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.
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 - Driving Directions
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.
More Whistler & Garibaldi Park Hiking A to Z!
Along the shore of Green Lake, you will find a monstrous old Caterpillar tractor that dates from the 1930’s. Abandoned here in the 1950’s, it looks as if the ...
The Roundhouse Lodge is the centre of activity on much of Whistler Mountain. It is where the Whistler Gondola drops off and next to where the Peak 2 Peak ...
Coast Douglas-fir trees are medium to extremely large trees that you will encounter in Whistler and Garibaldi Park. They are the second tallest conifer ...
The Coast Mountains run from the Yukon down to Vancouver along the west coast of British Columbia in a band that averages 300 kilometres wide(190 miles). ...
Inosculation is the technical name for two or more trees that have fused together into a single bizarre looking tree. They are colloquially known as ...
The second Caterpillar tractor in Parkhurst Ghost Town is considerably harder to find despite being just a few metres from the hulking Caterpillar at the shore ...
If you make it to the summit of Wedge Mountain you will notice off in the distance a beautifully symmetrical mountain that stands out among the rest. ...
Madeley Lake is a gorgeous mountain lake located high up in the Callaghan Valley just a short drive past Alexander Falls. From Whistler Village it takes about 50 minutes to drive the 27.4 kilometres to get ...
The short, winding, and ever-changing hiking trail to Rainbow Falls is the same as the much more popular trailhead for Rainbow Lake. The trailhead is marked as the Rainbow Trail, and the trail quickly ...
Alexander Falls is a very impressive 43 metre/141 foot waterfall just 30 to 40 minutes south of Whistler in the Callaghan Valley. Open year-round and located just before Whistler Olympic Park where several ...
Whistler has an absurd number of wonderful and free hiking trails and Parkhurst Ghost Town certainly ranks as the most unusual and interesting. Parkhurst was a little logging town perched on the edge of Green ...
May is an extraordinarily beautiful time of year in Whistler. The days are longer and warmer and a great lull in between seasons happens. Whistler is fairly quiet ...
June is a pretty amazing month to hike in Whistler and Garibaldi Park. The average low and high temperatures in Whistler range from 9c to 21c(48f/70f). ...
July is a wonderful time to hike in Whistler and Garibaldi Provincial Park. The weather is beautiful and the snow on high elevation hiking trails is long ...
August hiking in Whistler definitely has the most consistently great, hot weather. You can feel the rare pleasure of walking across a glacier shirtless and ...
Hiking in Whistler is spectacular and wonderfully varied. Looking at a map of Whistler you see an extraordinary spider web of hiking trails that are unbelievably numerous. Easy trails, moderate trails and challenging hiking trails are all available. Another marvellous ...
Squamish is located in the midst of a staggering array of amazing hiking trails. Garibaldi Provincial Park sprawls alongside Squamish and up and beyond Whistler. Tantalus Provincial Park lays across the valley to the west and the wonderfully remote Callaghan Valley ...
Clayoquot Sound has a staggering array of hiking trails within it. Between Tofino and Ucluelet, Pacific Rim Park has several wilderness and beach trails, each one radically different from the last. The islands in the area are often Provincial parks on their own with ...
Victoria has a seemingly endless number of amazing hiking trails. Most take you to wild and beautiful Pacific Ocean views and others take you to tranquil lakes in beautiful BC Coastal Rainforest wilderness. Regional Parks and Provincial Parks are everywhere you turn in ...
The West Coast Trail was created after decades of brutal and costly shipwrecks occurred along the West Coast of Vancouver Island. One shipwreck in particular was so horrific, tragic and unbelievable that it forced the creation of a trail along the coast, which ...