Strathcona Provincial Park is a rugged mountain wilderness and British Columbia’s oldest provincial park. Wells Gray Park lies in the Cariboo Mountains in the east-central part of the province; old-growth rainforest, lush alpine meadows and numerous waterfalls shape its landscape.
Explore parks and trails
The landscape of Golden Ears Park is an outstanding example of British Columbia’s coastal hemlock forest. An extensive network of hiking and horseback riding trails offers different ways to explore the landscape. Swimming, windsurfing, water skiing, canoeing, boating and fishing are popular at Alouette Lake.
The province’s parks also showcase a variety of landscapes, including sandy beaches and impressive forests. Quiet rivers offer opportunities for paddling. These themes give you different starting points when choosing nature experiences for your trip.
Winter activities and hiking
Strathcona Provincial Park offers opportunities for backcountry skiing and snowboarding, as well as cross-country ski trails and snowshoe trails. At Rogers Pass in Glacier National Park, backcountry skiing is the main attraction; the area receives an average of 14 metres of snow per year. Both places offer winter activities, but with different focuses: Strathcona features several sports and trail types, while Rogers Pass is described as a destination for backcountry skiing.
Hiking options also vary. In Glacier National Park, trails range from short walks along the valley floor to steep, challenging climbs. The 26-kilometre Meadows in the Sky Parkway gives summer visitors access to viewpoints, subalpine meadows, short hiking trails, hikes to alpine lakes and remote campgrounds. Its seasonal focus is another consideration when planning.
Gwaii Haanas is on the southern half of Haida Gwaii, off the north coast of British Columbia. The protected area has no roads and is accessible only by boat or floatplane. This access is an important difference when planning, compared with destinations where trails or a park road are part of the experience.
History and distinctive encounters
Rogers Pass National Historic Site commemorates Major A.B. Rogers’s surveying expeditions. He identified a route through the Columbia Mountains that was intended for the completion of the Canadian Pacific Rail Line. In Fort Langley, an audio tour takes visitors through buildings from the fur trade era. History can be encountered here in different ways: as a reminder of the search for a railway route and as an exploration of historic buildings.
Wine regions and travel interests
British Columbia has nine wine regions, stretching from coastal rainforests to inland mountain ranges, with glacier-carved valleys in between. Many wineries offer tours led by members of Indigenous communities, sabrage classes, dinners with winemakers and even outdoor film screenings. The wine theme therefore encompasses both the landscape and a variety of winery experiences.
When looking for hotels in British Columbia, you can start by considering what you want your trip to focus on: mountain wilderness and hiking trails, winter activities, history or wine. The places and experiences described offer different highlights; shape your further search around the theme that interests you most.
Discover more destinations: Okanagan-Similkameen, North Okanagan, Cariboo, Alberni-Clayoquot, Columbia-Shuswap, Thompson-Nicola, Central Okanagan, East Kootenay, Skeena-Queen Charlotte, Fraser-Fort George, Metro Vancouver, Nanaimo, Cowichan Valley, Fraser Valley, Capital Regional District, Northern Rockies, Comox-Strathcona, Sunshine Coast, Powell River, Central Kootenay, Central Coast, Mount Waddington, Kootenay Boundary, Kitimat-Stikine, Bulkley-Nechako, Peace River, Squamish-Lillooet, Kleena Kleene, Strathcona, Telkwa, Wasa, Hanceville, Fraser Lake, Sparwood, Elkford, Comox Valley, Stikine Region.
For the main travel overview: Canada.
