August Jack Motor Inn Blog

Date Night in Squamish

Jan 19, 2019

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, so we’ve put together a list of Squamish date night ideas. Date nights are a chance to deliberately remove distractions such as children and career demands and just enjoy each others company. The perfect date is usually in the details.

Gifts and Flowers

Chocolates

Remember to stop by XOCO to pick up a box of exquisite, uniquely Westcoast artisan chocolates. XOCO’s chefs are headed by mother and son team Annette and Kevin.

Lingerie

Nothing sets the mood for the evening like the gift of intimate wear. Wild and Heart carries a selection of sensual bras and bralettes.

Flowers

Billie’s Flower House inspires and delights customers every single day with their fresh floral arrangements. Owned and operated by husband and wife team Janine & Francis Reynolds, Billies is a local favourite. Pop by their beautiful brick and mortar flower shop, to help hand pick your bouquet, or order in advance online.

Choose an Activity

Eagle Watching

From November until nearly February of each year Squamish is an eagle viewing paradise. Squamish is home to one of North America’s largest populations of wintering bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus). One of the best places to view the eagles is from the Eagle Run dyke, across from the BC Easter Seals camp on Government Road. In 1994, Squamish held the world-record count of 3,769 eagles, but the average is about 1,300 each year. There’s an interpretive display at the Eagle Run dyke, with information about our Squamish eagles and the Chum salmon they feed on.

Beer and Spirits Tasting

Howe Sound Inn has been brewing award-winning handcrafted ales and lagers in Squamish since 1996. Their brew pub has all of their micro-brewed ales and lagers on tap, and they offer a great menu of pub fare. Some of the most popular local brews are Total Eclipse of the Hop, the Hopraiser West Coast IPA, Baribaldi Honey Pale Ale, Rail Ale Nut Brown, Diamond Head Oatmeal Stout and Baldwin Best Bitter. They also offer brewery tours.

Newcomer, Backcountry Brewing opened in 2017, and combines a production brewery with a tasting room experience and eatery with ski cabin vibe. Red Seal Chef Mike Staveley makes certain the food is as amazing as their ales, IPA’s and pilsner. Backcountry’s beers have earned them “Rookie of the year” at the BC Beer awards along with 1st Place for the Trailbreaker Pale Ale and second place for the Widowmaker IPA and Ridgerunner Pilsner.

Gillespie’s Fine Spirits is a family owned and operated craft distillery that produces a line of boutique spirits, featuring their new Raspberry Gin, award-winning Lemoncello, locally adored Sin Gin, Gastown Shine, Aphro and V-Twin vodkas and a Chili-Chocolate aphrodisiac elixir. The tasting room and bottle shop are open Wednesday-Sunday 1 pm – 6 pm, with G Spot Cocktail hours from 5 pm to midnight Fridays and Saturdays.

Back-country Ski Trip

Squamish/Garibaldi offers some of the best backcountry terrain in the Pacific Northwest. With more than 195,000 hectares, Garibaldi Provincial Park offers a network of trails, gentle peaks, glacier-capped mountains and old-growth forests. The Diamond Head Trail provides two shelters, with picnic tables, food prep area, sink and stove. The Red Heather Hut is a popular day shelter, and the Elfin Lakes Shelter includes propane stoves and bunks for 33. Beyond Elfin Lake, cross-country skiers and snowboarders can begin the Garibaldi Neve traverse.

Ice Skating and Hot Chocolate

For something different, consider leisure skating at the Brennan Park Recreation Centre arena. Check the Public Skate times at Squamish.ca. Tim Horton’s is across Hwy 99, for a post-skate hot chocolate, coffee or treat.

Flightseeing

Sea to Sky Air offers award-winning sightseeing flights. Explore Squamish and Whistler by air, with majestic coastal mountain peaks, pristine lakes, glaciers, fjords, evergreen forests and the emerald green waters of Howe Sound. Book your flight early.

Dinner

The Salted Vine Kitchen + Bar offers a contemporary and inspired taste of the Pacific Northwest, in an upscale dining experience. The restaurant features a menu of share plates that place a premium on fresh, sustainable and seasonal ingredients, an expertly curated beverage program, with a modern-country farmhouse décor. Be sure to make advance reservations.

Sea to Sky Gondola often features special dinner events, like their wine pairing dinners. For Valentine’s Day, Chef James has designed a set menu for couples to enjoy during an intimate Westcoast dinner for two. The dinner will start with a butternut squash soup, with nettle pesto and parsnip crisps, followed by a roasted beet and goat cheese salad, with kale, arugula and white balsamic vinaigrette. For the main course, there’s a choice of beef flank steak with potato rosti, baby vegetables and chimichurri or stuffed portobello mushroom, with linguine and lemon vodka cream sauce. Dessert is a chocolate trio, with brownie crisp, chocolate mousse, ganache and berry coulis. The menu price is $49.99 per person (including taxes & gratuity). For non-passholders, lift tickets for this event are 25% off the window rate.