Deep Cove: Quarry Rock & Doughnuts

Whistler's cooler, cheaper neighbour sits 45 minutes up the Sea-to-Sky with a gondola, a giant rock, and brewery rewards at every trailhead.

Granite railway tunnels over a turquoise gorge, 80-plus chainsaw carvings, and a 90-minute drive most people waste by not stopping.

Ninety minutes east, a mineral-fed pool town where the lake is sandy, the mountains are misty, and your shoulders finally drop.

A 20-minute ferry from Horseshoe Bay, a wood-stove cottage, and the moment the last ferry leaves and Snug Cove is entirely yours.

A historic fishing village where you can buy salmon off the actual boat, then eat it on the boardwalk ten steps later.

Cross the Duffey Lake Road and land in BC's best-kept secret: a sun-baked canyon, a milky-turquoise lake, and actual gold-rush history.

Check the tide table first: walk the rocky causeway out to Whyte Islet, and leave before the ocean takes it back.

Forty-plus boutique Okanagan wineries on a 16-km lakeside road, best done by e-bike so nobody has to drive.

Seventy-five free oceanfront acres at Steveston's tip, aimed directly at the best sunset in Richmond.

A 40-minute ferry hop to The Beachcombers harbour and a bohemian beach pier with a hand-painted mandala.

Pan for actual gold at the Parks Canada fort where BC was born, then browse Glover Road's antique shops until dinner.

Buy a $2 bag of seed, and within minutes black-capped chickadees are landing directly on your hand. Yes, really.

Twenty minutes on the BC Ferry from Horseshoe Bay, and suddenly you've left the city entirely, which is the whole idea.

Paddle a glacial fjord from a sheltered postcard village and earn a legendary Honey Doughnut on the way back.