Huts

VOC huts

The VOC currently maintains four huts :

• Brew Hut just south of Mt Brew, between Brandywine Creek and Roe Creek.
• Julian Harrison Hut northwest of Pemberton by the Pemberton Icefield.
• Brian Waddington Hut in Phelix Creek (Birkenhead Park) area.
• Roland Burton Hut in Sphinx Bay on Garibaldi Lake, Garibaldi Provincial Park.

Check out the Hut Maintenance page for info on past and ongoing projects.

Also check the lost and found page for gear left behind in and around the VOC huts.

There is a long history of VOC huts dating back to the late 1910s when the first cabin was built on Hollyburn Mountain.

Reservations, and fees for usage

One of the core and fundamental policies of VOC Huts is that there is always room for one more and as such, the VOC does not allow "reservations" or "bookings" of our huts. Instead we ask users register.. A reservation implies that there is a certain number of spots and that by "reserving" you are obtaining the exclusive right to that space for that particular time. This contradicts the idea that "there is always room for one more" and it's contrary to the community nature of our huts in that all of us as users must share the space, respect each other and respect the hut as a community place looked after through the hard work and time of hundreds of volunteers.

For these reasons, we ask users to use the VOC Hut Registration System to register rather than reserve. Registration is free, can be changed at any time and is one of the most powerful tools you can use for connecting with other hut users. The VOC encourages everyone visiting one of the VOC Huts to submit a registration, even if your plans are tentative. By registering, the possibility of large groups running into each other is reduced, the ability to communicate with other hut users before you arrive is gained, and you help the VOC know that you too care about the hut. Note, however, that a registration does not give any group priority to use the Hut, however, however, the earlier you register, the more time you give others to plan for alternate arrangements.

No reservations are taken, but please see the VOC Hut Registration page to help coordinate use.
For the most up to date information on the Hut see the Bulletins on the Hut Registration Page.

VOC huts are open to all non-motorized, non-commercial users. A $10 per person per night fee applies to pay for hut maintenance. The fee can be sent in to the VOC via our Showpass Donation Page or can be left at the hut in the blue drop box. If neither of these work, you can send it to the VOC by mail. VOC trips have priority during fall and winter holidays (New Years, Reading Week, Easter) so please contact the VOC before planning a trip during this time. Commercial groups are requested to contact the VOC before using any of the huts. There is a lost and found page for items in and around the VOC huts.

If you are staying at the Roland Burton Hut the VOC fee is $5/night. In addition to this all overnight visitors to the Hut much obtain a wilderness park permit (see below). The VOC fee is $5 rather than $10 at Burton so that the total overall cost after also paying the fees for the park permit can be less than the cost of staying at the Elfin Lakes Hut.

A BC Parks Wilderness Camping Permit must be purchased for any overnight stay in Garibaldi Park that is not at one of the established campgrounds (such as Garibaldi Lake Campground). The Wilderness Permit must be purchased regardless of whether you are a VOC fee-paying member, or not and it is in addition to any other fees. Wilderness camping is only permitted if you are at least 2km away from any established trail or reservable campground or, you are in the designated wilderness camping zone. All overnight stays at Burton Hut or the Sentinel Bay Glaciology Huts require a Wilderness Camping Permit. This applies to any member of the public including VOC members. Permits can be purchased from Discover Camping up until 5pm the day you intend to arrive. The penalty for not paying $144 per person. The BC Parks Wilderness Camping Permit comes into effect 2018 April 10th

About Non-Motorized Recreation

It's no secret that there have been issues regarding the coexistence of motorized (generally snowmobiles) and "self-propelled" recreation (generally skiers and snowshoers) throughout the sea-to-sky corridor. In order to try and combat the flood of misinformation surrounding the topic the VOC is making an attempt to organize information regarding the areas surrounding our huts. See the Winter recreation zoning near VOC huts page for details.

Note that all VOC Huts are open to all non-motorized users. The area surrounding VOC huts have a long history of being areas of non-motorized recreation. Motorized access by ground, such as by snowmobile, dirtbike, ATV, is very frowned upon and even prohibited by the 2008 Sea to Sky Land and Resource Management Plan in some areas. Motorized access by air, is permitted and is used infrequently by the VOC for the maintenance purposes on the huts. Particularly at Brian Waddington Hut, it is not acceptable to fly in to the hut for any other reason as the hut is easily accessed and regularly accessed through non-motorized means in both winter and summer. Harrison Hut has a special exception for access by air in winter.

VOC's Hut Maintenance program...

Most of our hut maintennce is done during the summer, when the weather's better and access is easier, but most of our Members are out of town then and can't contribute. Typical activities include hauling out garbage left by others, painting, replacing windows, keeping the Coleman appliances working, keeping our outhouses somewhat sanitary. We can always use help. If you see something that needs attention, let us know.

To see what's happening, check out Hut Maintenance.

Other Huts

Additionally, VOC members often visit other huts in southwest British Columbia:

• Wendy Thompson Hut at Mariott Basin
• Himmelsbach Hut at Russet Lake
• Wedgemount Hut at Wedgemount Lake
• Mountain Lake Hut on the divide between Furry and Brittania Creeks
• Tantalus Hut at Lake Lovelywater in the Tantalus Range
• Jim Haberl Hut in the Serratus-Dione Col in the Tantalus Range
• Sentinel Bay Glaciology Huts in Sentinal Bay, Garibaldi Lake
• Elfin Lakes Shelter a colossal masterpiece in the Diamond Head area of Garibaldi Park
• North Creek Cabin and other BCMC huts
• Lizzie Creek Cabin
• Elsay Lake Cabin
• Snowspider Hut
• Keith's Hut in Cerise Creek
• Pebble Creek Hut
• Bachelor Lake Cabin Tetrahedron Plateau
• Edwards Lake Cabin Tetrahedron Plateau
• Mount Steele Cabin Tetrahedron Plateau
• McNair Lake Cabin Tetrahedron Plateau
• Henrietta Lake Cabin Woodfibre
• Tenquille Lake Cabin
• Knuckleheads Cabin Powell River

Shelters

These are small enough that they don't really count as huts, but a few people could sleep in them if needed.

• Golden Ears emergency shelter
• Kallahne Cabin
• Magnesia Meadows Emergency Shelter
• Brunswick Lake Emergency Shelter
• Windy Joe Shelter in Manning Park
• Frosty Creek Cabin in Manning Park

Map

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50.3467,-122.4188~Keith's Hut~Hut~http://maps.google.com/mapfiles/kml/shapes/lodging.png~hut; 50.43,-122.473~Wendy Thompson Hut~Hut~http://maps.google.com/mapfiles/kml/shapes/lodging.png~hut; 50.1627,-122.81602~Wedgemount Hut~Hut~http://maps.google.com/mapfiles/kml/shapes/lodging.png~hut; 49.61167,-123.08533~Mountain Lake Hut~Hut~http://maps.google.com/mapfiles/kml/shapes/lodging.png~hut; 49.785,-123.25~Tantalus Hut~Hut~http://maps.google.com/mapfiles/kml/shapes/lodging.png~hut; <--49.79706,-123.31056,~Red Tit Hut~Hut~http://maps.google.com/mapfiles/kml/shapes/lodging.png~hut--> 49.89847,-122.99402~Sentinel Bay Glaciology Huts~Hut~http://maps.google.com/mapfiles/kml/shapes/lodging.png~hut; 49.4197,-122.9372~Elsay Lake Cabin~Hut~http://maps.google.com/mapfiles/kml/shapes/lodging.png~hut; 50.29889,-122.36333~Snowspider Hut~Hut~http://maps.google.com/mapfiles/kml/shapes/lodging.png~hut; 50.72,-123.252, Pebble Creek Hut~Hut~http://maps.google.com/mapfiles/kml/shapes/lodging.png~hut; 49.5925,-123.6545~Bachelor Lake Cabin~Hut~http://maps.google.com/mapfiles/kml/shapes/lodging.png~hut; 49.59528,-123.62361~Edwards Lake Cabin~Hut~http://maps.google.com/mapfiles/kml/shapes/lodging.png~hut; 49.60667,-123.61~Mount Steele Cabin~Hut~http://maps.google.com/mapfiles/kml/shapes/lodging.png~hut; 49.576,-123.585~McNair Lake Cabin Tetrahedron Plateau~Hut~http://maps.google.com/mapfiles/kml/shapes/lodging.png~hut; 50.53648,-122.9297~Tenquille Lake Cabin~Hut~http://maps.google.com/mapfiles/kml/shapes/lodging.png~hut; 49.933,-124.15, Knuckleheads Cabin~Hut~http://maps.google.com/mapfiles/kml/shapes/lodging.png~hut; 49.79909,-123.30963~Jim Haberl Hut~Hut~http://maps.google.com/mapfiles/kml/shapes/lodging.png~hut;

49.366667,-122.5015~Golden Ears emergency shelter~Emergency shelter~http://maps.google.com/mapfiles/kml/shapes/ranger_station.png~shelter; 49.53833,-123.21167~Kallahne Cabin~Emergency shelter~http://maps.google.com/mapfiles/kml/shapes/ranger_station.png~shelter; 49.47864,-123.18948~Magnesia Meadows Emergency Shelter~Emergency shelter~http://maps.google.com/mapfiles/kml/shapes/ranger_station.png~shelter; 49.49763,-123.19727~Brunswick Lake Emergency Shelter~Emergency shelter~http://maps.google.com/mapfiles/kml/shapes/ranger_station.png~shelter; 49.042,-120.755~Windy Joe Shelter~Emergency shelter~http://maps.google.com/mapfiles/kml/shapes/ranger_station.png~shelter;

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