Outdoor Activities in Victoria, BC

There aren't many locations across all of Canada that offer as many choices for outdoor activities and the opportunity to participate in them year round as you can find in the Victoria BC and the surrounding Greater Victoria area. It's hard to beat our proximity to rivers, lakes, oceans and mountains as well as urban, suburban, country and wilderness locations. The temperate climate means you can indulge in your favourite outdoor sports and recreation practically all year long.Living on an island (albeit a big one) means that we are surrounded by the ocean, and there are plenty of ways to enjoy it. Fishing is perhaps the first to come to mind, but there is also sailing, kayaking, canoeing, or just boating for pleasure. If you'd prefer to get right into the water, there's swimming (for the cold-hardy), surfing (a short jaunt up-island to Tofino) and scuba diving. The waters surrounding Vancouver Island offer world class diving with spectacular undersea biodiversity.If you favour fresh water over brine, there are a number of lakes within a 30 minute drive of downtown Victoria where you can swim, waterski, canoe, fish, or just lounge on your air mattress, cold beverage in hand.Another very popular outdoor activity is camping, and there is a plethora of options within or close to Greater Victoria. Pitch a tent or park your RV at a private campsite or in one of the local provincial campsites at French Beach, Goldstream, and in Juan de Fuca Provincial Park at China Beach, Sombrio Beach and Parkinson Beach. Some of these BC Provincial Parks feature trails suitable for multi-day hikes and wilderness camping. Be sure to check with BC Parks about registration, rules and closures before you go.If your idea of camping means really fending for yourself, there are a number of recreation sites located on Crown land outside of the parks and away from settled areas. These public campgrounds are generally accessed by gravel roads and offer only basic facilities. Learn more about these recreation sites at Recreation Sites and Trails BC through their website at Sitesandtrailsbc.ca.You can find other popular wilderness outdoor activities like rock climbing, orienteering, mountain biking, spelunking (caving) hunting, and for the truly fearless, mushroom hunting! In winter, a quick drive north to Mt Washington will take you to a world class ski resort that is fairly uncrowded and often boasts the deepest snowpack in North America. In fact, during the winter of 2010-2011, Mt. Washington claimed the deepest snowpack in the world!If wilderness activities aren't your thing, there are numerous entertaining outdoor activities you can participate in closer to civilization. One of the most popular is golf, and the Greater Victoria area boasts and inordinate amount of golf course, both private and public, where golfers of all abilities can play pretty much year round.As well as golf, you can enjoy bicycling, skateboarding and walking, and horseback riding along the extensive urban trail systems around Victoria BC. And we haven't even begun to talk about the range of outdoor sports that people who are living in Victoria love to participate in. There are opportunities for you and all your family members to play just about any outdoor sport that you can think of.One of the many benefits of living in Victoria BC is year round access to outdoor activities due to our temperate climate. And because of this Victorians enjoy a superior overall quality of life and are probably healthier and happier too!

Campstoves, Backpacking, Tailgaiting, Camp Outs And Other Outdoor Activities

Many people are finding different ways to escape from their everyday routine. They are getting involved in outdoor activities that include outdoor cooking, which means having a good camp stove.In today's retail market there are many different types of camp stoves. They vary from backpacking stoves that are so small they will fit in the palm of your hand, all the way up to portable stoves with the power of 90,000 BTU's. There are single, double and triple burner stoves. There are even camp stoves with four burners that fold up like a suit case.Some burn propane for fuel while others, called canister stoves, burn propane or butane, there are also liquid fuel stoves that burn gas, diesel, LP gas or kerosene. There are many types and sizes of stoves available, and just as many types of outdoor activities were they can be seen.You will see these stoves in stadium parking lots where people are tailgating before a major sporting event, at family picnics and backyard barbecues, at campgrounds, on backpacking or hiking expeditions, at gatherings on beaches, at sand dunes where people gather to ride ATV's, dune buggy's and dirt bikes, at RV and trailer parks, at just about any outdoor activity you can name you will find some type of camp stove being used to cook a meal.Most, if not all, who take part in cooking outdoor meals will need a variety of cooking accessories and equipment. Different accessories are available depending on the size and type of camp stove being used and the circumstance it is being used in.Hikers and backpackers will need compact accessories designed to fit in a backpack, while group or family outings will need accessories designed for use in an outdoor kitchen. Things such as bbq tongs, spatulas and forks, cast iron pots, frying pans and dutch ovens, unbreakable plastic cups, bowls, plates and eating utensils just to name a few.There are almost as many brands as there are different types of camp stoves and accessories, the same goes for quality and price.Finding the right equipment for an outdoor kitchen, that will last a long time and not be overly expensive, can seem like a daunting task.However, for those looking to either start, replace or add to an outdoor kitchen, some good advice would be to relax get a favorite beverage and sit down at the computer and let your fingers do the searching for you. Whether you buy locally or online it's a great place to do your research and can be very helpful in finding the camp stove and accessories that will fit your needs at an affordable price.More and more people are looking for a way to enjoy one or more of these many types of outdoor experiences, that will take them away from their everyday routine and give them something new and exciting to enjoy, if only for a brief day or two, and being able to add a good gourmet meal cooked on a great camp stove makes the experience that much more enjoyable.