Of all the beauty to be found in British Columbia, from the unreal blue waters along Highway 99, to the European feel of Victoria on San Juan Island, to the gondola ride to the top of Whistler, to the Emerald City of Vancouver, you will hardly find anything as mesmerizing as the mountain that resides next to the lovely town of Squamish called Stawamus Chief.
At the Stawamus Chief Provincial Park, you can enjoy a great picnic with your family and find yourself transfixed at the incredibly polished striations down the mountain’s face, the result of millions of years of erosion. Driving the Sea to Sky highway between Vancouver and Whistler you will find your eyes drawn to this monstrous entity as you twist along the highway–almost like Mt. Rainier towering over Seattle as you inch closer–until you find yourself in its shadow. Under the code name “Euclid” you could find the crew of the next Star Trek adventure, Star Trek Beyond, filming their next adventure there this past week.
Just like Vancouver is one of the most popular shooting locations in North America, it’s no wonder the topography draws studios back to this spot time and time again. While you’re waiting for Star Trek Beyond, try to spot the mighty Chief in any number of Canadian productions as you watch TV and movies every day. Once you’ve visited Squamish a few times, you’ll experience another level of enjoyment spotting the town and its landmarks in dozens of movies and TV series.
Here are some shows to check out:
- The star-studded and nicely creepy A&E series The Returned is filmed in and around Squamish, and every episode features prominent buildings and easily recognizable natural landmarks. Catch The Returned season one OnDemand.
- When Adam Sandler took on Bob Barker in 1996 in the film Happy Gilmore, the scene was filmed at the Furry Creek Golf Course in Squamish.
- Re-watch The X-Files and keep an eye out for the area in outdoor footage.
- You can see the area featured prominently in the 2008 Season 4 episode of Supernatural, called “Wishful Thinking”.
- The region can be found in many more TV series and movies, including the Syfy Channel series Continuum, the Twilight films, the 2010 A-Team remake, and Free Willy.
But our favorite use of Squamish and Stawamus Chief can be found in the 2004 remake of Walking Tall. Not only do you get the great scenery, you get one of our favorite films starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
If Squamish and the Chief seem familiar to you outside of the above shows, it may also be from the coverage of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Whistler, where the area was shown in several features.
And now we’ll have to wait until a year from now, July 8, 2016, to see how the area is portrayed in Star Trek Beyond.
C.J. Bunce
Editor
borg.com
