rclark

Hey everyone!!

I'm going to be traveling around BC this spring and I wanted to know about the more unique or lesser known places and experiences outside from the popular norm. Caribou region, Rockies, way north and wherever the wind takes me.

Things like this bar that has a ton of Scotch http://luxurybc.ca/food/bcs-best-sin...lt-scotch-bar/ and things like http://freespiritspheres.com/.

Nelson

I'll be interested to see what shows up here. The Free Spirit Spheres look pretty cool. Thanks!

We thought these two small places were worth a bit of time:

Quirky: http://www.tbgf.org/
Great hands on: http://www.uclueletaquarium.org/

NorthwestMale

Well, as BC is 35% larger than Texas, figuring out just the right itinerary should be plenty of a challenge.

When you get waaaaaaaaaay up there, though, you are often in thick forest, with nothing but you, and the road you're on aside from wilderness.

I recall pleasant views along much of Williams Lake...


Something about Prince George did NOT suit me...


Chetwynd might have been more cozy with lots of snow and cold all around than it could be on a warmer day during summer... but I enjoyed my one night there.

LOL - if you go way up north in early spring, be sure to have a BIG ice scraper! (that's about the one thing I did in preparation for an early-April drive to Alaska, based on suggestions in "The Milepost" guidebook. And it was quite the fortuitous move)


Muncho Lake was a nice area... but expect hours and hours of trees and forests if you go way up there.

rclark

THanks for the tips so far!

queenmandy85

The Kootenays are beautiful. Kimberley, Radium Hot Springs, Nelson and Kootenay Lake.

BC_Robyn

When in spring? On the coast, spring begins early with the first cherry blossoms blooming in February. March and April is spring on the coast, but inland, it starts much later. In the Rockies, it's full on winter until May, and even then, some of the famous turquoise lakes are covered in ice and snow until June.

Without knowing your itinerary (you can spend weeks upon weeks exploring BC and not see it all), I'd just give you some starting points of the quirkier places I've enjoyed visited.

Look up Barkerville, Wells, Kaslo, Bella Coola, Haida Gwaii, Cape Scott Provincial Park, Galiano Island, Sointula, Farwell Canyon, Hornby Island, Hedley, the Observatory B&B in Osoyoos, Coombs Country Market, the Desert Centre, Osoyoos, Powell River's Patricia Theatre, The BC Ale Trail, U'Mista Cultural Centre in Alert Bay, etc.... I can go on and on.

Can you give us a basic itinerary? Otherwise we're just taking stabs in the dark.

BC_Robyn

And just to reiterate that fact, BC is larger in size than Washington, Oregon, and California combined. It's a vast, diverse territory. How are you getting around? How long do you have? Where do you anticipate you going? Up to Atlin or Telegraph Creek? Horseback riding in the Muskwa Kechika? Taking a float plane into the Spatsizi Wilderness Plateau? Have you looked at the Hello BC blog? It's all about uncovering the random places in BC and worthy of hours of reading, especially if you have no itinerary, you're just trying to source ideas. The work has already been done for you: http://blog.hellobc.com/

ltt

i love the town of nelson and kokanee creek provincial park and beach are beautiful. then the drive up through the cute town of nakusp, then the free ferry ride and onto revelstoke is really nice. oi wouldn't necessarity say lesser known but i have never run into too many tourists or traffic. if you go to nelson, stay at the hume hotel on the 3rd or 4th floor. it's great.

Nelson

> if you go to nelson
I guess I should go to to Nelson!

Thanks for all the names and Hello BC blog information. Plenty of research for possible future trips.

travellingaround123

If you're looking for unique, I think people, when they visit B.C., often forget about one of the most important hidden gems in the province: Vancouver Island!! The capital of B.C., Victoria, gets 50% less rain than Vancouver and Seattle because of its unique geography. There are vineyards, there are incredible coasts, there's the Pacific Rim where you can storm watch and surf... There is so much! In Victoria, you have to check out Big Bad John's - very unique, with bras hanging from the walls. It's also a hub for micro-breweries and the brunch capital of Canada. In Tofino and Ucluelet, you can go bear watching and whale watching. I use http://www.discovervancouverisland.com/ for my resource, as it's a really good, all-encompassing website that helps me orient myself around the island, because there's so much to do! Definitely can't miss it though.

Sam_Salmon

So many links.....

http://www.marinelinktours.com/

http://www.tipicamp.bc.ca/

http://ymirpalace.com/

http://www.riversedgecabins.com/

http://www.xwistentours.ca/

http://www.fortberens.ca/

http://www.campsquamish.com/index.html

http://www.diamondheadoutfitters.com/

and so many more.....