52 Best Day Trips from Vancouver. Rev. ed.

Ann Turner is Financial and Budget Manager at the University of British
Columbia Library.

For two decades Vancouverites and visitors have enjoyed outdoor activities in the lower Mainland with Jack Christie as their guide. The first guide, Day Trips from Vancouver, described 44 trips. This revised and updated new edition has 52, but there are now hundreds of recreational areas to choose from and new activities such as in-line skating, mountain biking, and snowboarding to include.

The trips that made the cut for this edition are the old favourites, the areas Christie’s family and friends return to again and again, in all seasons, and they cover a lot of ground: “19 provincial parks, 17 regional parks, 31 municipal parks and recreation trails, 5 conservation regions, 2 B.C. Hydro recreation sites, 2 Parks Canada national historic sites, 3 B.C. Forest Service interpretive forests, plus one outstanding county park in nearby Washington state for good measure.”

The convenient format of the earlier editions continues in this one, with key information presented at the beginning of the chapter for each trip to aid planning. Distance to the site from the bridges leaving Vancouver, activities available, and access options by car or by public transit, including phone numbers and websites, are all up front and easy to find. Most sites are within an hour’s drive of Vancouver.

The detailed trip guides include a map of the roads and trails, with features and facilities indicated. The running commentary describes landmarks and points of interest along the way, and a black and white photograph shows a typical view. The trips are grouped by general area: Bowen Island, West Vancouver, North Vancouver; Burnaby, Port Moody; Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Pitt Meadows, Maple Ridge; Fraser Valley North; Surrey, Langley; Fraser Valley South; Richmond, Delta, Point Roberts; Squamish, Whistler. There is a list of the maps in the table of contents, and a general index to place names and points of interest to help plan a trip that includes them.

Christie’s guide is still the standby for exploring and enjoying the recreational areas surrounding Vancouver, B.C.