraction in the district.
Sherry has applied to the ministry of forestry, lands and natural resources for tenure to put a guided boardwalk walking tour and zipline business on 11 hectares of Crown land east of Squamish, about five kilometres up the Mamquam River.
Part of the property is a former logging site that will be cleaned up for the attraction, Sherry said.
“Mamquam Canyon Eco Tour will take the average tourist on a safe exciting ride through waterfalls, canyons and beautiful forest, something only an expert climber or kayaker would be able to experience with a large margin of risk,” Sherry said.
The focus of the tours would be on education including about fish, hydrology, fresh water preservation, glaciations, and the workings of the Mamquam Power Plant Generating Station visible in the area, Sherry said, adding he imagines school groups will frequent the attraction.
Sherry, a Squamish Search and Rescue member, said safety of visitors will be paramount.
The business would include eight covered tree-high platforms, he said. Two other structures will be safe zone areas used as staging and preparation areas for guests and employees, washroom facilities and gear storage. The structures would be made of cedar, Sherry said and the attraction would aim for zero emissions and have compostable toilets and solar panels for the minimal hydro that would be needed. Water would be collected from rain barrels.
Once up and running, the attraction would employ up to 10 people during the busy summer season, he said.
Sherry’s application notes that visitors to Squamish are seeking one or two-hour activities suitable for an entire family and that kind of attraction is lacking in the district.
