In the years that followed, the province grew and prospered as the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) connected the westernmost province with the rest of the country. Today, almost 150 years later, British Columbia is a booming centre of art, agriculture and industry with an ever-growing population that currently sits at approximately 4.5 million. But this beautiful province underwent many events and changes that helped form its modern face. And if you know where to look, echoes of these events and landmark moments can be found all over BC. Whether ghost town, heritage site or modern locale with an interesting pass, the pages of the province’s history are surprisingly accessible. Let’s begin on Vancouver Island…

In the quaint capital city of Victoria, the one block that is Chinatown is not only Canada’s oldest but also North America’s smallest. That being said, it has enough history and flavour to fill a hundred city blocks. You can’t miss this diminutive destination – not with the amazingly-colourful and ornate Gate of Harmonious Interest (or Tong ji Men), a free-standing structure that spans Chinatown’s street entrance, towering over the traffic lights in all its gilded, dragon-etched glory. This phenomenal pagoda-style monster, a joint Canadian-Chinese project, is reason enough to visit Chinatown. Factor in the import shops packed wall-to-wall with toys, trinkets and curiosities, the amazing restaurants and the cherry-blossom lined street and it’s case-closed. But this barely scratches the surface… literally. Below your feet, a network of apparently unused tunnels spider out from beneath Chinatown’s ancient buildings toward the rest of Olde Town and the harbour. At one time, Victoria’s Chinese population was as high as 3,500 due to the influx of migrant labourers who found work with the CPR. Allegedly, these catacombs once served as passages for opium and booze smugglers as well as providing a route for illegal immigrants entering the country. While these secret passageways are purportedly boarded and bricked up, occasional brave urban spelunkers report a different story… The jury’s still out but the blocked or otherwise, these tunnels exist. Just walk through Chinatown. They’re right beneath your feet.
While you’re strolling downtown Victoria, you’ll undoubtedly find the Causeway, a stunning harbour-front esplanade and wharf. And if you tear your gaze away from the majestic oxidized copper domes of the BC Legislative Buildings, you’ll see an equally impressive sight to your direct left. Welcome to the Empress Hotel, the 460-room Edwardian-style landmark that looks out over Victoria’s picturesque Inner Harbour. Now a Fairmont Hotel property, The Empress has been providing luxury lodging since 1908. Yet unknown to most, the site of this palatial structure was once water, the harbour continuing beneath the bridge that was once what lower Government Street is today. The area was drained before excavation for the hotel began but not without great cost. To this day, The Empress Hotel sinks fractions of an inch each year, the soft, water-logged foundation gently succumbing to nature. The Empress Hotel is somewhat of a museum piece that happily welcomes visitors whether you’re a guest or not. Be sure to venture downstairs. The public hallways are lined with early black-and-white photos of the area in its pre and early hotel days.

In 1861, a miner by the name of William Barker struck gold in the foothills of the Cariboo Mountains in the Northern Cariboo-Chilcotin region of BC. It wasn’t long before thousands of optimistic prospectors where flocking to the area. Billy Barker helped establish Barkerville one year later – a town that not only became the quintessential BC Goldrush community but one that also served as a vehicle toward the provinces economic growth and its eventual inclusion in the Confederation. The end of the Gold Rush spelled the end of many of the towns it had helped birth, but not Barkerville. This town thrived, eventually becoming a national heritage site – the largest of its kind in the country. Everything and everyone in this town is period 1800’s, making the Barkerville experience one of the most surreal trips back in British Columbia history. With its wood plank sidewalks, stagecoaches, saloons and even the chance to pan for gold yourself, this is the closest you’ll get to Canada’s Wild West without actually getting shot in a duel at high noon. Bring the kids here and they’ll be talking about it until puberty! Yet Barkerville wasn’t the only community fundamentally affected by the Gold Rush…

At the southwest entrance to the Fraser Canyon, the little town of Yale might not seem monumental but it’s one of BC’s oldest communities. This sleepy town was a busy steamship centre at the height of the Gold Rush. Established as a Hudson’s Bay Company fort in 1848, it became the Fraser River’s inland waystation for those travelling by sternwheeler. Ten years later, when gold was discovered just 2 miles away, a wave of prospectors saw the population spike to 20 thousand residents. It wasn’t long before the government funded a road that ran almost 650 kilometres from Yale to the northerly town of Barkerville and hence, the Cariboo Wagon Road was born – a route that witnessed the fruition as well as the demise of many wealth-seekers’ dreams. Although the population of Yale is only 200-strong today, it has become a busy tourist destination and for good reason. Visit the Church of St. John the Divine, BC’s oldest church that was built in 1863 to provide spiritual comfort for road-weary prospectors. A structure built only 5 years later plays home to the Yale Museum, a heritage site that retells the Gold Rush story courtesy of numerous artefacts and exhibits. Take a guided walking tour where you can see the old embedded rings that were used to moor the great riverboats of yesterday. Stop by the cemetery south of town with headstones marked as early as 1862… and while you’re in the neighbourhood, visit Hill’s Bar, the pebble bar that was the site of the first gold discovered in the province!

There are so many other places in the province where history is alive and well. BC is extremely proud of its past – something that’s obvious when you ask any of the locals about it. From Dawson Creek’s Mile Zero of the Alaskan Highway to Steveston’s early cannery to Fort St. James’ restored fur trading post to the cobbled street of downtown Vancouver’s Gastown, British Columbia has a story to tell.

All you have to do is show up and listen.

Let’s start on the southernmost tip of the island in British Columbia’s capital city of Victoria…

Meet Dallas Road, the famously scenic route that winds east from James Bay, along the city’s coastline where it eventually becomes Scenic Beach Drive – over 20 kilometres of Mazda-commercial-quality road that weaves around the coast all the way to the east side of the island. This popular route provides access to some of the city’s most amazing beaches and coast-side attractions. The Breakwater at the Port of Victoria is a cement jetty that juts out almost 2 kilometres into the sea with a lighthouse at its tip. A favourite with walkers, it provides staggering views of the American Olympic Mountains across the glimmering Strait of Juan de Fuca as well as close-ups of the massive luxury cruise liners that make Victoria a port-of-call. Heading east along Dallas Road, you can literally stop anywhere and find a beach access. Footpaths wind down the steep cliff-sides arriving at some of the most intimate and idyllic little coves this coast has to offer. Albeit, the beaches are a little pebbly along this stretch but there’s plenty of driftwood that serves as perfect temporary furniture! Whether you’re watching the para-gliders float on the updrafts off Fonyo Beach, enjoying children wrestling with their kites at Clover Point or strolling down the Ross Bay Sea Wall, this is one of the most amazing ways to spend a warm afternoon in Victoria. But the beach-scape begins to change as Dallas Road merges into Scenic Beach Drive…

Firstly, the road gets a little windier and climbs a little higher, offering stunning postcard-like views of the lazy, hazy south coast. Secondly, the pebbles disappear and are replaced by smooth, sandy expanses of beach. Almost European in its quaint charm, Gonzales Beach on the bay of the same name is a favourite summer destination with young adults. This little cove is so tucked away you’d miss it if it wasn’t for the small Public Beach Access sign and the public restrooms.
Keep driving along Beach Drive and you’ll find yourself heading north up the east side of Vancouver Island, passed ocean-side golf courses and luxury homes. Eventually, as you come into Victoria’s upscale British enclave, the city-neighbourhood of Oak Bay, you’ll discover one of the area’s favourite beaches: Willows Beach. Nowhere in the city is there an oceanfront expanse that more resembles an English seaside town. A large tree-lined field provides room for picnickers, sunbathers and volleyball players while full playground, concession and restroom facilities mean you can bring the kids and make an entire day of it. The beach itself is over a kilometre of beautiful sand with a paved esplanade running its length. But by far the most charming attraction is the English-style tea room overlooking the water and the distant American San Juan Islands.

Further along Beach Drive in the neighbourhood of the University of Victoria lies Cadboro Bay Beach. Another favourite sandy beach, this is also an ideal place to bring the kids. The larger-than-life Gyro Park will keep them amused for hours! This beach is the alleged home of the Cadborosaurus, a sea serpent similar to the Loch Ness Monster that has been sporadically sighted in and around these waters for well over 100 years – never before have a pair of binoculars kept the kids happy for so long! Looking for a bigger beach excursion? Drive up the Saanich Peninsula to Sidney. A quick ferry-ride will deposit you on Sidney Spit, a 400 hectare marine park with tidal flats, salt marshes, meadows, trails and of course, sandy beaches.

All the way up Vancouver Island’s east coast the beaches are nothing short of spectacular. Rathtrevor Beach Provincial Park in Parksville is loaded with hiking, picnicking and sunbathing possibilities while Parksville Beach is more geared toward summer sports like beach volleyball, tennis and even lacrosse. Only 12 kilometres north, Qualicum Beach and its accompanying town corner the market on picturesque with its bungalow community and endless tidal flats.

The west coast of Vancouver Island paints an entirely different picture. Not benefitting from the inland protection afforded to the island’s east coast beaches, the west coast provides the more rugged and adventurous experience of a face-to-face encounter with the great Pacific Ocean. This is a surfers’ paradise with huge waves crashing on beaches that are rimmed by acres and acres of wild rainforest. The best destinations lie between the towns of Ucluelet and Tofino and include Radar Beach, Combers Beach, Wickaninnish Beach and the 6-mile long (aptly named) Long Beach. If you’re coming for the big waves, fall and winter are the most ideal but if you’re coming for everything else, a summer day out here is almost unbeatable. Not only will you see surfers and sea kayakers but also local wildlife such as seals, sea lions and even whales!

While conditions might be a little less remote and rugged in the southwest of the island, they are no less amazing. In fact, the areas in and around Sooke are popular with many visitors because they provide the untamed West Coast feel while being only a short drive from Victoria. Witty’s Lagoon Regional Park is comprised of a long swath of sandy beach that protects the adjacent marshlands from oceanic erosion. Due to its location, every day is a windy day here, so dress appropriately. Bring the telephoto lens, too. Exceptional views of the Hurricane Ridge glacial formation in Washington State’s Olympic Range are visible across the waters of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Many other amazing beaches are within 25 kilometres of Sooke. It’s a steep hike down to French Beach, China Beach and Mystic Beach, but the little one will have no problem navigating the gentler trails down to Sandcut Beach, Sombrio Beach and Botanical Beach. Many south islanders consider these beaches some of their best kept secrets which is why you’ll almost always find them relatively deserted. The catch is, area road signs don’t make a big deal out of pointing these access points out. Keep your eyes peeled and don’t be shy about asking the friendly locals for directions!

There are lots of ways to enjoy the beaches of Vancouver Island and a lot of beaches to choose from. You bring the sunscreen and we’ll sort out the rest!