Powwow (www.indigenousbc.com).
Stories of the Europeans who arrived to
extract B.C.'s vast natural resources in the
18
th
and 19
th
centuries come to life in
Barkerville, a former Gold Rush town turned
living museum (www.barkerville.ca), or
the Fort Langley National Historic Site
(www.parkscanada.gc.ca/langley). The
Asian experience is captured in the historic
Chinatowns of Victoria and Vancouver, as
well as in the City of Richmond, with its
modern Asian shopping malls (www.visit
richmondbc.com). And all three traditions
come together at the Gulf of Georgia
Cannery National Historic Site (www.parks
canada.gc.ca/gulfofgeorgiacannery).
MUST SEE, MUST DO
Climb the Via Ferrata—an "iron road" of
cables, ladders and handholds up Whistler
Mountain (www.whistler.com). Then swing
over to Whistler's Audain Art Museum to
take in a remarkable collection of works by B.C.
artists (www.audainartmuseum.com).
In Vancouver, take the foot passenger ferry across
False Creek to Granville Island and its galleries,
shops, restaurants, theatres and popular Public
Market (www.granvilleisland.com).
At the Great Bear Rainforest on British
Columbia's northern coast, First Nations
guides will take you on a search for the
elusive white kermode spirit bear
(www.spiritbear.com).
Go faster, higher, stronger at the Richmond
Olympic Experience, North America's first
official member of the Olympic Museums
Network (www.olympicexperience.ca).
Join a whale watching tour from Tofino.
You'll spot dolphins, orcas, sea lions and, if
you're lucky, majestic humpbacks frolicking
in the waters off Vancouver Island
(www.tourismtofino.com).
Taking tea at the Fairmont Empress Hotel is
a longstanding Victoria tradition. Even
better? Cocktails. Stop by for the royal purple
Q 1908 cocktail at the hotel's chic Q Bar
(www.fairmont.com/empress-victoria).
SCENIC DRIVES
From the rushing waters of Hell's Gate
to the First Nations heritage village of
Tuckkwiowhum, the winding Fraser Canyon
scenic drive along Highway 1 offers a thrill a
minute, with delicious stops en route.
The open road of Route 97 takes you from
the windswept grasslands of the Thompson
River Valley cowboy country through the
bountiful Okanagan Valley vineyards
(www.route97.net).
The Pacific Marine Circle Route meanders
from Cowichan Valley's wineries to the
towering rainforests of remote southwest
Vancouver Island, with panoramic ocean
views along the way (www.circleroute.ca).
Take the week-long Hot Springs Circle Route
through the Kootenay Rockies and soak in
the region's spectacular mountain views as
well as its mineral-rich hot springs.
For info on these and other driving trips visit:
www.hellobc.com/travel-ideas/road-trips
FAMILY FUN
Little ones (and big ones, too!) will love
meeting British Columba's wilder residents.
Whale watching off Vancouver Island is an
epic adrenaline rush, but you can also hang
with sea lions and other marine creatures at
the Vancouver Aquarium (www.vanaqua.org).
Learn about cougars and coyotes at the BC
Wildlife Park in Kamloops (www.bcwild
life.org), go bug-eyed at the Victoria Bug Zoo
(www.victoriabugzoo.ca) and The Explor-
ation Place Museum and Science Centre in
Prince George (www.theexploration
place.com), or visit the resident grizzlies at
Grouse Mountain (www.grousemoun
tain.com).
BC
43
PARLIAMENT
BUILDINGS,
VICTORIA
•
SHUTTERSTOCK/EB
ADVENTURE
PHOTOGRAPHY
National Parks and Historic Sites:
www.parkscanada.gc.ca
1-888-773-8888
Park Pick
KOOTENAY NATIONAL PARK
Icy waterfalls and steamy hot springs.
Deep canyons and towering mountain
peaks. Remote wilderness within easy
reach. Kootenay National Park is a place
of beautiful contrasts. It is long and
narrow, running eight km (five mi.) on
either side of Highway 93 in southeastern
B.C. Its quirky shape is the result of a 1920
agreement between the provincial and
federal governments that created the
park in exchange for a highway through
the Rocky Mountains. Rugged though it
is, many of the park's greatest attractions
are easily accessible, even by wheelchair,
including the popular healing Radium Hot
Springs. It is also home to Burgess Shale,
one of the world's most important fossil
deposits, and is part of a UNESCO World
Heritage site (www.parkscanada.gc.ca/
kootenay).
Forget the map, use the app: To explore
Kootenay National Park, download Parks
Canada's first guided driving tour app,
Explora Kootenay.
