INTERVIEW: ANGELA LOCATELLI. IMAGES: GETTY; AWL IMAGES. ILLUSTRATION: TANYA COOPER
ITINERARY ONE
1. Vancouver 2. Whistler 3. Nanaimo 4. Cathedral Grove 5. Pacific Rim National Park Reserve 6. Tofino
ITINERARY ONE BRITISH COLUMBIA
Start: Vancouver • Finish: Tofino • Distance: 410 miles • Time: 7 to 10 days HIGHLIGHTS VANCOUVER
The great outdoors? Make that the greatest. British Columbia, on the west coast of Canada, has all the ingredients to set any wilderness- lover’s pulse racing, from driftwood-strewn beaches to vast forests of evergreen giants, under whose canopies you’ll experience the hush and reverence of a cathedral. It’s here that some of planet Earth’s most charismatic creatures roam: galumphing grizzlies, skittish black bears, cougars and even elusive coastal wolves, which pick their way between glacier- fed inlets to feast on the Pacific’s larder. To get into the thick of it you must first pass
through Vancouver, the province’s largest city — and surely a contender for the most scenic on the planet, above which floatplanes circle like honeybees over a hive. Amid the totem poles and skyscrapers in and around Stanley Park is one of Canada’s most exciting food scenes, known for innovative fine dining and hyper-local dishes. You can budget a week to take in the city and west coast of Vancouver Island, but it’s worth tacking on a few days to add one of the country’s most scenic routes to the itinerary: the aptly named Sea to Sky Highway, which winds up to the mountain resort of Whistler. After a ferry hop across the Strait of Georgia, island life awaits, with the soaring cedars of Cathedral Grove, windswept beaches and boardwalked trails of Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, and pretty Tofino, the laid-back surfer town few ever want to leave.
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NATIONALGEOGRAPHIC.COM/TRAVEL
Vancouver sits in all its glassy glory between peaks and sea, with the old-growth forests of Stanley Park at its heart. Search for its nine Indigenous totem poles, then the choice is yours: seek out the new constellation of Michelin stars or slip south in search of spicy wontons on the Richmond Dumpling Trail.
vancouver.ca
WHISTLER
The Sea to Sky Highway climbs up from Vancouver with rock walls on one side, the Pacific on the other and nothing ahead but sky. Make for Whistler, home to North America’s biggest ski resort and a hiking hotspot, and visit the Whistler Train Wreck, which has turned the site of a rail accident into a graffiti venue. Time your trip back into town with dusk for the best chance of spotting black bears.
NANAIMO
The rest of the trip is on Vancouver Island, which can be reached via a 30-mile ferry crossing from the mainland to the town of Nanaimo. Stick around to try a classic Canadian treat, the Nanaimo bar (coconut crumbs, custard icing and chocolate ganache). It was invented here, and there’s even a trail to tick off all varieties in town.
nanaimo.ca
CATHEDRAL GROVE
En route to the coast, the highway runs through MacMillan Provincial Park. Fringing both sides of the road is one of the world’s few easily accessible stands of old-growth temperate rainforest, where you can stroll along fern- lined trails between mammoth trunks and branches draped with lichen.
bcparks.ca
PACIFIC RIM NATIONAL PARK RESERVE
Head on and through Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, a protected swathe of evergreens protruding on rocky fingers into the Pacific. Wander by Long Beach, best known for surfing and storm-watching, or head into the forest tracing the pawprints of coastal wolves.
TOFINO A town of First Nations art galleries and surf shacks at what feels like the edge of the world, Tofino is as chilled as it is picturesque. End the journey at Long Beach Lodge Resort, where cottages peek out from spruce trees a few steps from the coast.
longbeachlodgeresort.com GEORGIA STEPHENS
HOW TO DO IT: North America Travel Service offers a 14-night British Columbia Explorer trip from £3,416 per person including flights, car rental and accommodation on a room-only basis. Based on two adults travelling in May 2024.
northamericatravelservice.co.uk
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