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North Vancouver Island

Northern Vancouver Island contains the vast wilderness of Strathcona Provincial Park, home to Buttle Lake and Ralph River campgrounds and the new 2 km wheelchair-accessible Centennial Loop Trail. The area also has a vast network of backcountry hiking opportunities, the remote tranquility of the Discovery Islands and the family fun seashore of Miracle Beach. Located on the Campbell River, take the time to visit spectacular Elk Falls, the self-proclaimed Salmon Capital of the World. Venture further north to Cape Scott Provincial Park, with over 100 km's of backcountry trails and spectacular white sand beaches.

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Central Vancouver Island

Central Vancouver Island has the world famous towering old growth giants of MacMillan Provincial Park’s Cathedral Grove, the sandy ocean shores at Rathtrevor Beach, spectacular Englishman River and Little Qualicum River falls. On Hwy 4 heading to the west coast of the central island is Sproat Lake, home of the famous Martin Mars water bomber planes. The central island also provides the gateway to Pacific Rim National Park, Barkley Sound and the remote Hot Springs Cove.

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South Vancouver Island

South Vancouver Island offers many spectacular parks to visit. At Goldstream Provincial Park, you will find massive trees as well as magnificent waterfalls, a meandering river that meets the sea, flowers, birds and fascinating fish; all a mere 16 km from downtown Victoria. On the west coast, Juan de Fuca Provincial Park offers scenic beauty, spectacular hiking, marine and wildlife viewing, and roaring surf in its course along the Pacific coastline of the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

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Southern Gulf Islands

Located between Vancouver Island and the Vancouver Mainland, the Southern Gulf Islands make up of over a dozen large islands and a multitude of islets. On Salt Spring Island, visit Ruckle Provincial Park or take in the marvelous views from atop Mount Maxwell. Galiano Island has over 130 different species of birds and includes Montague Harbour Marine Provincial Park, with white sand and shell beaches, a tidal lagoon and towering forests.

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Sunshine Coast Parks

The Sunshine Coast is a short and relaxing ferry ride (www.bcferries.bc.ca) from Metro-Vancouver or Comox-Vancouver Island. Enjoy sandy beaches, old growth forests, marine life, tidal pools, coves, and tons of family friendly community activities! Porpoise Bay also has a creek and estuary to discover and Inland Lake boasts a wheelchair accessible trail around the entire lake. First Nations culture also thrives on the Sunshine Coast, with historic sites like the seashell middens of Saltery Bay and the Tems Swiya Museum, home to objects and historical artifacts of the Sechelt First Nation. There is something for everyone to enjoy on the Sunshine Coast!

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Sea-To-Sky

The Sea to Sky area lives up to its name when it comes to provincial parks. Just a short drive from Vancouver, you can stay at marine parks such as Porteau Cove. Moving inland, visit Alice or Birkenhead Lakes to experience a full range of coastal camping activities. For the adventurous and energetic, you can climb to the sky with a hike at Mount Seymour or Garibaldi Provincial Parks. This area offers hundreds of campsites, seemingly endless trails, lakes and waterfalls, and of course, access to the beautiful Pacific Ocean.

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Greater Vancouver

Some of the best outdoor adventures are experienced within the Greater Vancouver area. Visit the beautiful Golden Ears Provincial Park or Rolley Lake to boat, swim, fish, hike, bike, horseback ride; the list of opportunities goes on and on.

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Fraser Valley

Parks in the Fraser Valley such as Sasquatch, Silver Lake and Skagit Valley offer family friendly getaways within a few hours drive of anywhere in the Lower Mainland.

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North Okanagan

The North Okanagan is fortunate to have many beautiful campgrounds located on amazing lakes. Ellison, Fintry, Kekuli Bay and Mabel Lake all offer some of the Okanagan’s finest camping opportunities. Check bcparks.ca to view impressive photo galleries, park updates and in depth descriptions of what each location has to offer.

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Manning/Similkameen

The Manning/Similkameen area features large parks such as Cathedral that are guaranteed to engage the adventurous backcountry visitor but also offers small, quaint parks like Bromley Rock or Stemwinder that provide an ideal base camp to explore the area’s mining heritage.

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South/Central Okanagan

For those looking for a place to swim, to take a boat ride or to relax for a few days, South/ Central Okanagan has everything you need. With several parks situated right at the edge of Okanagan Lake, you are sure to find an ideal spot to fall in love with. There are numerous activities for the entire family including horseback riding, cycling, touring on land and water, rock climbing, wildlife and bird watching, and so much more.

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Boundary Region

The abundance of camping, outdoor recreation, and wilderness opportunities in the Okanagan/ Boundary Region is limitless. Whether you are looking for biking, hiking, swimming, fishing, river floating, kayaking or just some rest and relaxation, you’ve come to the right spot! This region offers incredibly diverse camping opportunities and boasts incredible parks for you to enjoy. The Boundary Region is one of BC’s premier locations that offers popular family campgrounds such as Kettle River and Texas Creek. Be sure to stop in at some of the hidden gems in this neck of the woods; tranquil destinations such as Conkle Lake, Jewel Lake, and Johnstone Creek are waiting to be discovered! Explore BC Parks in the Boundary Region; you’re sure to find a spot that you’ll fall in love with.

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West Kootenay

West Kootenay region parks offer a myriad of amenities and activities to suit any vacationer. Martha, Blanket and McDonald Creek parks offer a holiday destination for relaxed family fun. Arrow Lakes and Summit Lake are popular for boating and fishing. Rosebery is closely located to the historic Galena trail for your mountain biking adventure. Check in to Kokanee Creek, an ideal base camp for those wishing to explore the area’s long mining history or pay a visit to the most family friendly backcountry park, Kokanee Glacier. For the climbing and mountaineering enthusiast, the area is bursting with opportunities such as the awe-striking Valhalla Provincial Park.

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East Kootenay

East Kootenay region offers a treat for the nature lover. Parks such as Premier Lake and Mount Assiniboine, with the abundance of wildlife viewing opportunities, never fail to captivate visitors’ imaginations. Perhaps, stop over at sunny, family-friendly Kikomun Creek Provincial Park, the vacation haven of Moyie Lake or one of several smaller, easily accessible parks. Or, for the history buffs, the area also offers a step back into the 1890’s to the pioneer boomtown of Fort Steele Heritage Town.

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Wells Gray

Wells Gray Provincial Park is world-renowned for its amazing scenery, pristine wilderness and outdoor adventures. Home to Helmcken Falls, a waterfall three times the height of Niagara and Murtle Lake, North America’s largest canoe only lake, Wells Gray is a must visit on your trip to the Thompson Region.

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Merritt

The Thompson Region’s geodiversity is striking. Near Merritt, you will find desert oases and carved rock canyons, as well as numerous great rock climbing areas. While you’re there, hike the old Cariboo Wagon Trail for a taste of the region’s interesting history. The area offers fantastic kid friendly fishing holes too!

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Thompson River and Shuswap

The Thompson River and Shuswap area is a boater’s paradise. Shuswap Lake Provincial Park allows access to the extremely popular lake as well as boat accessible Copper Island. For those who are land based, the area offers fantastic hot weather, beaches and various outdoor, family friendly activities.

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Kamloops

In the Kamloops area, sandy cliffs and dry arid rolling hills provide an ideal playground for mountain bikers and ATV enthusiasts. While visiting Kamloops, drop by the BC Wildlife Park, showcasing the best of the region’s indigenous wildlife including Grizzly bears, cougars, lynx, and Burrowing owls.

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Cariboo Chilcotin Coast

The Cariboo Chilcotin Coast was discovered during the gold rush a century and a half ago and offers visitors a true “Wild West” experience. The region is built for exploration and discovery. From lazy days in the saddle to the chance to make your own little gold strike, set up camp at one of the region’s spectacular provincial parks and let the adventures begin!T he Cariboo has the world-renowned Bowron Lake Canoe Circuit, Barkerville Historic Town and a section of highway known as the “fishing highway” (Highway 24 between Lone Butte and Little Fort). The road has more than 100 lakes within an hours’ drive. Set up base camp at Bridge Lake and Green Lake to experience this region.

The Chilcotin stretches west beyond the Fraser River to the peaks of the Coast Mountain Range. Visitors can hike beyond the trails, fish in isolated lakes and raft thrilling whitewater. Don’t miss the volcanic mountains of Tweedsmuir (South) Provincial Park, one of B.C.’s last truly great wilderness areas. The park has enough access points to make it worth the trip for even the average outdoor enthusiast.

The Coast offers adventurers wanting to get off the well-trod beaten path over 15,000 km of awe-inspiring coastline scattered with coves, inlets and rocky shores. The Coast has some of the world’s best saltwater fishing and wildlife viewing of sea birds, whales and porpoises.

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Terrace/Prince Rupert

The Terrace/Prince Rupert area is truly a fisherman’s paradise. Millions of salmon return to the Skeena River each year and northern lakes and rivers team with trout, char or grayling. The area is also home to the Kermode “Spirit Bear.” Lucky visitors may get a glimpse of a Kermode on highways or back roads around Terrace. So take your time through the region and watch out for bears!

First Nations communities welcome visitors to the villages that have been their home for hundreds of years. Several communities have interpretive centers such as the BC Parks Visitor Center in Nisga’a Memorial Lava Bed Provincial Park. It showcases Canada’s most recent volcanic eruption and is the meeting point for the Crater Trail hiking tour.

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Smithers/Highway 37

The provincial parks located along the Smithers/Highway 37 are perfectly placed to accommodate the traveller on the move. No matter how much or how little you wish to roam between camping destinations, there will be a hidden gem awaiting your arrival.

Wildlife viewing is a popular activity throughout this area, with grizzly and black bears, mountain goats, mountain sheep, and more. Keep your eye out for a glimpse of nature at its best.

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Haida Gwaii/Queen Charlotte Islands

Naikoon Provincial Park on the Queen Charlotte Islands is the province’s most westerly park, and offers a unique experience to hike sandy beaches, view spectacular sunsets or to brave an occasional storm. View the natural forces that have shaped this archipelago, or you can go there to just relax and get away.

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Highways 16 27 97

Branching Highways 16, 27 and 97 offer nature enthusiasts a wealth of wildlife viewing opportunities. The Fraser Plateau accounts for nearly half of the entire region. It is a comparatively flat-forested area with numerous lakes, small streams and marshlands. It is known as the heart of moose country. From spawning salmon to roaming moose, you’re sure to experience nature at its best. Be sure to keep your camera handy, as you never know what you will come across. Crooked River Provincial Park lies within the Fraser Basin and contains three beautiful lakes within this 970-hectare park. The centre of activity for this park, an hour drive north of Prince George, is beach-fringed Bear Lake. The fine, sandy beaches are some of the best in the region and popular with swimmers and sunbathers.

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Mount Robson

The Omineca Region boasts the majestic Omineca Mountain range to the north, and to the east, the terrain rises to the highest point in the Canadian Rockies, Mount Robson. Mount Robson Provincial Park, established by a special act of the British Columbia legislature in 1913, is the second oldest park in B.C.’s park system. It was designated part of the Rocky Mountains World Heritage Site in 1990 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The hiking trails in scenic Mount Robson Park are a popular destination, from the extreme backcountry enthusiast to the casual day hiker and attracting climbers from all over the world. Mountain biking is also popular and the Berg Lake Trail is regularly shared by mountain bikers, hikers and backpackers. Winter adventure is prevalent. There are four designated cross-country ski areas to choose from with miles of groomed, well-signed trails.

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North Peace

The impressive Rocky Mountains and their foothills dominate the North Peace, comprising roughly 8 million ha (20 million acres) of land. The Northern Rocky Mountains are the largest roadless landscape south of the 60th parallel, as well as one of the richest and most varied intact large wildlife ecosystems remaining in North America. As a treat for the weary traveller in this area, visit Liard River Hot Springs for a relaxing dip in a beautiful natural setting.

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South Peace

The South Peace region consists of gently rolling plains and golden wheat fields. This beautiful landscape surrounding the Peace River is more similar to the prairies than the rest of the province. Lakes and rivers, and mountains are scattered throughout the region and offer some of the most beautiful stretches of highway in British Columbia. With its unique scenery and vast resources, the South Peace District prides itself on standing out from the rest of British Columbia.

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