Enthusiast I
Welcome to the Western Canada thread
- Thread starter saint urho
- Start date
Influencer II
Hi all, from Victoria on Vancouver Island. We usually like to travel in the American Southwest but over the past year have been checking out our own backyard. As is so often the case, it really isn't necessary to travel too far from home to find great overlanding experiences.
If the US border remains closed through the summer we may end up heading north instead of south this year. Hello Tuk and the Arctic Ocean!! (if interprovincial travel is allowed).
If the US border remains closed through the summer we may end up heading north instead of south this year. Hello Tuk and the Arctic Ocean!! (if interprovincial travel is allowed).
Traveler III
Enthusiast I
Careful though, I was loving in whitehorse for about 8 months and left a couple months ago. Local aren't too keen on outsiders right now.
Traveler III
Some of that going around for sure. Where I live people are generally pretty chill about it.
Influencer II
Rights notwithstanding, I like to feel welcome wherever I go. We'll see how the mood is by August and in the meantime check out the only part of the province we haven't lived in yet .... the Kootenays!! Tentatively planned for late May and will stick to the lower elevations.
check out the "West Koot Route" for inspiration
West Koot Route - Kootenay Rockies Tourism
The West Koot Route can be accessed by three different ferry rides: Upper Arrow Lake, Lower Arrow Lake and Kootenay Lake at Balfour (Hwy #3A).
And a visit to the Sandon Museum is a must.
Idaho Peak is fabulous when the road is open.
Nelson has great opportunities for kids
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No we aren't
BC Plates are welcome, but out of province not so much.
Enthusiast I
I experienced mostly the same. Just a few bad apples to watch for, like anywhere I guess. Just a different kind of place compared to southern BC so it's something to be aware of.
Enthusiast I
I totally agree, we had ontario plate on the company vehicle when I moved up there and that's where I saw most of the problems.
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Traveler III
Influencer II
check out the "West Koot Route" for inspiration
West Koot Route - Kootenay Rockies Tourism
The West Koot Route can be accessed by three different ferry rides: Upper Arrow Lake, Lower Arrow Lake and Kootenay Lake at Balfour (Hwy #3A).www.kootenayrockies.com
And a visit to the Sandon Museum is a must.
Idaho Peak is fabulous when the road is open.
Nelson has great opportunities for kids
View attachment 194950
Thanks @Billiebob, great info!
As we traveled the province with my work for 30 odd years we were never posted to the Kootenays. I did work around Christina Lake with the Parks Branch many eons ago (between university terms) and have always wanted to get back. We are really looking forward to exploring some of the backroads and doing a little fishing on some out of the way lakes. It looks like there are a ton of Rec Sites scattered around (often on lakeshores), which was actually what my Parks Branch job was all about :-)
Influencer I
Blindman Overland
Rank 0
Contributor I
Hey, fellow western Canucks! hope everyone's doing well, Dave from Blindman Overland here finally haha, hope to get more familiar with the platform
here over the next while
here over the next while
Traveler III
Hey there just saying hi from Vancouver BC, just finished up a nice 9day trip up sunshine coast and up to the north side of Vancouver Island.
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Traveler III
Awesome part of BC to be exploring, I must say, especially if you include a boat of some sort in your travels. I'm jelly of your ability to be out for that long!
If you have any interest in the local history of the Sunshine Coast, two awesome reads are Tales from Hidden Basin and Haunted Waters: Tales of the Old Coast, both by Dick Hammond. They can be a little bit hard to find, but copies are out there.
Hello to Western Canada. We recently drove up to BC and took ferry across to Vancouver Island. We're in an EarthCruiser and looking for places to go. I know there is much to see here on the island but our desire is to camp wild...if possible. It seems much of the Crown Lands are managed by Forest/Logging companies, First Nation etc. Is there a resource to find places where we are allowed to boondock/wild camp?
Thanks for your help
Connie
Thanks for your help
Connie
Influencer II
Most of the logging road restrictions (Mosaic is the worst) are on the south half of the island (south of Campbell River). Once you are north of that things open up considerably. There are TONS of interesting things to see and I have marked quite a few on the OB map. Because we couldn't travel as much the last two summers we ended up exploring our own back yard and ”discovered” the North Island. I'm really glad we finally got there:-) Unfortunately the weather will start to turn against you now on the ”Wet Coast”. Be prepared for lots of rain and mud as we head through October and into our ”winter”.
We tend to stay in the Rec Sites in BC. These are usually free, have a basic campsite (vehicle pull in, table, fire pit and pit toilet), are usually small (3-5 sites) and often situated on scenic little fishing lakes. You can also find many dispersed opportunities up there but we find the basic services at the Rec Sites fit our needs for a base camp.
Recreation Sites and Trails BC
www.sitesandtrailsbc.ca
ps. Backroad Mapbooks are our goto resource for backcountry travel in BC. It would be well worth your while to pick up the Vancouver Island edition (available in many bookstores and outdoor stores)
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Apoclapedia
Rank IV
Advocate I
Im in BC. Just outside of lillooet. My stompin grounds range from lillooet west to pemberton and north up to Alexis Creek. If anyones out this way for adventure. Hit me up. I know a bunch of neat trails and camps spots.
