SummerMappedBucket ListTravel

11 relaxing and serene adventures to add to your BC bucket list

Sheri Radford
Sheri Radford
|
Jun 10 2024, 9:30 pm
11 relaxing and serene adventures to add to your BC bucket listCelebrate the arrival of summer at this FREE block party in East Vancouver
  • This world-famous Canadian lake has a hidden campsite you must visit this summer
  • Hot to yacht: Three BC cities named among best boating spots in Canada

    • Fishing

    Jontmh/Shutterstock

    If your bucket list includes catching fresh trout or salmon for dinner (but you’d also be happy with a tale of “the one that got away”), then grab a rod and reel and head for the water. British Columbia boasts some of the best lake, river and ocean fishing in the world.

    Find more than 100 lakes along the Cariboo’s Highway 24, nicknamed the Fishing Highway. Go for salmon, steelhead and trout in a rushing river. Or get away from it all at a remote fishing lodge in picturesque places such as Campbell River, Port Hardy, Port Alberni and Haida Gwaii.

    Touring a Gold Rush Town


    Of the many towns that popped up during the Cariboo Gold Rush of 1861 to 1867, Barkerville became the most famous. Today you can tour the quaint little town founded by English prospector Billy Barker, who pulled out 37,500 ounces of gold during the rush but died penniless in Victoria three decades later.

    Barkerville definitely needs to be on any history buff’s bucket list. You can pan for gold, ride a stagecoach, see a waterwheel demonstration, wander through a cemetery, listen to street music, explore one of Canada’s oldest Chinatowns — and daydream about what 37,500 ounces of gold could get you today (FYI, it would be worth more than $66 million).

    Hiking


    Were your boots made for hiking? Lace them up and head out for a quick nature walk, a challenging hike up a mountain, or a multi-day hiking trip that will test your mettle both physically and emotionally. But occasionally pause to take in the spectacular scenery.

    British Columbia boasts so many beautiful hiking trails that it’s difficult to narrow them down, but Mother Nature really outdid herself on a few in particular: the Sunshine Coast Trail, which goes from Desolation Sound to Saltery Bay; Al’s Habrich Trail in Squamish; the Juan de Fuca Marine Trail, with its north end near Port Renfrew and its sound end at China Beach; and the Okanagan High Rim Trail, which stretches from Vernon to Kelowna.

    How many of these chill adventures have you completed from your bucket list?

    ADVERTISEMENT