Walking in British Columbia

The walks in this guidebook allow walkers to explore North America's wild and beautiful British Columbia. From the heights of the Canadian Rockies to the Pacific coast, British Columbia contains a wide range of peoples, terrain and opportunities for exploration. It has 637 provincial parks, six national parks, wide regions of protected land and age-old forests. The routes are a mix of longer mountain trails in true wilderness and shorter walks.

National Topographic system maps (1:50,000)

Notes on maps

Topographic Maps
The Centre for Topographic Information of Natural Resources Canada is Canada’s national topographic mapping agency (http://?maps.nrcan.gc.ca). Their NTS (National Topographic System) maps are produced at a scale of 1:250,000 and 1:50,000. Both these are detailed maps showing landforms, terrain, lakes, rivers, forest cover, populated areas and transportation routes. The 1:50,000 maps are good for recreational use, and are suitable for hiking, cycling, canoeing and camping. The 1:50,000 maps cover an area of approximately 1000km2. These maps are distributed to the public through regional distribution centres. Contact ITMB Publishing Ltd., 530 West Broadway, Vancouver, BC, V5Z 1E9, tel. (604) 879-3621, or visit the website: http://maps.nrcan.gc.ca/topographic.html. Topographic maps are often sold at visitor information centres as well as outdoor specialist shops.

Forest Service Recreation Maps
The BC Forest Service produces about 40 different maps at various scales that are available to the public. These maps show Forest Service campgrounds, hiking trails, interpretive forests and logging roads. They are available for purchase from local Forest Service offices and often visitor information centres as well. For a listing of what is available, check www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfp/rec/maps/svanisle/

Recreation Maps
Gem Trek Publishing Ltd specializes in producing detailed maps of the Canadian Rockies. These maps are 1:100,000 scale and there is one that covers Kootenay National Park and another that combines Lake Louise and Yoho National Park. These maps are very useful as they show ground relief, campgrounds, hiking trails and roads. These can be purchased locally, or contact: Gem Trek Publishing Ltd., Box 1618, #6- 245- 2nd Ave E, Cochrane, Alberta, T0L 0W0, tel. (403) 932-4208.