Trans Canada Trail in British Columbia Blog

British Columbia is home to over 1,700 km of the Trans Canada Trail (formerly the Great Trail).  Autumn 2022 was fast approaching as we crossed the border into the tenth province of our cross-Canada #Hike4Birds, hoping to reach the Pacific Ocean before winter arrived.  From the spectacular mountain scenery and coal mines on the Elk Valley Trail, we passed into the dry grassy landscape of the Rocky Mountain Trench.  Soon after we followed the wooden trestle bridges of Myra Canyon on the famous Kettle Valley Rail Trail and braved the spooky tunnels of the Columbia and Western Rail Trail. As winter closed in we followed the mighty Fraser River to downtown Vancouver, and the shores of the Pacific Ocean. A short ferry ride took us to Vancouver Island, where we wandered among the giants of the coastal rainforest on the peaceful Cowichan Valley Trail, and followed the Galloping Goose Trail into Victoria, BC.  

On November 22, 2024 , four years and 14,000 km after leaving the Atlantic Ocean, we reached Clover Point, Victoria and the western terminus of the Trans Canada Trail!

"It is good to have an end to journey towards; 

but it is the journey that matters, in the end."

                                            Ursula K. Le Guin

This blog documents our #Hike4Birds on the Trans Canada Trail in British Columbia. We invite you to Come Walk With Us by exploring our daily updates, where we share photographs and stories of the birds, natural landscapes, histories, challenges, and highlights we experienced while traveling across Canada on foot. Happy Trails!

Hiking the Trans Canada Trail in Eastern British Columbia

Soundtrack for the TCT in Southern British Columbia

The 'Road to Nowhere', Riverside to Blue Lake

12,000 km of TCT Completed, Blue Lake to Elkford

Through the Smoke, Elkford to Sparwood 

The Coal Discovery Trail, Sparwood to Fernie 

Valley of a Thousand Peaks, Fernie to beyond Elko

Fields of Gold, Beyond Elko to Koocanusa 

Legends of the Ktunaxa: Lk Koocanusa to Chief Isadore Trail km 30 

Corridors of Conifers, Chief Isadore Trail into Cranbrook

Along the Ribs of a God, Cranbrook to Kimberley 

Toward Grey Creek Pass, Kimberley to Redding Creek 

Ascending Trails, Rising Tensions, 4 km short of Grey Creek Pass

Mountain Realities, Climbing to Gray Creek Pass and Descending to Crawford Bay

Cafes and Water Routes, Crawford Bay to Balfour … and onto Nelson 

A Long Trek for a Short Distance, Nelson to Granite 

Crawl, Climb and Slide, Granite to Castlegar 

Sculpturewalks and Birding, Exploring Castlegar

Exploring the Trestles and Tunnels of the C&W Rail Trail

Trestles and Tunnels, Castlegar to C&W Tunnel Station 

Murder Mysteries and Rail Histories, Tunnel Station to Coryell

Exhaustion Sets In, Coryell to Christina Lake 

Behind but On Track as we near the Pacific 

Boundary Country, Christina Lake to Grand Forks

Under a Western Sun, Grand Forks to Greenwood 

Exploring the Famous Kettle Valley Rail Trail

Midway and the KVR, Greenwood to Rock Creek

Through a Burnt Countryside, Rock Creek to Little Dipper Hideaway

Uncertain and Unwanted, Little Dipper to Beaverdell 

Valley of Fog and Smoke, Beaverdell to Arlington Lakes

"Cracking 40 on the TCT", Arlington Lk to Hydraulic Lk 

Bailing Wire and Twine, Hydraulic Lk through Myra Canyon  

Bridges and Beaches, Myra Canyon to Chute Lake

Switchbacks and Rock Ovens, Chute Lake to Penticton 

Highways and Bottleneck, Penticton to beyond Summerland 

From Dawn to Dusk, Beyond Summerland to Bankeir 

Snowfall, Osprey Lake to just short of Princeton  

The End of the Line, Into Princeton

Broken Trails and Natural Disasters, Princeton to Hope

Along the Mighty Fraser River, Hope to Agassiz 

Into the City, Agassiz to Chilliwack

Hiking the Fraser River Valley, BC

Great Blue Heron Reserve, Chilliwack to Abbotsford 

Come Rain or Shine, Abbotsford to Mission Bridge

The Birth Place of B.C., Mission Bridge to Fort Langley 

“Be Bold and Venture to be Wise”, Fort Langley to Pitt Meadows

Salmon Forests and IBAs, Pitt Meadows to SFU 

Welcome to the West Coast, SFU to Vancouver

Finding Inspiration in the City, Stanley Park to North Vancouver 

Trans Canada Trail - Reading the Great Trail from the Atlantic to the Pacific! 

To the Salish Sea, Lonsdale Quay to Horseshoe Bay 

Hiking the Trans Canada Trail on Vancouver Island

Salish Sea Marine Trail, Horseshoe Bay to Texada Island 

Soundtrack for Vancouver Island and the Pacific Coast! 

Coming Full Circle, Onto Vancouver Island

Hills of Moss and Arbutus Forests, Nanaimo to Cassidy 

How We Define Ourselves, Cassidy to Chemainus

Sirens and Temptations, Chemainus to Duncan 

The Western Terminus, Duncan to Lake Cowichan

Returning Eastward, Lake Cowichan to Shawnigan Lake 

Endurance Test: Shawnigan Lake to Langford

Almost There … on the Galloping Goose, Langford to Victoria  

Atlantic to Pacific Connected, Victoria to Clover Point

Rewalking and Reflecting, Point Zero Victoria 

The goal of our #Hike4Birds was to inspire people of all ages, physical abilities, cultural backgrounds, orientations, and identities to reconnect with nature through birds and Citizen Science.  To learn more about our project, how you can get involved, and ways to support our work, please visit the Come Walk With Us website.