Day Tripping

From the rocky shores of Tofino to the wine-soaked warmth of the Okanagan, Vancouver's neighbouring towns and cities offer the day and weekend traveller a diversity of sights, sounds and souvenirs. By Tyee Bridge

At its best, travel is the chance to create an orderly schedule and a carefully defined list of must-see attractions, which, once you’ve arrived, can be crumpled up and left under the passenger seat. Knowing the lay of the land is always helpful, but vacations are meant to be times when the Emersonian virtue of Whim takes over and well-laid plans get left in the dust. (If this seems a typical West Coast sentiment, remember Emerson was from Massachusetts.) British Columbia’s “lotus land” reputation may be mild slander—but if it grants visitors permission to go with the flow, so much the better. What follows are five of the province’s nearby destinations and a variety of suggested activities meant to inspire and incite your inner wanderer. Not all who wander are lost, as the bumper stickers say, so allow yourself to stray into whatever pleasures lure you and linger as long as you like. Vacations are too short for schedules.

VICTORIA (1-3 DAYS)
Shakespeare’s axiom “What is past is prologue” is best contemplated in the lobby of Victoria’s 1908 Fairmont Empress Hotel, drinking stiff black tea and eating raisin scones with double Devon cream. Afternoon tea has been served there for over 95 years and makes a perfect, if caloric, introduction to Victoria’s love affair with Olde England. With its manicured trees, fish and chip houses, and 19th-century façades, the only thing missing from the Englishness of Victoria is a Rent-A-Corgi service.

Once you’ve had your fill of crustless cucumber sandwiches, you can walk from the Empress’s central Inner Harbour location to several other attractions: the Parliament Buildings, the Royal British Columbia Museum and the Maritime Museum of B.C. If you have children in tow, you can reward their lack of fidgeting at teatime with visits to Miniature World (the world’s largest dollhouses and the world’s smallest sawmill) and the Royal London Wax Museum. The wax museum features British royals, historical figures, a gruesome Chamber of Horrors and, most terrifying of all, various Canadian prime ministers.

Double-decker tour buses are available for city tours and destinations like Butchart Gardens and Craigdarroch Castle. If you’re over-Anglicized by the end of the day, you might head to one
of Victoria’s excellent non-British restaurants. Café Brio, to name one, is a well-loved local bistro rooted in Italian village cuisine and West Coast eclecticism, and the menu is guaranteed to be Yorkshire pudding free.

GETTING THERE:

Call BC Ferries at 888-223-3779, for schedules. Victoria Travel InfoCentre is at 250-953-2033 or 800-663-3883.

The Fairmont Empress Hotel, 721 Government St., 250-384-8111.
Royal British Columbia Museum, 675 Belleville St., 250-356-7226.
Maritime Museum, 28 Bastion Square, 250-385-4222.
Miniature World, 649 Humboldt St., 250-385-9731.
Royal London Wax Museum, 470 Belleville St., 877-WAX-FACT.
Double-decker buses: Grayline of Victoria, 800-663-8390; Victoria Regional Transit, 250-382-6161.
Butchart Gardens, 800 Benvenuto Ave., Brentwood Bay, 866-652-4422.
Craigdarroch Castle, 1050 Joan Cres., 250-592-5323.
Café Brio, 944 Fort St., 866-270-5461.

VICTORIA IN A NUTSHELL:

The Sight: The ghost of philandering Empress Hotel architect Francis Rattenbury—a handsome chap with a moustache and a long frock coat—usually seen hanging out on staircase landings at the hotel. The Sound: Dragon boat coxswains barking orders at their paddlers and drumming them to victory, either on training runs in the harbour or during the annual Victoria Dragon Boat Festival, August 18 to 20 (250-704-2500). The Souvenir: The Rogers’ Heritage Tin, a collection of 25 chocolates by Victoria’s oldest chocolatier, in a gift box printed with an archival photo of Government Street in 1911. Rogers’ Chocolates, 913 Government St., 800-663-2220.

TOFINO & THE COWICHAN (2-5 DAYS)
What’s a “scrumpy” made of Tremlett’s Bitters and Chisel Jerseys? Should a porcini be prepared the same way as a lobster mushroom? What’s the best wine pairing for hard goat’s cheddar? You can eat and drink your way through such questions on a tour through the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island, Canada’s answer to Provence.

One meaning of “Cowichan” in the Coast Salish language is “the warm land” and the name fits: residents enjoy the highest mean temperature in Canada. Over the past 20 years, an impressive mix of organic farmers, slow-food visionaries, microbrewers and estate vintners have gathered to take advantage of the region’s rich soil. Their gourmet talents have spawned a thriving foodie culture. You can take a leisurely cycling tour of local wineries like Vigneti Zanatta, learn to forage and cook with wild mushrooms at The Aerie resort’s annual Great Fall Mushroom Hunt or sample Trappist-style artisan cheeses at Hilary’s Cheeses (available at the downtown Duncan Farmer’s Market or right from the source at Cheese Pointe Farm).

Lush valleys like the Cowichan can lull one for days, but while you’re on Vancouver Island you should buckle in for the three-hour drive to Tofino on the western coast. Rugged and wild (“storm watching” is a local pastime), Tofino is Canada’s surfing capital and home to both the Tofino Food and Wine Festival and the elegant Wickaninnish Inn, aka “the Wick.” Spend your day hiking the beach trails or trying to paddle your board past the breakers; at night rest your muscles and trade stories over roasted Clayoquot oysters and lemongrass halibut at the Wick’s exceptional Pointe Restaurant. Ruggedness never tasted so good.

GETTING THERE:

For ferry information, call BC Ferries at 888-223-3779. CraigAir (877-886-3466) offers daily flights to Tofino for winter storm-watching season, with frequency increasing in June. Contact Tourism Vancouver Island, 250-754-3500, for more info.

Merridale Estate Cidery, 1230 Merridale Road, Cobble Hill, 800-998-9908.
Vigneti Zanatta, 5039 Marshall Rd., Duncan, 250-748-2338.
Cheese Pointe Farm, 1282 Cherry Point Rd., Cowichan Bay, 250-715-0563.
The Aerie Resort, Malahat, 800-518-1933, www.aerie.bc.ca.
Wickaninnish Inn, the Pointe Restaurant, Osprey Lane, Tofino, 800-333-4604.
Tofino Food and Wine Festival, June 2-4, 2006, 250-266-0076.

TOFINO & THE COWICHAN IN A NUTSHELL:

The Sight: Giant waves bashing into the coastal rocks at Pacific Rim National Park near Tofino. Visible from the park’s beaches and bluff trails, or from a window table at the Pointe Restaurant at the Wickaninnish Inn. 250-725-3100. The Sound: Apple juice trickling out of pumice—that’s the pulp you get after crushing a mixture of apples—on a tour of Merridale Ciderworks in Cobble Hill, the only dedicated cider orchard in Canada. 800-998-9908. The Souvenir: A respectable sand rash on your knuckles after a day of surfing lessons. Pacific Surf School, Tofino, 888-777-9961.


WHISTLER (1-3 DAYS)
Winter at Whistler is, in a word, huge. Over 8,000 skiable acres encompass groomed schusses, snowboard pipes, brutally steep mogul fields and some of the world’s best bowl skiing. This last category got a boost in 2005 with the opening of Flute Bowl, formerly the sole turf of avalanche-taunting locals (but you still have to earn your fun with a serious trudge along Harmony Ridge). For those who prefer not to mix gravity and low-friction surfaces, there are other ways to spend your time besides shopping the village and drinking consecutive Irish coffees. An experienced musher and team of huskies will tour you via dogsled through the Soo Valley Wildlife Reserve, or you can work up a sweat on a guided snowshoe trek through forests of hemlock and old-growth cedar.

Whistler broke new ground and aroused the envy of resort operators worldwide in 2001 with its summer Mountain Bike Park. Open May to October, the terrain park gets bigger every season; everyone from green beginners to log-jumping experts can improve their trail-riding skills and put the vertical to good use. Wildlife tours, five golf courses and nearby flyfishing and river kayaking round out the warm-weather action. Be careful of the après-ski nightclub culture, though: it’s seductive in a whole other way.

GETTING THERE:

Drive north on Highway 99, the scenic “Sea to Sky Highway,” or bus it with Perimeter’s Whistler Express, 877-317-7788, www.perimeterbus.com. Call Tourism Whistler, 877-991-9988, for more info.

Whistler-Blackcomb, 866-218-9690.
Dogsledding: Cougar Mountain Adventures, 888-297-2222.
Guided snowshoe trek: Outdoor Adventures, 604-932-0647.
Horseback riding: Adventure Ranch, Pemberton, 604-894-5200.

WHISTLER IN A NUTSHELL:

The Sight: Fourteen year-olds hucking themselves off North Shore-style jumps at the bike park. Rather than getting a visual of their own blood, beginning mountain bikers can learn the ropes in the “non-intimidating” Magic Bike Park where the trails are wide, smooth and twisty. The Sound: The hypnotic chk-a-chk-a-chk of the tracks as you ride the new Whistler Mountaineer train from Vancouver to Whistler (open from May to mid-October). Rocky Mountaineer Vacations, 604-606-8460. The Souvenir: A T-shirt from the infamous Dusty’s Bar in Creekside, stained with one of their barbecue sandwiches—but only if you had to ski, board, hike or bike to get there. Dusty’s Bar and BBQ, 604-905-2171.

GULF ISLANDS (1-3 DAYS)
Whatever your speed—sea kayaking among orcas, touring around a local artist market or relaxing fireside—there’s a Gulf Island to suit.

Outdoor adventures aren’t necessarily the main reason to visit the Gulf Islands. It’s quite legitimate to spend five days shacking up in a B&B that serves organic espresso, buying pottery from an artist who lives “in one of those Bucky Fuller domes” and reading last year’s magazines by a bay window overlooking the strait.

If such comforts on their own sound like an invitation to a coma, adventures are readily available. Seasonal activities include fishing, swimming, beach walking, scuba diving, bike tours, sailing and, best of all, kayaking.

The Gulf Islands, like the San Juans to the south, are renowned as some of the best kayaking in the world for the gorgeous scenery and frequent sightings of orcas and other mammals. Kayaking at night in bioluminescent waters is also, as the locals might say, a trip. But be sure to get expert advice or a guide: the strong currents and treacherous tidal phenomena are equally legendary.

Once you’ve satisfied your outdoorsy cravings, you can head in for a pint or three at an island pub like the Hummingbird Inn on Galiano. This is where you’ll find the occasional adventurous Vancouverite, playing darts and recuperating after a one-kilometre bike ride from a rented cottage.

GETTING THERE:

For ferry information, call BC Ferries at 888-223-3779. Contact Tourism Vancouver Island, 250-754-3500, for Gulf Islands travel info.

Kayaking: Batstar, 877-449-1230.
Tours: Great White Charters, 250-818-6050.
Hummingbird Inn, 47 Sturdies Bay Rd., 250-539-5472.

THE GULF ISLANDS IN A NUTSHELL:

The Sight: The dorsal fins of a pod of resident orcas. Much more satisfying when spotted from a kayak than a whale-watching skiff. The Sound: Sacred quiet, Mayne Island style: sitting in the garden of the immaculately preserved St. Mary Magdalene Anglican Church (circa 1897) or wandering the island’s new Japanese Garden (circa 2001). The Souvenir: A wheel of ash-ripened camembert from Moonstruck Organic Cheese on Salt Spring Island. Moonstruck, 1306 Beddis Road, Salt Spring Island, 250-537-4987.

THE OKANAGAN (2-5 DAYS)
The Okanagan traces its wine-region patrimony back to a missionary named Father Pandosy, who cultivated a small vineyard in the 1860s to produce sacramental wines for his flock. Commercial cultivation began in the 1930s and grew from there, along with the region’s reputation for producing, as the critics put it, “plonk.” Cool winters induced growers to use hardier hybrid vines that produced, well, the kind of wine drunk from a paper sack. In one of few clear benefits, Free Trade in the 1980s forced the region to reconsider its position and take the risk of planting “vinifera” or noble vines: chardonnay, merlot, pinot noir, riesling and gewürztraminer.

The payoffs for their leap of faith are now available by the sip. The Okanagan Wine Route wends its way to over 50 wineries in the region. Wine festivals and all manner of activities are tied in with the industry, which vies for attention with the abundance of apple, peach and cherry orchards. The fun doesn’t just grow on vines and trees: houseboating on Shuswap Lake and some of the best golf in the country await your pleasure.

GETTING THERE:

All routes begin with a drive east along Highway 1 to Hope, B.C. Call Thompson Okanagan Tourism, 800-567-2275.

THE OKANAGAN IN A NUTSHELL:

The Sight: Snow-sculpted trees at the top of the Falcon Chair, turning pink in the last-run-of-the-day sunset. Big White Ski Resort, 1-800-663-2772. The Sound: The satisfying squelch of grapes squashing between your toes at the Okanagan Fall Wine Festival, one of four seasonal celebrations honouring local vintners. Okanagan Wine Festivals Society, 250-861-6654. The Souvenir: Any bottle you can get from the Kettle Valley Winery in Naramata. If they say they’re sold out of their exceptionally delicious Viognier, don’t hesitate to beg. Kettle Valley Winery, 2988 Hayman Road, Naramata, 250-496-5898.