The opening of the West Coast Trail has been delayed by a few weeks, due to ongoing repairs. Parks Canada is advising hikers that the trail won’t be open until around May 15.

While most famous hiking trails require multi-day treks, some of the more successful ones are local multi-use community trails. Vancouver’s Stanley Park Seawall and Victoria’s Galloping Goose are great examples of hyper-popular trails. There are some lesser-known gems too:

• The 10 km Seymour Valley Trailway is amazing. Running up the Seymour valley, it is a wide, paved trail, excellent for young bikers. Tip: got to the end, park your bike and hike through some beautiful stands of old-growth forest.
• Ucluelet’s Wild Pacific Trail. A true community trail, which is becoming a tourist draw. Even in the rain, lots of visitors walk it. Good views of the ocean, a lighthouse. lots of eagles, and a sealion haul-out are some of the attractions. You can either walk a short 2km loop, ro do the entire 8km trail. The success of this trail should be a great example for other communities.
• Now the BC government has announced a new 35 km trail in North Vancouver. That should be an amazing draw for the north shore.

It’s spring, so you’re ready to drag out the canoe, raft, or kayak. But how about donning a wetsuit and taking on the rapids of the Richelieu river in Québec? Bring on the Aquafête, an annual celebration of spring in Montérégie, Québec. At the end of April, 2,500 people don their wetsuits and jump into the river, letting the current drag them 2 km downstream. 25,000 people show up to cheer them on.

Watching a spawning salmon is a great Canadian tourism product, but Kynoch West Coast Adventures has turned the concept into a great experience, by offering guests to get up close and snorkel with the salmon. To further enhance the experience, biologists are on hand to answer any questions. Their operation near Bella Coola also offers eco-rafting, wildlife viewing and hiking trips, also accompanied by biologists.