Stories About BC Canada
Spring Breaks Early in British Columbia
By Sue Kernaghan
Quick, how do folks in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada pass the time in February?
a) wading through snow drifts b) shoveling sidewalks, or c) counting flowers.
You got it. It's c) counting flowers.
Thanks to warm ocean currents, spring comes early to coastal British Columbia, dotting parks and gardens with blossoms while most North Americans are still scraping ice off their windshields.
Residents of Victoria, the provincial capital, like to take this phenomenon and run with it. For a week each February, in a blatant display of meteorological one-upmanship called the Victoria Annual Flower Count, they tally up the flowers, blossoms, and even palm trees they find around town. The results - more than 1.8 billion blooms in 2004 - are collated at Flower Count Headquarters and promoted throughout North America.
And yes, they are playfully rubbing it in, but the message is inviting: "If you can't wait for spring to come to you, head out to BC and enjoy ours."
And why not? The weather is balmy (even in February, highs in Victoria can reach 11-15 degrees Celsius or 60 degrees Fahrenheit) and there are some great off-peak hotel deals to be had.
In Victoria, for example, The Magnolia Hotel & Spa offers an opportunity to unwind with one night's accommodation and a spa treatment for two for $219 from February 1st through to June 30th. An escape to the Fairmont Empress Hotel proves equally as intriguing with one night's stay and a traditional afternoon tea for two from $199, March 1st to April 30th.
Victoria's mild climate also means year-round golfing. A good bet here is the 18-hole, Jack Nicklaus-designed course at the new Bear Mountain Golf and Country Club just north of town. Between March 1 and May 31 you can enjoy bed and breakfast at the on-site Bear Mountain Resort Hotel, and a round of golf, with a cart, for $99 per person.
If you just want to get into the floral spirit of things, check out the blooms at the legendary 55-acre Butchart Gardens, or join a tour around some of the city's lesser known horticultural gems with Victorian Garden Tours.
Across the island, at the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve and in the coastal communities of Tofino and Ucluelet, spring brings a different kind of abundance. Here, instead of counting flowers, islanders keep track of the 22,000 or so Pacific Gray Whales that migrate along these shores each March and April. Boats go out to meet them (keeping a respectful distance) and observant landlubbers may even spot the great mammals from shore. There's plenty more going on too, with everything from a chowder cook-off to a build-a-whale competition planned as part of this year's Pacific Rim Whale Festival, set for March 19th to 27th.
Spring also means prime skiing conditions at any of BC's mountain resorts. Renowned Whistler Resort, noted for its upcoming role as an event host for the 2010 Winter Olympics, keeps lifts at Whistler Blackcomb running until June 5th; after that, diehards can still ski and snowboard on Blackcomb Glacier until the end of July. This long season means you can pack a lot into a late spring break.
The area's four golf courses - The Whistler Golf Club, The Fairmont Chateau Whistler Golf Club, Nicklaus North and Big Sky - open in late April or early May, and you can hit the Whistler Mountain Bike Park any time after May 21st. Another great option for spring skiing are the mountains in and around BC's Okanagan Valley, about five hours east of Vancouver. Even the best-known resorts here, including Apex near Penticton, Big White near Kelowna, Silver Star near Vernon, and Sun Peaks near Kamloops are still well-kept secrets outside the province. Uncrowded, well-priced, and family-friendly, they're each blessed with their own laid-back vibe and loads of fluffy powder.
You can ski in the Okanagan until about the 10th of April. After that, visitors head into the valley, where countless golf courses offer great scenery and reasonable greens fees. Most of these courses open in late March or early April, and many offer spring bargains. At Predator Ridge Golf Resort, near Vernon, for example, you can get a night's accommodation, 18 holes of golf, and a power cart for $145 per person. The package is available April 15th to May 11th.
After that? Stick around if you can for a late spring bacchanalia. Besides its role as a ski and golf destination, the Okanagan Valley is also a major wine producing area and local vintners kick off the grape growing season each year with the Okanagan Spring Wine Festival. Set to run May 5 to 8 this year, the long weekend will be packed with about 80 events, including tastings, seminars and various celebrations of food and wine at towns and wineries up and down the valley. And how better to end a spring break than with a taste of what the summer has in store?
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