1. Wander Winter's Wonderland
Staring into a sky of flickering green, blue, and purple light is an ethereal experience. Luckily, for British Columbians, the aurora borealis can often be seen in Northern BC from November through March. When the geomagnetic activity is high, head for Northern Rockies Lodge along the Alaska Highway and look up on cold, clear nights for a spectacular show.
For a more rugged experience, winter camp or RV at Liard River Hot Springs Provincial Park. Here you can warm up in hot pools while you gaze into the sky.
Prefer to be active? Hike amongst snow-covered trees to frozen waterfalls in Wells Grey Provincial Park. Visitors can take a self-guided hiking tour to four waterfalls, including the largest, Helmcken Falls, towering at 141 metres (463 feet). Depending on the temperature, this otherworldly show is a mix of tumbling water, mist, icicles, and snow.
Gliding through nature is an option, too. In the Kootenay Rockies, visitors can skate along the Lake Windermere Whiteway, the longest ice-skating pathway in the world—at 34 kilometres (21 miles) long—for a perfect winter’s day out.
BC’s 13 major ski resorts make for the perfect winter escapes even if you don’t ski. Across the province, these mountain towns have snowshoeing routes, cross-country ski tracks, and trails for wintery walks.