Travel To The Mountains Of British Columbia
With a total land area of just about 360,000 square miles, and most of it rugged alpine country, hiking tours of British Columbia are bountiful and varied. British Columbia also has a population density of fewer than five residents per square kilometer as most of the province’s 4.5 million inhabitants reside in the metro areas of Vancouver and Victoria. With this sort of open space, you will discover quiet and undeveloped vistas that in many cases have been seldom explored on foot by Europeans and a keen understanding of B.C.’s motto, “Splendor Without Diminishment”.
Canada’s department of ecology, Environment Canada, has categorized British Columbia into six separate ecological zones, each of which provides hikers a unique experience. Of course, as hiking and other kinds of outdoor recreation has gained in popularity, so have the amount of vacation rentals and Canada bed breakfasts all through the province. Accomodations at a scope of rates from as low as $24 (CDN) per night can be located in even the most out-of-the-way places.
If you are interested in an all inclusive resort that is truly a pampering experience, consider Cathedral Lakes Lodge near Penticton in south-central British Columbia. Hiking trails at 7000 foot elevations can take you to any one of seven pure mountain lakes where the trout fishing is excellent.
Ecotourism is just one interesting hiking opportunity that is extensively available in British Columbia. These are excursions, typically taken on foot, in which the public have the chance to take a trip to many of the more ecologically vulnerable regions including the coastal temperate rainforests that stretch from the Alaskan panhandle to northern California and the delicate sub-arctic taiga and boreal plains.
Sponsored by the province’s municipal governments and non-profit organizations, these ecotours are handled in a manner so that participants leave a minimal affect on the region while having a chance to view native flora and fauna in a pure state. Because so much of British Columbia is unoccupied by humans, hikers will have a chance to see various kinds of wildlife that have become rare in the more heavily populated U.S.
If you are scouting for a change from hiking in British Columbia’s picturesque mountain country from one of the areas cabin rentals, you should also consider agritourism. As is the case in Washington and Oregon to the south, British Columbia is an important agricultural center, mainly in the southern and eastern segments of the province. Agritours give hikers a chance to tour and even participate in the workings of sustainable farms in a few of Canada’s most unique farmlands.
