Western Living Magazine
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Editor's Pick
21 places to hike, bike, paddle and chill in your own backyard.
For the past two years travel has been local out of necessity. But the stay-close-to-home mandate opened our eyes to an amazing reality—we just might live in the best place in the world. So we’ve doubled down on the staycation and sourced the best adventures from every corner of our home turf to keep the local dream alive.
By Neal McLennan
“We’d be undertaking at least one portage every day, and we would camp along the way—since it was mid-June, we wouldn’t have to worry about reservations. If we were lucky, added Prichard, we might not even run into other folks at all. The next morning, with a modicum of fuss, we picked up our rented canoes and pushed off into to the glassy waters of Nanton Lake. There really is something primordially Canadian about the way a canoe bow cuts silently through the water. That reverie, however, was frequently interrupted by my stern-man, Mac, saying things like: ‘Neal, we both need to paddle.'” READ THE WHOLE STORY⇒
“On the one hand, we have Eric Griffith and Nicholas Cassettari of Alta Bistro, the reigning champ of Vanmag’s Best Whistler category in the Restaurant Awards. On the other hand, you have architects John and Patricia Patkau, Western Canada’s greatest living architects (or, really, Canada’s, because Frank Gehry is more or less a Californian these days) and the designers of the stunning Audain Art Museum. And on the third hand (the last one, we promise), you have the magnificent collection inside the museum itself. Here’s how it all comes together.” READ THE WHOLE STORY⇒
By Stephen Hui
Climb the three peaks of the Stawamus Chief for classic clifftop views of Howe Sound and the Squamish River valley. From the day-use parking area, stroll through the campground to the trailhead. The steep Chief Peaks Trail kicks off with lots of stairs, soon merging with the Sea to Summit Trail. READ MORE⇒
By Kurtis Kolt
“My wife and I do not own hiking boots, nor do we own bikes. We’re not rock-climbers, and the vast amount of adventuring we do is more in the line of culinary and thirst-quenching pursuits. So, what did we do when offered the opportunity to house-sit up in Squamish? Well, we got our eat and drink on.” READ THE WHOLE STORY⇒
By Tyee Bridge
“This is the great outdoors, people. Not only is your cabin a pinecone’s throw from the beach, you are also close to some of the best coastal hiking in Canada. Drive 15 minutes to the Mystic Beach trailhead, part of the 47-kilometre Juan de Fuca Trail. The hike to the surf takes less than an hour via the forest trail, crossing a suspension bridge along the way.” READ THE WHOLE STORY⇒
Hike the highest peak on the Saanich Peninsula. From the park’s main entrance in the Highlands, start up the wide path. Quickly, fork right for the Summit Trail. As you ascend, the mixed forest thins out and arbutus trees with their peeling cinnamon bark increase in numbers. READ MORE ⇒
By Susan Juby
“The sweet, small cove near the parking lot at Neck Point is perfect at daybreak. Sure, the morning might be cold and the water dark, but once you get in your skin will turn fiery with nerve endings. Soon the slanting rays of the rising sun will let you see the coloured pebbles and starfish on the ocean floor, and you’ll know you have already aced the day.” READ THE WHOLE STORY⇒
“Everybody knows about Victoria’s historical side—and, if you ever forget, the flanking classical beacons of the Empress and the Legislature (both the handiwork of Samuel Maclure) are always there to remind you. But with a little exploring, the creative visitor can find lodging to suit any architectural style.” READ THE WHOLE STORY⇒
By Nick Rockel
“That beer is going to taste so good. As a motivational mantra, the phrase does lack elegance. But hey, whatever works.
It’s been several hours since the four of us set out by bike from Chute Lake Lodge, a rustic retreat tucked into the mountains above the wine country of the Naramata Bench. Our mission, which we accepted all too cavalierly: ride down to Penticton and back along the Kettle Valley Rail (KVR) Trail. We’re reasonably fit people in our early 50s or so, and no strangers to cycling. How hard can it be?” READ THE WHOLE STORY⇒
By Stacey McLachlan
“Tulameen has one store (the Trading Post), which happens to be the gas station and a restaurant (also called the Trading Post). Inside, you can stock up on beer, buy a floatie shaped like a dolphin and grab an ice-cream cone before you head out. You know: just like the fur traders who founded this small B.C. town did. But the real action is down by the lake.” READ THE WHOLE STORY⇒
“Surrounded by woods and meadows, Poland Lake is a lovely destination. Find the trailhead on Gibson Pass Road and set off west on the Poland Lake Trail. Head right on a gravel road, which goes over a few streams as it rises to enter the ski area at Manning Park Resort.” READ MORE ⇒
By Anicka Quin
“Sometimes you don’t know how much you need a space like Yasodhara Ashram until you’re in the middle of it. After a (much too short) long-weekend retreat, I came away from the experience feeling like I’d gained a better sense of self—and some stress management skills, too. (Even as I write this, I’ve remembered a meditation I picked up at Yasodhara that could be the perfect antidote for my present-day ball-of-stress self—and just now I stopped to do it.)” READ THE WHOLE STORY⇒
“It was just before the 2007 meltdown and I, a young cub reporter, was dispatched to Revelstoke to meet with the legendary British golfer Sir Nick Faldo, who had been retained to design a world-class golf course near the base of the newly revamped ski hill, thus cementing Revy’s ascendency as a year-round playground for the well-heeled.” READ THE WHOLE STORY⇒
“There’s a scene in the 1984 classic Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom—admittedly the most cringey of the Indy series—that has me forever traumatized. To get away from a pack of cult-loving baddies on a suspension bridge, Indy gets his crew to hold on tight so he can slash the ropes—thus dropping the bad guys into the valley below when the bridge collapses. He does, they do, and my 11-year-old self knew I’d never be able to hang on.
And, yes, that’s exactly what I pictured happening just before I stepped onto the Golden Skybridge suspension bridge that crosses over a canyon floor sitting a mere 426 feet below.” READ THE WHOLE STORY ⇒
An old fire lookout located partway up Paget Peak rewards hikers with sweet views of the Kicking Horse River, the Continental Divide and the Rocky Mountains. READ MORE ⇒
By Andrew Findlay
“We are bound for a two-family, six-day paddling adventure on the remote Turner Lake Chain, a string of seven lakes located in southern Tweedsmuir Provincial Park. It’s our back-to-school gift to the kids: the gift of being immersed in the wilderness of B.C.’s largest provincial park—at 9,800 square kilometres, it’s an area almost the size of Hawaii’s Big Island.” READ THE WHOLE STORY⇒
Take a hike on the High Trail to experience a corner of this backcountry paradise in the Coast Mountains. Set off from the Gun Creek logging road near Tyaughton Lake. Stick with the old mining road as it heads northwest, steadily gains elevation, and encounters clear-cuts, crosses streams and passes a park boundary marker. READ MORE ⇒
By Masa Takei
“Even if you like to earn your turns, a little boost from a float plane is welcome—especially if you’d like to get deep into the backcountry on a multi-day trip. Enter Tyax Adventures, Canada’s only float-plane supported mountain biking company. Founded by national veteran cross-country champion Dale Douglas, the company has a 1965 de Havilland Beaver to airlift 1,100 pounds of riders, gear and bikes up into pedalling nirvana.” READ THE WHOLE STORY⇒
“The grizzly sanctuary and the surrounding inlet conservancy are 100,000 hectares of protected habitat that are home to upward of 60 grizzlies—and it’s the lure of witnessing these land giants in the wild that has drawn me here, as it has as a Swiss family who’ve travelled across the globe for a chance to spot one of these rare behemoths. We’ll all be bunking in at the floating lodge, which sleeps eight as a bobbing respite from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.” READ THE WHOLE STORY⇒
“Running from Tlell to Tow Hill, the bucket-list-worthy East Beach Trail covers 89 kilometres on Graham Island. Sample the south end of this remote coastal route and pay a visit to the wreck of the Pesuta.” READ MORE ⇒
By Lucas Aykroyd
“I was born in June when the spring salmon were just starting to go up the Nass River, the groundbreaking Hazelton-based painter Roy Henry Vickers once said. And this same season is the perfect time to gain your own inspiration from the culture, cuisine and curated adventures you’ll find in this vast region.” READ THE WHOLE STORY⇒
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