British Columbia
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Travel Alert--Remember to take passports to any of the Caribbean, Central American, Mexican, and Canadian locations. Even children traveling with their parents need passports.
 British Columbia, "the Super, Natural Province," has six spectacular vacation destinations, and something for everyone in every season-from the rugged outdoor adventurer to visitors who crave the elegance of a beautiful city. Vancouver Island and British Columbia are at the western terminus of the Trans-Canada Highway. Therefore, the Province is easily accessible by car or train. Major airlines serve Vancouver. Visitors also can reach British Columbia by ferry from the State of Washington to Victoria and Vancouver Island.
Vancouver is considered one of the most beautiful and sophisticated communities in North America with its beautiful gardens. Victoria, the provincial capital, on Vancouver Island also is a beautiful city. When visiting either city, tourists should bring their walking shoes to stroll around the lovely shops and parks. Many restaurants serve fusion food, mixing Asian and European specialties with northwest regional cuisine. Gourmands will find wonderful fish dishes served with local delicious wines. Golfing also is excellent in this region because of the lush courses.
 Vancouver Island is close to the San Juan Islands and other islands in the Straits of Georgia and Queen Charlotte. Because of its location, it has a diverse eco-system that includes lakes, rivers, marshes, beaches, rainforests, meadows, ocean coastlines, and mountains. These various eco-systems provide multiple habitats for wildlife. Vancouver Island is a great spot for whale watching, birding, and fishing for trout and salmon. Visitors to the Island can hike among the fir, cedar, and oak forests or go to the mountains for skiing on natural snow bases. Vancouver Island attracts a lot of artists and artisans who display and sell their work at local galleries. Vancouver Island also boasts fine beaches and rugged fiords for swimming, kayaking, canoeing, water sports, wind surfing, and sailing. On Vancouver Island and on the mainland north of Vancouver, visitors can acquire aboriginal crafts and study the cultures of the First Nations. In addition to camping, B & Bs, hotels, and motels, there are some remote "outpost" resorts with quaint tents where visitors can spend the evening around the campfire in a rustic atmosphere.
In addition to Victoria and Vancouver, visitors need to explore these communities and population centers:
On Vancouver Island, there is a scenic drive that connects Victoria in the south with Port Hardy and Bear Cove in the north. Although the scenic drive is perfect for auto-tourists, bicyclists also enjoy riding from the southern to northern regions of the island. However, there are few roads that traverse the island. Therefore, visitors need to remember that some of the beautiful beaches, fiords, and provincial parks are only accessible by water-boat or seaplane.
 Another vacation destination in British Columbia is the Kootenay Rockies. Many visitors are drawn to the Kootenay Rockies for downhill powder skiing, snowboarding, or cross-country skiing, but the region is really a mecca for mountain biking. Although there are lots of camping facilities available in the region, some visitors might prefer to spend their time in the Kootenay Rockies at a guest ranch, going on authentic cattle drives and learning about the lore of the West. Wildlife enthusiasts can see eagles, elks, deer, Big Horn, coyotes, moose, cougars, and bears-Grizzly and Black Bears. In the spring, the mountain slopes are awash with colorful wildflowers. Visitors, who want a quieter vacation, can relax in the hot springs, after golfing. Communities to visit in the Kootenay Rockies are:
These mountain and valley communities are connected by scenic highways that wind through the mountains and along fast moving streams. Bicyclists, who enjoy challenging expeditions, find the roads and trails in this region exciting.
The Whistler region of British Columbia, which is north of Vancouver, is an all-seasons vacation destination. While its skiing is world renowned in the winter, summer visitors also enjoy canoeing, kayaking, rafting, swimming, and windsurfing on the lakes and rivers in the Whistler region. Anglers can find steelhead, trout, and salmon almost jumping out of the water. Other adventurers can bungee jump, trek, horseback ride, backpack, camp, mountain climb, and mountain bike along the trails in the Whistler region of British Columbia. For visitors wanting calmer adventures, there is golfing available at some of Canada's best courses. Other places to visit in the Whistler region are:
Northwest of Whistler there are a few settlements and even fewer roads. Therefore, access to the more rugged and isolated provincial parks must be by air or water. However, in the region around Whistler, there are many summer festivals with arts and crafts shows.
Central British Columbia with its boreal forests in the north and desert in the south was originally visited by semi-nomadic aboriginal people who hunted and fished throughout the region in the summer and dug pit houses in the winter. When Europeans first arrived in central British Columbia, they traded for furs. However, later Europeans settled the area as farmers, ranchers, and miners. Museums and cultural centers in this region celebrate the aboriginal and European cultures. Now, there are still ranchers, but the farmers tend to be vintners and orchardists. Agri-tourists can visit the vineyards, orchards, and ranches. Because the British Columbian wine industry is growing, many visitors enjoy wine tours and sampling events. Geologist and naturalist flock to central British Columbia to see waterfalls twice the height of Niagara Falls and Canada's only true desert. Outdoor sports adventurers like to hike, visit beaches, swim, backpack, golf, bicycle, cross-country and downhill ski, snowshoe, kayak, canoe, fish, watch birds and other wildlife, and camp in central British Columbia. Towns to visit in central British Columbia are:
Northern British Columbia is a beautiful wilderness with "jagged mountain peaks, roaring rivers, pristine lakes, rugged coastlines, and island archipelagos." Both the freshwater and saltwater fishing are spectacular in northern British Columbia. In the summer, visitors can enjoy whitewater rafting, canoeing, and kayaking-and in the winter visitors skiing on the new powder for which the region is famous. Powder skiers love to be dropped from helicopter into some fresh powder and ski straight down to the bottom of the mountain.
In northern British Columbia, the provincial and national parks provide refuge for many species of wild animals from various birds, which summer in the northern climates, to Grizzly Bears. Because the mountains in northern British Columbia were formed by volcanic action, visitors can explore the lava flows while they backpack along the challenging trails that include spectacular waterfalls. Visitors can choose between guided and self-guided treks. Outfitters are available for fishing and rafting expeditions. Fossil hunters can find a treasure trove in northern British Columbia where there are the world's oldest fossilized bird footprints. Indigenous people sell their arts and crafts in the small communities along the coast and on the islands. Towns and cities to visit in northern British Columbia are:
Other trip ideas:
- After visiting Banff, Lake Louise, and Jasper, Alberta on the west side of the Canadian Rockies follow the scenic highways on the east side of the Continental Divide.
- Take the Trans-Canada Highway to Cache Creek and turn right on Highway 97 to go to Alaska.
- Tour northwestern Washington and then go to Vancouver Island.
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