Four Post-Pandemic Places in British Columbia to Travel to
British Columbia is a huge province — its land totals 944,735 square kilometers — about twice the size of Spain or France. But the population of B.C. is a meager five million people.
Suffice to say to live on the West Coast is to live on the precipice of a great wilderness. British Columbia, with its vast swaths of forests, looming mountains and unruly oceans, is truly a place of potential.
Before the current, pandemic-era travel restrictions were imposed; I had the luxury of travelling to some of the more beautiful parts of British Columbia over the last few years. I wanted to share some of my favourites.
Strathcona Park
The valley at the beginning of the King’s Peak hike
Nearing the top of King’s Peak on a foggy July day
Highlights: hiking both King’s Peak and Mount Myra. Both hikes can be done in a long day for those who enjoy a challenge. In July there are wild red and yellow columbines all over the park. Not to mention, for anyone interested in the natural world, there are endless discoveries to be made! I came across bears, a cougar den, and a beautifully preserved shed snake skin in an afternoon.
Pemberton
A deserted hike near Pemberton
Highlight: rounding the corner of a remote hike to discover a beautiful lynx.
Jasper National Park
Far above Jasper National Park (to look down is to see the beautiful meandering Athabasca River)
Highlights: the steely blue of the Athabasca River, the herds of elk, the feeling of being in the North.
Valemount
Morning at Kinbasket Lake. The water is colder than it looks!
Highlight: Kinbasket Lake – which stretches from Valemount all the way down to Golden. Mountains rim the lake and seem to rise directly from the calm lake waters.
Although this certainly is not the time to travel, UVic offers a unique advantage in its proximity to the wild beauty that this province has to offer. My advice? Start right here on the island. The list of places to explore feels never-ending, even to a long-time resident like myself.
