The Big Tree Trail is just 10 minutes by water taxi from the small town of Tofino, but it’s a world away. While most of the rainforest near Tofino in Pacific Rim National Park is second growth, on the Big Tree Trail on nearby Meares Island you can find spectacular giant old growth trees including …
Canada
A couple years ago my sister moved to Galiano Island, one of the Gulf Islands that lie between Vancouver Island and the mainland. The Gulf Islands are a short ferry ride away but have a totally different climate zone (think warmer and drier) than Vancouver thanks to the rain shadow effect. That means that Galiano …
For the past two years I’ve hiked to Garibaldi Lake in late November. It’s become a fun tradition. It’s a great time of year to go since it’s a winter wonderland at the lake but the trail on the way up is not so snowy that you have to break trail. This year we chose …
If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook you’ll know that in August and September my husband Greg and I went on a 25 day road trip from our home in Vancouver up through Northern BC to the Yukon and a little tiny bit of Alaska. Lots of people have asked me what my favourite …
My friend K has a birthday in late September and every year she organizes a backcountry camping trip to celebrate. Last year we went to the beautiful Semaphore Lakes and this year we headed over to Vancouver Island to explore the Forbidden Plateau area of Strathcona Provincial Park. The way I had previously thought about …
Ever since we did the West Coast Trail in 2004, my husband Greg and I had wanted to hike the Nootka Trail as it was rumoured to be like the West Coast Trail “used to be”: no permits, no boardwalks, no crowds. If you aren’t familiar, the Nootka trail is more of a route and …
One of my favourite places to ride my bike is on the country roads and dykes near the Fraser River in Ladner and Delta since the roads are flat, the scenery is beautiful and there is almost no traffic. In early spring, I also like to combine biking in Ladner with a trip to the …
I live in Vancouver and it rains a lot here. If I waited for it to stop raining before going hiking, I wouldn’t hike much, so of course I hike in the rain. However, sometimes the forecast is so truly terrible and calls for so much rain that going for a long hike means being …
It’s likely you’ve heard of the West Coast Trail – a multi-day trek on the West Coast of Vancouver Island that weaves its way along 75 kilometres of towering rainforests, slick sandstone shelfs, and pebbled beaches, with numerous ladders and boardwalks. Coastal hiking is something that BC is known for, but most people think it’s something …