Day trip date ideas

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

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.

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

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

Two ferries past Vancouver Island to BC's warmest saltwater beach, which happens to look exactly like Hawaii.

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.

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

Drive 30 minutes past Whistler into a valley of seed-potato farms and glaciers, with three turquoise reservation-only lakes at the top.

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

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

A 3.8-km granite-bluff hike, followed by the doughnuts Kate Winslet name-dropped at a film festival.

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

Ten minutes through never-logged Douglas firs to warm granite bluffs above the Point Atkinson lighthouse and Howe Sound.

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

Walk a wobbling 137-metre bridge 70 metres over a river canyon and discover what your date's face looks like under genuine terror.

Over 350 Victorian buildings, a 1924 lakeshore streetcar, and the filming location of Roxanne: Nelson earns the seven-hour drive.

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

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

The date that earns its smugness: 2,830 steps up, Skyride gondola down, beers and jelly legs at the top.

Wade waist-deep through a natural 150-foot cave at 42°C above Kootenay Lake, and give yourself a reason to drive to the Kootenays.

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

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

A 20-minute ferry from Horseshoe Bay, a 9 km rainforest loop around Killarney Lake, and let the boat do the heavy lifting.

A hot semi-desert valley with a still-working 1877 grist mill, roadside peach stands, and an alpine park of six turquoise lakes.

The free 3.5 km Capilano Canyon loop with a salmon hatchery, a thundering spillway, and the Lions framed at the end.

Twenty-minute ferry from Horseshoe Bay, a 10-km loop on Bowen Island, and a 719-metre summit with Howe Sound below.