The Vancouver, Coast & Mountains region of British Columbia has its fair share of magnificent BC parks and hiking trails. Stanley Park (1,000 acres) in Downtown Vancouver is one of the largest parks in any urban centre in North America, and the North Shore Mountain playgrounds include Cypress and Mount Seymour Provincial Parks, and the ever-popular Grouse Mountain. Stawamus Chief Mountain in Squamish boasts some of the best rockclimbing in the world, and then there is Desolation Sound Marine Park, regarded by most yachtsmen as the most beautiful cruising ground in British Columbia, and one of the premier sailing and kayaking playgrounds on the planet.
Greater Vancouver
Greater Vancouver is viewed as a staging area for adventures in the wilder territories of the province. This region contains one of the most urbanized areas in Canada, yet teems with parks, beaches, and cycling and walking destinations. On every corner, it seems, there is a pocket of green space.
The North Shore
On a clear day, few skylines can compete with the one composed of the North Shores’ six mountain peaks. After a rainstorm, the brilliant black-green hue of the North Shore shines with freshness. When snow coats the slopes, they sparkle so perfectly your heart sings at the sight.
The Fraser Valley
The wide, fertile Fraser Valley is spread between the Coast and Cascade Mountains, parallel with the Canada-US border. The valley runs more than a hundred miles inland from the Pacific to the small town of Hope at its eastern end. You can drive from one end of the Fraser Valley to the other in about two hours.
- Aldergrove Lake Regional Park
- Alexandra Bridge Provincial Park
- Bridal Veil Falls Provincial Park
- Chilliwack Lake Provincial Park
- Coquihalla Canyon Provincial Park
- Coquihalla River Provincial Park
- Coquihalla Summit Recreation Area
- Cultus Lake Provincial Park
- Emory Creek Provincial Park
- Kanaka Creek Regional Park
Whistler/Sea to Sky/Pemberton/Lillooet
Intensely scenic, the Sea to Sky Highway crosses paths with two historic routes, the Pemberton Trail and the Gold Rush Heritage Trail, which linked the coast with the interior in the past. Along these ancient pathways, generations of Coast Salish people traded with their relations in the Fraser Canyon.
The Sunshine Coast
A secluded world of beaches, bays, islands and fjords overlooked by B.C.’s majestic Coast Mountains, the Sunshine Coast stretches 180km along the Strait of Georgia, from Howe Sound to Desolation Sound. The Sunshine Coast lives up to its name, with bright days outnumbering gloomy ones by a wide margin.
- Buccaneer Bay Provincial Park
- Caren Range Old-Growth Forest
- Copeland Islands Marine Provincial Park
- Desolation Sound Marine Provincial Park
- Francis Point Provincial Park
- Garden Bay Marine Provincial Park
- Halkett Bay Marine Provincial Park
- Hardy Island Marine Provincial Park
- Harmony Islands Marine Provincial Park
- Haywire Bay Regional Park
- Mount Richardson Provincial Park
- Okeover Arm Provincial Park
- Plumper Cove Marine Provincial Park
- Porpoise Bay Provincial Park
- Princess Louisa Marine Provincial Park
- Roberts Creek Provincial Park
- Roscoe Bay Provincial Park
- Saltery Bay Provincial Park
- Sargeant Bay Provincial Park
- Sechelt Inlets Marine Provincial Park
- Simson Provincial Park
- Skookumchuck Narrows Provincial Park
- Smuggler Cove Marine Provincial Park
- Spipiyus Provincial Park
- Teakerne Arm Provincial Park
- Walsh Cove Provincial Park
