Natural Highs: A Guide to Outdoor Activities

Hans B. Neumann is a history lecturer at Scarborough College, University
of Toronto.

Unlike most guidebooks of this kind, which tend to focus on a single
outdoor activity, this outdoor guide to British Columbia covers a wide
range of activities throughout the seasons, from hiking to
whale-watching, and from skiing to short walking tours away from
auto-accessible areas.

The authors, both long familiar with the B.C. outdoors, have divided
the province into eight major regions and devoted a chapter to each. For
every chapter (e.g., Okanagan-Kootenay), they list the most prominent
places for the outdoor enthusiast to visit (sites such as canyons,
glaciers, waterfalls, hotsprings, wildlife refuges, and provincial
federal parks) and skiing areas. The sites are then briefly described,
and useful information is provided about accessibility, when to go, what
to wear, what roads to take, and what skill level is necessary to
explore the site. The list of places cited in each section is
comprehensive enough to satisfy even those who think they know the
province’s natural attractions well.

The utility of this clearly organized book is further enhanced by
general and local area maps (including major highways); black-and-white
photos of some of the province’s most dazzling natural attractions;
and a list of further information sources. An especially convenient
highlight is the four-page Regional Highlight Guide, which lists in
chart form all the features discussed in each chapter.

This solid, reliable guide to the B.C. outdoors would equally serve the
needs of the backpacker and the average automobile tourist.