British Columbia may be the most popular province for outdoor recreation in Canada. With seven national parks, a large network of provincial parks, and nearly five million hectares of protected land, British Columbia offers nearly limitless opportunities for hiking, camping, rock climbing, hunting, fishing canoeing, kayaking, water rafting, horseback riding, and just about any other sport you can imagine. And dining is a big thing and well worth trying some BC restaurants.
Johnstone Strait off the east coast of Vancouver Island is home to a group of roughly 200 orcas, the largest resident pod of killer whales in the world. There is no better place to see the beautiful creatures. Visitors can go whale watching on a tour boat or individually and quietly by sea kayak. Minke, humpback, and gray whales, white sided dolphins, porpoises, harbour seals, and sea lions are all among the animals one will find here
If you are a long distance hiker you may wish to consider the Chilkoot trail, which runs 53 km in northern British Columbia. This trail follows the path of prospectors en route to the Yukon during the 1898 gold rush. The most popular long-distance trail in Canada is probably the West Coast Trail on Vancouver Island. Although demanding, this gorgeous trail runs for 80 kilometers along the edge of the Pacific Rim National Park and is well worth every step.
Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve encompasses a group of 1,884 islands off the coast of British Columbia. The islands' unusual and abundant plant and animal species have earned Gwaii Haanas the nickname “Galapagos of the North”. Species here are often different from those on the mainland, and some have evolved into unique subspecies. The black bear of Gwaii Haanas, for instance, is much larger than the mainland bear. The ocean surrounding these unique and beautiful islands teem with salmon, herring, halibut, rockfish, mussels, crab, starfish, sea urchin, and octopus.
