British Columbia Magazine

Many of us soon will be enjoying some well-earned winter holidays. Are you wondering what to do with your free time, or maybe how to keep visitors or energetic children occupied?

Visit our free adventure database at www.shareyourbc.com for hundreds of fun, reader-recommended things to do in B.C.  You can search for activities by location (either close to home or choose to roam), or search by a specific winter activity, such as skiing, dogsledding, snowmobiling, or snowshoeing.

Here’s a fun idea contributed by B.C. visitor J.P. from Bridgeend, Wales:

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Feel like Bond, James Bond!
Activity: Tobogganing
Location: Whistler

At the ages of 63 and 75, my wife and I tobogganed down Blackcomb Mountain in April, zipping past all the skiers, arriving at the very edges of the slopes then, apparently falling off the edge, hurtled down yet another slope. All this after the peace and tranquility of the high ski lift—perfect peace whilst being lifted over the snow, the bears, and the trees . . . just us and the blue, blue sky.

Coming down the mountain on the toboggan felt like we were taking part in a James Bond movie, being pursued by the “bad guys,” seeing the very edge of the white world in front of us and tripping over it, only to find yet another escape opening up in front of us. Fantastic! Utterly repeatable!

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Whatever you decide to do with your time, have fun and enjoy the season. Happy holidays to all from the editorial team at British Columbia Magazine.

To celebrate British Columbia Magazine’s 50th anniversary this summer, we invited readers to share their top recommended things to do in B.C.—for a chance to win some amazing travel prizes.  To our absolute delight, thousands of you took the time to reflect, dream, and write about your favourite B.C. experiences.  Today, with great pleasure, we announce the lucky winners of our special 50th anniversary Share Your B.C. contest.

Grand prize: A luxurious three-night getaway for two at Clayoquot Wilderness Resort, a premier “eco safari” retreat on Vancouver Island’s west coast.

Winner: Frederick Donnelly of Rothesay, NB

2nd Prize: A unique three-night experience for two with Spirit Bear Adventures in B.C.’s Great Bear Rainforest, sanctuary of white bears and authentic Kitasoo culture.

Winner: Garrett Baker of Victoria, BC

3rd Prize: A four-day Rocky Mountaineer Classic Rail Vacation for two in award-winning GoldLeaf Service.

Winner: Tony Berry of Surrey, BC

4th prize: A four-day B.C. Ferries North Coast vacation package for two by land, sea, and air, including BC Ferries’ Inside Passage Cruise.

Winner:  Jerry Fazakas of Regina, SK

Congratulations to our winners, and thank you to our contest sponsors for making our 50th contest so exciting.

Most of all, thank you to all who took the time to enter our contest.  Close to 1,000 of your submissions are now a part of our permanent online Share Your B.C. adventure database, which can be searched by activity or location. More are being processed and uploaded each week, creating a wonderful, free online resource of insiders’ travel tips about the very best of British Columbia.

We continue to invite new entries at www.shareyourbc.com. All eligible submissions will be entered into our monthly draw for a chance to win a free one-year subscription to British Columbia Magazine. Visit today, and start planning your next B.C. adventure. 

The fall months are a wonderful time to travel in British Columbia. With summer holidays over and children back in school, traffic is lighter on the highways, and many accommodation properties are offering enticing shoulder-season rates.

Need some travel ideas? British Columbia Magazine’s Share Your B.C. adventure database is a great online resource. Hundreds of travellers just like you have entered their favourite experiences around the province.

You can search the database in several ways. Choose a region, such  as the Okanagan, to review all activities entered for that area, or focus in on activities closest to a particular town. Or, you can search by activity—say, paddling—and see recommended canoeing and kayaking destinations all over B.C.

We launched our B.C. adventure database to mark the 50th anniversary of British Columbia Magazine in June 2009, in conjunction with an exciting Share Your B.C. Contest. We’ve now drawn four names from all entries submitted and will announce the lucky winners of our travel-adventure prizes as soon as their eligibility (and all that legal-schmegal) has been confirmed. Stay tuned!