In This Issue:
BC Parks

BC Parks - Celebrating 100 Years

This year, one of the world's finest collections of protected landscapes - from ocean and freshwater shorelines to alpine peaks - celebrates its 100th anniversary.

Ranging in size from a cupcake to a one million-hectare (400,000-acre) confection, there's a park to suit any number of candles. Indeed, in British Columbia, there are more parks, protected areas, ecological reserves and conservancies than can possibly be visited in a lifetime - almost 1,000 at last tally - but it's worth a try. Make a wish. Dream big.

Need inspiration? Choose from this sweet cross-section of wild, natural goodness, and discover some reasons why you should visit a BC park in 2011.

Strathcona - Vancouver Island

BC Parks' 1911 flagship is still the all-around best to explore, whether by canoe, in hiking boots or snowshoes. For a backcountry thrill, set your compass for the park's crown jewel, Della Falls - highest in Canada and among the top 10 in the world. Travel by water taxi along Great Central Lake near Port Alberni to the cascade's southern trailhead. Fancy a day trip? Take an alpine drive above Courtenay on the park's eastern boundary. Further north, revel in two sheltered spots on Buttle Lake near Campbell River. Tip: The new two-kilometre (1.2-mile) wheelchair-accessible Centennial Loop Trail leads out across red heather meadows and through old-growth forest atop a boardwalk adjacent Mount Washington Alpine Resort.

Garibaldi - Vancouver, Coast & Mountains

You couldn't ask for a better day-trip selection than Garibaldi's four distinctly different, easily-reached approaches along the Sea to Sky Highway (Hwy 99). Whether at Diamond Head, Garibaldi Lake-Black Tusk, Cheakamus Lake or Wedgemont Lake, each offers a variety of challenges for hikers, mountain bikers, backcountry skiers, snowboarders and snowshoers. Tip: Reward yourself post-outing with happy hour in either Whistler or Squamish, the self-proclaimed outdoor adventure capital of Canada.

Bear Creek - Thompson Okanagan

With all of its 122 campsites available for reservations, Bear Creek provides the best site to park an RV while watching for Ogopogo, the mythical creature reputed to lurk beneath the surface of broad, blue Okanagan Lake. When summer is at its hottest and driest here in Canada's only desert landscape, this is where you want to take the plunge before drying off beneath majestic, sheltering Ponderosa pine trees. Tip: Tour an award-winning winery or two in nearby Westbank and Kelowna.

Northern Rocky Mountains - Northern BC

The Rocky Mountains are renowned for wildlife viewing. See for yourself why this mammoth stretch of protected wilderness bordered by the Alaska Highway has been dubbed the Serengeti of North America. Come equipped for a backcountry adventure or choose from several roadside vehicle campgrounds, including panoramic Summit Lake in adjacent Stone Mountain Provincial Park, the highest pass on historic Highway 97's route (a.k.a. the Alaska Highway) to the Yukon Territory and beyond into the icefields. Tip: Nearby provincial parks at Muncho Lake and Liard River Hot Springs mark the northern limits of the Rockies that range 4,830 kilometres (3,000 miles) to New Mexico.

To book your next British Columbia adventure contact Flight Centre at 1 866 317 4794.

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