Whether you’re planning a staycation, heading out on a road trip, or living vicariously through the pages, these recent books highlight some unique ideas for any trip within BC and even beyond.
For the gastronomic traveller (aka foodies)
Take advantage of the ocean’s bounty and make incredible meals with Off the Hook: Essential West Coast Seafood Recipes by Danielle Acken and Aurelia Louvet (TouchWood Editions). Fresh and sustainable ingredients can be paired with these easy and approachable recipes which use simple techniques written for home cooks of any skill level.
Trundle around Vancouver Island with Amber River: A Guidebook to the Pubs of Vancouver Island and the Salish Sea by Glen Cowley (Hancock House) and visit the many historic and Victorian style pubs for a pint.
The locavore movement is in—heck yeah!—and we feel that celebrating local culinary creators is not just a ‘trend’. Following on the success of Food Artisans of the Okanagan, which won a 2017 Taste Canada Food Writing award, we now have Food Artisans of Alberta by Karen Anderson & Matilde Sanchez-Turri (TouchWood Editions). So get road trip ready and hit the highways to discover our neighbour province’s distinct tastes. Planning further ahead? We hear that Food Artisans of Saskatchewan is forthcoming.
For the ornithologically inclined (aka bird lovers)
Walking, hiking, or just dawdling around, use this revised guidebook to identify the many local birds you’ll see. Birds of British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest by Richard Cannings, Hal Opperman, and Tom Aversa (Heritage House) has a new edition in time for the summer bird-watching season.
For the serious bird-watcher, pick up a copy of Birds of Vancouver Island’s West Coast by Adrian Dorst (UBC Press / On Point Press). This mammoth guide—all 560 pages of it—includes accounts of all of the species thus far recorded as occurring in the region (360 in total) and updates the 231 species recorded up to 1978.
For those interested in staking out a spot to bird watch, check the Best Places to Bird in British Columbia (Greystone Books) for recommended locations.
Traveling outside of BC and looking for spots to bird watch? Consult Best Places to Bird in the Prairies (Greystone Books) for the top spots in Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan as recommended by three local experts, John Acorn, Alan Smith, and Nicola Koper.
For the family and those with kids in tow
Birding for Kids by Damon Calderwood and Donald E. Waite (Heritage House) is an interactive full-colour field guide that teaches kids a safe and educational way to observe birds in their natural habitat.
Explore the Rocky Shore with Sam and Crystal and Explore the Wild Coast with Sam and Crystal by Gloria Snively and illustrator Karen Gillmore (Heritage House 2018) are illustrated stories that teach children about the marine ecosystems and biology on the Pacific Northwest coast.
Family Walks and Hikes of Vancouver Island is a new series of guidebooks written specifically for all ages and abilities. The first two titles in the series are Family Walks and Hikes of Vancouver Island, Volume 1: Victoria to Nanaimo and Volume 2: Nanaimo North to Strathcona Park, by Theo Dombrowski (RMB | Rocky Mountain Books).
Turn any outing into an educational experience by having kids (and adults) identify the various flora and fauna you see on your adventures. These full-colour laminated pamphlets are durable and lightweight, which makes them perfect to pop in your pack and go. The newest guide is the Field Guide to Insects of the Pacific Northwest (Harbour Publishing). However, the information in these field guides is timeless; pick up one on Edible Mushrooms, Seashells & Shellfish, Trees of the PNW, Seaweeds, or Edible Fruits and Berries.
For the armchair traveller
Can’t take a trip this summer? You can still take a trip-by-proxy, travelling vicariously through the magic of the written word.
Thumbing a Ride: Hitchhikers, Hostels, and Counterculture in Canada by Linda Mahood (UBC Press) will take you back in time to the groovy 70s when hitchhiking was the main ridesharing mode. Mahood examines hitchhiking’s rise and fall, the practice as a rite of passage for young people, and the adult intervention that turned a subculture into a pressing moral and social issue.
Visit the Middle East from the comfort of your own couch with Couchsurfing in Iran: Revealing a Hidden World (Greystone Books). Award-winning writer Stephan Orth shares the community and culture of Couchsurfing (crashing on a stranger’s spare sofa) and gives a glimpse into modern life in Iran, where “two Irans” coexist—the religious Iranians and secular Iranians, who become experts in navigating their country’s strict laws to enjoy life’s pleasures.
For the outdoor enthusiast
Here are some serious guidebooks for the outdoor enthusiast or aspiring outdoors-person.
The fourth edition of Hiking the Gulf Islands of British Columbia by Charles Kahn (Harbour Publishing) offers new and updated hikes on the stunning Gulf Islands, as well as the marine parks and Gulf Islands National Park Reserve. A great resource for visitors and residents alike.
For ultimate bragging rights, hit up all 66 North Shore peaks detailed in Glorious Mountains of Vancouver’s North Shore: A Peakbagger’s Guide by David Crerar and Harry Crerar (RMB | Rocky Mountain Books). This guidebook features turn-by-turn route descriptions with facts, statistics, historical and cultural backgrounds.
Venture into the Easy Kootenay with the fourth edition of Mountain Footsteps: Hikes in the East Kootenay of Southeastern British Columbia by Janice Strong (RMB | Rocky Mountain Books). Also a photography, Janice Strong’s gorgeous images accompany this detailed hiking guide.
And of course, this list would be incomplete without mentioning the completely revamped bestselling hiking guide, 105 Hikes in and Around Southwestern British Columbia by Stephen Hui (Greystone Books). The guide includes hikes in the Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island, and into Washington State.