When you are planning to explore a new hiking area, somewhere out of your state or province or out of the country, how do you narrow down the options?

I usually start with a visit to the library where I hunt down guides for the areas I’m looking at, select several possibilities and then go online to research further (through National, State, and Provincial Park and Recreation Area or Bureau of Land Management websites). I also chat up hiking friends for ideas and visit hiking webpages, such as BellaOnline!

A recent request for suggestions for a backpacking trip to British Columbia, Canada had me momentarily stumped. How could I possibly narrow it down – B.C. is 947,800 square kilometres (365,946 square miles). That’s bigger than California, Oregon, and Washington combined.

It includes superlative coastal treks (seaside in Pacific Rim National Park to sky views in Garibaldi Provincial Park), interior explorations (wildflowers galore in Manning and Wells Gray Provincial Parks), and the Rockies (think ice-carved crags in Kootenay, Yoho & Glacier National Parks).

But that’s not even the tip of the iceberg – what about Strathcona , Cathedral, Tweesdmuir, Mount Robson, and Spatsizi Plateau Wilderness Provincial Parks? There are literally hundreds of parks to choose from and thousands of potential backpacking trips.

In the end I decided to narrow it down to three distinct areas: one on the coast, one in the interior, and one in the mountains.

Three Multi-Day Backcountry Trip Ideas in British Columbia:

Location: Pacific Rim National Park (Coast)
Trail: West Coast Trail
Duration/length: 6 days/ 75 km
Reason: A world-renowned classic that challenges physically and rewards with jaw-dropping scenery and wildlife viewing opportunities.

Location: Wells Gray Provincial Park (Interior)
Trail: Trophy Mountain to Battle Creek
Duration/length: 7 days/65 km
Reason: Guided hut to hut hiking opportunity by Wells Gray Adventures through mountain meadows festooned with wildflowers throughout the summer months.

Location: Kootenay National Park (Mountains)
Trail: The Rockwall
Duration/length: 3-4 days/56 km
Reason: Glaciers, surreal blue lakes, windswept mountain passes, and wildlife – need I say more?

Enjoy beautiful B.C.!