More of our freelance travel writers share their favourite B.C. summer getaways.
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We asked our network of writers and freelancers to tell us their favourite getaways in B.C. You can read their first 10 selections here. Here are some more favourites:
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Straight to Whiffin Spit
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Ask me where I’d like to go on a lazy summer day and I’ll pick Sooke, less than an hour’s drive away from my home in Victoria. I would head straight to Whiffin Spit a finger of land that stretches for just over a kilometre into Sooke Harbour. Bring your dog (on a leash) and take your time — you’ll want to snap photos of the ocean and wildlife on either side of the dead-flat gravel trail.
If you’re truly lucky, you might spot an orca or two coming in from the open ocean to feed on seals. There’s a small lighthouse at the end of the spit, but there’s no shame in turning back before you reach it. Even on a hot day, there’s always an ocean breeze to cool you down. Stop at one of the several cafés in Sooke for lunch and you will head home with your mind and body sated.
– Joanne Blain
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Paddle the Strait of Georgia
The Sunshine Coast is a place I never get tired of visiting. No matter where you go on the coast, you can find a good place to paddle a canoe or kayak. From the southern half of the coast at places like the Sechelt Inlet to the very north end of the coast at Desolation Sound, the waters of the Strait of Georgia beckon you to come paddling. If you’d rather canoe, that’s also possible. Ruby Lake at about the midway point of the coast is a nice quiet lake in which to dip a paddle.
You can sign up for guided wildlife or bird-watching tours in many spots along the coast. Even going out birding on your own can be rewarding, even at tiny places like the Sechelt Marsh or larger parks like Sargent Bay Provincial Park, which offers seashore views as well as a wetland.
– John Geary
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Escape to the north coast
Maybe it’s the rock-bluff-and-beach shoreline, the hidden lakes tucked among old-growth forests or the colourful communities rich in culture and culinary delights. Whatever it is that makes the northern stretch of B.C.’s 180-kilometre-long Sunshine Coast feel like the perfect escape, it’s always worth the extra ferry ride to me and my family.
A quiet cousin to the region’s busier south, the north coast serves up plenty to see and do with dollops of laidback charm on the side. Here, we’ve hiked past secret waterfalls along mossy trails, canoed by eroded rock formations in the Salish Sea and chilled on a curve of white-sand beach on Savary Island.
In town, Powell River’s Costa del Sol is our go-to spot for an afternoon snack (munching on pork carnitas tacos on the wisteria-draped front porch is divine), while Townsite Brewing satisfies and surprises with classic and creative brews. Still, we can’t wait to try newly opened Supercharger Pizza, offering unique pies like the nettle-sprinkled The Hulk.
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Meanwhile, Nancy’s Bakery in the tiny community of Lund beckons with signature blackberry cinnamon buns and savoury lunch items. While just a 45-minute boat ride away in tranquil Desolation Sound, the Indigenous-owned Klahoose Wilderness Resort – named one of the world’s top 15 hotels in 2023 by AFAR – is on our next-trip wish list.
– Sheila Hansen
Sooke Potholes Provincial Park
I love the coast of Vancouver Island west of Victoria. Try a bike rental (or an electric bike) and take on the Galloping Goose Trail, which links Victoria and Sooke on an old train route.
Sooke Potholes Provincial Park is a beautiful spot with small waterfalls that tumble over dark rocks. In the town of Sooke, Mom’s Café makes apple pies the size of a basketball, with around 50 apples per pie. They also make creamy chocolate pies and lemon meringue pies with a thick stack of meringue. Just around the corner is one of my fave coffee shops in Canada, Stick in the Mud. If you’re looking to dine on the water, and who isn’t, try Stickleback West Coast Eatery.
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– Jim Byers
The Cowichan Valley calls
Every summer I try and spend a few days in the Cowichan Valley, just north of Victoria.
There’s great hiking (Mt. Tzouhalem has spectacular ocean views), and there’s fun cycling on the TransCanada Trail. The historic Kinsol Trestle is on the trail and is always worth a stop as it’s one of the tallest free-standing timber rail trestles in the world.
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I especially love to visit the valley in August and go on a self-guided wine-tasting tour. ‘Cowichan’ means warm land in the Coast Salish language, and the climate has helped make this valley an important grape growing region. There’s more than a dozen wineries. The festival used to be one weekend in August but it was so popular it’s now spread out over the entire month of August. And for a truly rural experience, I love staying in one of the yurts at Merridale Cidery and Distillery.
I also like to visit Duncan, the urban heart of the valley, for its Saturday morning market and to enjoy the First Nation poles. More than 40 totems are scattered around the city, most within a few downtown blocks, so it’s easy to walk around and see them.
– Suzanne Morphet
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Whistler through an Indigenous lens
I’m drawn to a winter playground for my favourite summer getaway. Whistler delivers as a place to get close to nature, culture and the arts through an Indigenous lens.
Even getting here is inspiring, taking the fjord-hugging Sea to Sky Highway from Vancouver past waterfalls and forests into the Coast Mountain range.
Since Whistler is on the traditional lands of the Sk̲wx̲wú7mesh (Squamish) and Lil̓wat7úl (Lil’wat) First Nations people, I often start at the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre. Small-group tours led by Indigenous ambassadors begin in the magnificent main hall with traditional singing and drumming. I try to get there around lunchtime so I can hit the Thunderbird Café for the venison Bannock Tacos.
A new self-guided SLCC Indigenous forest tour starts June 21 on the Go Whistler tours app.
The Audain Art Museum is always a highlight. The impressive dark metal and wood structure blends into the forest and houses 180 works of British Columbia art, including First Nations masks, some dating to the 19th century.
I’m always stopped by the first sight of “The Dance Screen (The Scream Too)”, a dramatic, massive red cedar piece by master carver and hereditary Haida Chief James Hart. Inlaid with flashes of abalone and mica, Hart’s carving skill is breathtaking and I leave his work reluctantly.
– Linda Barnard
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Fantastic Fernie
When our family lived in Calgary we often drove the three hours southwest to Fernie for skiing during the winter. We soon discovered the Elk Valley is even better in summer, which is why the locals’ maxim rings true: “I came for the winter but stayed for the summer.”
You’ll find easy family hiking trails that pass giant cedars and circle the shore at Island Lake (look for mama moose and her calf on the namesake island). Closer to town, hike up to the pretty cascades at Fairy Creek Falls near the visitor centre.
Those looking for a challenge can overcome vertigo for breathtaking views on the Polar Peak Ridge Walk, one of the more difficult lift-assisted summer hiking routes at Fernie Alpine Resort. The whole valley is also a fat-tire mecca, with an extensive network of cross-country mountain biking trails, plus downhill trails at the resort. Initiate the family on the Lazy Lizard Trail, which starts at Island Lake Lodge and follows a scenic and fun descent into Mt. Fernie Provincial Park.
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To cool off, there are nearby natural lakes including kid-pleaser Surveyor’s Lake where you can look for western painted turtles basking on logs, or Silver Springs Lakes for cliff jumping (both are located just past Elko). Right in town, Maiden Lake has a little beach, plus a hiking trail around it that leads to Saskatoon berry bushes plump with bounty in July.
Post-adventure, Fernie’s historic downtown of brick heritage buildings that house restaurants and bars welcome worn out wayfarers with food to refuel and cold beer from the Fernie Brewing Company. What’s not to love?
– Lisa Kadane
Victoria Harbour for an hour or a day
Quick, urban and awe-inspiring. My favourite B.C. summer getaway proves you don’t have to drive hours into the wilderness or commit to a whole weekend or week.
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Catch one of Ocean River Sports‘ Victoria Harbour Kayak two-and-a-half hour tours on the dock at 450 Swift St.
The start of the paddle is all Inner Harbour eye candy with downtown Victoria up close bookended by the chateauesque-style Fairmont Empress Hotel and Neo-baroque British Columbia Parliament Buildings and the frenzy of other kayakers, canoeists and stand-up paddle boarders, seaplanes coming and going, water taxis, small ferries, whale-watching boats and Fisherman’s Wharf.
By the time you get to Middle Harbour, traffic dwindles, peace ensues, harbour seals follow along and you can have an ah-ha moment staring across the ocean to the snow-covered mountains of the Olympia Peninsula in Washington state.
– Steve MacNaull
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More of our favourite B.C. summer getaways - Vancouver Sun
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