Whistler can be expensive. Everything worth doing seems to cost a lot of money. But if you step back from the noise and crowds you may spot some secret spots of beauty. The North Arm Farm in Pemberton, just a 40 minute drive north of Whistler, is one of these secret spots. It's startlingly beautiful in a wonderfully charming and unexpected way. And even more unexpectedly... it's free.
Alexander Falls 
Ancient Cedars 
Black Tusk 
Blackcomb Mountain Brandywine Falls Brandywine Meadows Brew Lake Callaghan Lake Cheakamus Lake 
Cheakamus River 
Cirque Lake Flank Trail Garibaldi Lake Garibaldi Park Helm Creek Jane Lakes Joffre Lakes Keyhole Hot Springs Logger’s Lake Madeley Lake Meager Hot Springs Nairn Falls Newt Lake Panorama Ridge Parkhurst Ghost Town Rainbow Falls Rainbow Lake Ring Lake Russet Lake Sea to Sky Trail Skookumchuck Hot Springs Sloquet Hot Springs Mount Sproatt Taylor Meadows Train Wreck 
Wedgemount Lake Whistler Mountain
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March April May 
June July August 
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Free to wander through the fields of strikingly colourful and organized crops laying seemingly at the foot of the wildly spectacular Mount Currie. Along with the beautiful setting and views you get at North Arm Farm, there is a fantastic area you can check out that is surrounded by animals. Chickens, pigs and geese crowd around you hoping for scraps from the farm shop. The adjoining Farm Shop and Cafe are very nice as well. Beautifully designed at the farm entrance/exit, you get a glimpse of life on the farm. Just outside the cafe you see massive crates filled with all sorts of produce. Inside the cafe, smaller crates overflow with all sorts of vegetables and fruits. The cafe with a few tables has a surprising variety of bakery and lunch items. Glass displays reveal plenty of pastries, ice cream and sandwiches. Along with shelves and bins of farm fresh produce you can't help but realize that you just came through what could be called Pemberton Farm Experience. All for free, except of course for all the amazing food you are inevitably going buy before leaving. North Arm Farm stretches over 60 acres along the Lillooet River and boasts a wide array of organically grown produce. From asparagus in April, to beans, peas, corn, squash, carrots, beets and their celebrated pumpkins in October. They even have seasonal You Pick berries, flowers and pumpkins.
North Arm Farm is very easy to find as it is on the Sea to Sky Highway 37 kilometres north of Whistler. From Whistler Village, head north on Highway 99 (the Sea to Sky Highway) towards Pemberton. In 32 kilometres(from Village Gate Boulevard in Whistler) you will come to Pemberton. Don't turn, keep following the Sea to Sky Highway and in 5 kilometres you will see the large "North Arm Farm" sign on the right side of the Highway. Pull in and follow the signs. Don't forget that during the winter months the farm is only open to visitors on the weekends. Check the North Arm Farm site before you go as their opening times vary by season.
Plants of the Whistler Region is an excellent book that includes great pictures and descriptions of most trees you will find in Whistler. Small enough to fit in your pocket and comprehensive enough to identify most things you will encounter growing in the forests of Whistler. Along with conifer trees and broadleaf trees the book has chapters on flowers, berries, ferns and shrubs. You can find Plants of the Whistler Region on Amazon, the Whistler Library and at Armchair Books in Whistler Village. The author Collin Varner has a wonderful series of Plants of.. books on various regions beyond Whistler. Plants of Vancouver and the Lower Mainland, Plants of the Gulf and San Juan Islands and Southern Vancouver Island, and Plants of the West Coast Trail. Another great book that takes a specific look at a wonderful tree found in Whistler is The Yew Tree: A Thousand Whispers by Hal Hartzell. About as comprehensive as a book on yew trees can be. Culture, history, modern uses and specific to Whistler and Part 4 of the book specifically deals with the Pacific Yew. From an extensive look at Native Americans use of the Pacific Yew to a more recent examination of this amazing tree. If you have any interest in this extraordinary tree you will find it hard to put this wonderful book down.
Ablation Zone Accumulation Zone Adit Lakes Aiguille Alpine Zone Arborlith/Lithophyte Arête ARRTI Armchair Glacier The Barrier Battleship Islands Bears Bench Bergschrund Bivouac Blue Face Bungee Bridge Bushwhack Cairn/Inuksuk Carter, Neal Parkhurst Cat Parkhurst RD8 Chimney Cirque Parkhurst Cletrac Cloudraker Coast Douglas-fir Coast Mountains Col Columnar Jointing Cordilleran Cornice Corrie Lake Crevasse Dalgleish, Alec Deadfall Emerald Forest Erratic The Fissile Fitzsimmons Creek Fitzsimmons Range Fyles, Tom Garibaldi Ranges Garibaldi Volcanic Belt Gemel Glacier Window Green Lake Green Lake Loop Hoary Marmot Krummholz Lodgepole Pine Moraine Mt Garibaldi Mt James Turner Mountain Hemlock Northair Mine North Arm Farm Nunatuk Nurse Stump Overlord Pacific Yew Paper Birch Parkhurst Ridge Parkhurst Sawmill Parkhurst Wye Peak 2 Peak Plow Tree Rainbow Lodge Roundhouse Rubble Creek Scree Spearhead Range The Table Tarn Townsend, Charles Usnea Waterbar Wedge Creek Western Hemlock Western Redcedar Whistler Spruce Winram, Mills
Alexander Falls Ancient Cedars Black Tusk Blackcomb Mountain Brandywine Falls Brandywine Meadows Brew Lake Callaghan Lake Cheakamus Lake Cheakamus River Cirque Lake Flank Trail Garibaldi Lake Garibaldi Park Helm Creek Jane Lakes Joffre Lakes Keyhole Hot Springs Logger’s Lake Madeley Lake Meager Hot Springs Nairn Falls Newt Lake Panorama Ridge Parkhurst Ghost Town Rainbow Falls Rainbow Lake Ring Lake Russet Lake Sea to Sky Trail Skookumchuck Hot Springs Sloquet Hot Springs Mount Sproatt Taylor Meadows Train Wreck Wedgemount Lake Whistler Mountain
January February March April May June July August September October November December
