With a total land area of almost 360,000 square miles, and most of it robust alpine country, hiking tours of British Columbia are plentiful and varied. British Columbia also has a population density of less than five people per square kilometer as a large amount of the province’s 4.5 million inhabitants reside in the metro areas of Vancouver and Victoria.  With this kind of open space, you will discover quiet and undeveloped vistas that in many cases have been seldom explored on foot by Europeans and a strong understanding of B.C.’s motto, “Splendor Without Diminishment”.

Canada’s department of ecology, Environment Canada, has categorized British Columbia into six separate ecological zones, each of which presents hikers a unique experience. Of course, as hiking and other styles of outdoor recreation has increased in popularity, so have the number of vacation rentals and Canada bed and breakfasts through the province. Lodgings at a range of prices from as low as $24 (CDN) per night may be had in even the most remote vacation destinations.

If you are interested in an all inclusive resort that is really a pampering experience, consider Cathedral Lakes Lodge near Penticton in south-central British Columbia.  Hiking trails at 7000 foot elevations can lead you to any one of seven unspoiled mountain lakes where the trout fishing is excellent.

Ecotourism is just one interesting hiking opportunity that is widely accessible in British Columbia. These are tours, typically taken on foot, in which the public have the chance to trek to a number of the more ecologically vulnerable regions including the coastal clement rainforests that stretch from the Alaskan panhandle to northern California and the delicate sub-arctic taiga and boreal plains.

Sponsored by the province’s municipal governments and non-profit organizations, these ecotours are handled in a manner so that participants leave a minimal impact on the region while having a chance to enjoy native flora and fauna in a pure state. Because so much of British Columbia is unspoiled by people, hikers will have a chance to see many sorts of wildlife that have become rare in the more heavily populated U.S.

If you are scouting for a variation from hiking in British Columbia’s picturesque mountain country from one of the region’s cabin rentals, you might also take into account agritourism. As is the case in Washington and Oregon to the south, British Columbia is an important agricultural center, particularly in the southern and eastern segments of the province.  Agritours give hikers a chance to see and even participate in the workings of sustainable farms in a few of Canada’s most diverse farmlands.