Cypress Provincial Park 2010 Olympic Venue

1 Cypress Provincial Park 2010 Olympic Venue

Home of the Cypress Mountain Ski area, Cypress Provincial Park is the site of the Freestyle Skiing and Snowboard events for the 2010 Winter Games. The park has an impressive diversity of natural features, old-growth forest and opportunitues for outdoor recreation year-round.

Cypress lies within the traditional territories of Squamish, Tsleil- Waututh and Musqueam First Nations and is one of the most heavily used parks in the provincial park system, with over a million visitors every year.

Interesting Cypress Park Facts • Natural highlights include several mountain lakes: Blue Gentian, First, Yew, Cabin and West and easily accessible mountain peaks: Mount Strachan (1,454 m), Black Mountain (1,217 m) and Hollyburn Mountain (1,325 m).

• Cypress protects some of the last stands of accessible virgin old- growth forest found in the Lower Mainland.

• Yew Lake Trail, a 1.5 km wheelchair-accessible trail, includes a loop through old-growth forest and an opportunity to view examples of nearly all the tree, shrub and wildflower species within the park. Many of the park’s animal and bird species are dependent on old-growth forest habitat.

• The striations (grooves) that are visible on the peaks of Black, Strachan and Hollyburn mountains were caused by the movement of the glacial ice 14,000 years ago.

www.bcparks.ca 2 Cypress Provincial Park 2010 Olympic Venue

History Nearly a century ago, European recreation enthusiasts became interested in Hollyburn Mountain as a hiking and skiing destination. Over the years, Hollyburn became increasingly popular as a number of ski lodges and cabins were built in the area. With the opening of the Lions Gate Bridge in 1938, the North Shore Mountains (southernmost group of the Coast Mountains) became more accessible and the population expanded in the North and West Vancouver municipalities. Cypress Provincial Park was established in 1975 and serves as a local and regional recreation area providing for a variety of outdoor activities, including alpine and nordic skiing. Wildlife There have been 113 species of birds and at least 20 species of mammals, including black bears, black-tailed deer, Douglas squirrels and snowshoe hares recorded at this park. Two frog species, two salamander species and several dragonfly species are also found here, including the rare Black Petaltail dragonfly. Size and Location The park is 3,012 hectares, including the Howe Sound Crest Trail. The access road to Cypress Provincial Park is from the Upper Levels Highway (routes 1 and 99) in West Vancouver. More Information http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/parkpgs/cypress/

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