I've Bean Travelling

We are supposedly well into spring but there have been snow flurries everyday since this weekend. What is going on?!

Since we are still in a winter mood, I figure that I can get away with writing a blog post about a winter activity. In the recent post about my favourite outdoor spots in Vancouver, I mentioned that there are lots of great day trips outside the city to consider as well. One of these is a visit around Mount Hope, located in southeastern British Columbia and about a two hour drive from Vancouver.

My housemates and I made a visit to the Hope Mountain Centre once in 2013. This organization hosts several outdoor learning programs throughout the year, such as cycling, boating, and backpacking excursions. We went with them on their Family Snowshoe, which included a guided trek along Cambie Creek in Manning Provincial Park, spending a half day leisurely snowshoeing through easy terrain.

Afterward, before heading home to Vancouver, we stopped at nearby Coquihalla Canyon Provincial Park. The star feature of this provincial park is the Othello Tunnels, a series of old train tunnels and bridges that cut through solid granite walls and pass over the wild Coquihalla River. They are remnants of the Canadian Pacific Railway’s initiative in the early 1900s to connect the southern coast of British Columbia with the interior Kootenays region, via a route through the Coquihalla Gorge. Today, the route no longer has railway tracks and has been restored as part of the Kettle Valley Railway Trail, a popular hiking and cycling route – worth exploring if you’re ever in the area.