Choose Your Own Adventure in BC’s Mountain Towns

SQUAMISH: GATEWAY TO SUPER, NATURAL ADVENTURE

More and more, travellers driving north on the Sea-to-Sky Highway from Vancouver are pulling off the road in Squamish for a multi-day stay. The town is becoming an adventure mecca in its own right, and for good reason. Long a bucket list destination for rock climbers, the nearby trails and their spectacular ocean and mountain views are gaining in popularity with hikers and mountain bikers, too.

For your gateway to adventure, start at the Sea to Sky Gondola. More than just a lift up a mountain, the scenic journey deposits riders in an outdoor playground complete with interpretive loop walks, challenging hikes, and a via ferrata route that includes dizzying catwalks and suspension bridges. Join a trip with Squamish Rafting on the Cheakamus River to cool off; during fall, the rapids are less aggressive, and the Elaho Whitewater Experience includes cliff jumping and lunch at a private island camp.

Vancouver Island: Explore New Heights

With all the buzz surrounding Vancouver Island coastal towns like Tofino, it’s easy to forget that BC’s favourite big Island escape has mountains, too. The most famous among them is Mount Washington, which transforms from a ski area into a hiking, mountain biking, and ziplining paradise when the snow melts.

Choose between flow and technical trails for all cycling abilities, or take the easy way down the mountain on a 2.3-km zipline tour that zigzags between four scenic lines as you attain speeds of up to 100 kilometres per hour. After the adrenaline rush wears off, get grounded at the I-HOS Gallery in Courtenay, with its impressive collection of Northwest Coast First Nations masks, carvings, jewelry, and fashions. Then, replenish with from-scratch noodles tossed with hyper-local ingredients at Nikkei Ramen-ya in nearby Courtenay. Or, treat yourself to a too-beautiful-to-eat handcrafted donut at family-owned Bigfoot Donuts (the chocolate-dipped The Bigfoot is a cult classic).

Make Kingfisher Oceanside Resort & Spa your base for a weekend getaway and collapse in a comfortable and spacious suite. But first, be sure to pamper those sore muscles with a relaxation massage or a rejuvenating soak in the hydrotherapy cave at the on-site Pacific Mist Spa.

Kootenay Rockies: BC’s answer to Banff

The Canadian Rocky Mountains don’t end at the Alberta border, but continue cutting the sky with their jagged peaks on the BC side in Yoho and Kootenay national parks (note: roadwork along Highway 1 between Golden and Field may impact your travel). Yoho makes a good introduction to the Kootenay Rockies and will leave you speechless with alpine hiking trails that lead to raging waterfalls, and calm, jewel-hued lakes that make canoeing seem like the most natural thing in the world.

Spend a few days unplugging and exploring the region from a mountain lodge. Located off Highway 95, south of Golden, Mount 7 Lodges offers custom-built, luxurious lodges with spectacular views and private hot tubs. The slightly more rustic Emerald Lake Lodge, a historic timber-frame building set on the shore of photogenic Emerald Lake, features cabin-esque rooms and mountain-inspired cuisine (think: elk striploin with foraged mushroom terrine).