To find out what's happening in the great British Columbian outdoors, pick up a copy of the free bimonthly tabloid Coast: The Outdoor Recreation Magazine (tel. 604/876-1473). It contains the latest info on mountain-bike races, kayaking competitions, eco-challenges (an international pentathlon-style competition encompassing kayaking, horseback riding, hiking, mountain biking, and skiing). It's available at outfitters, recreational-equipment outlets, and community centers throughout the province.

Members of the American Automobile Association (AAA) can get assistance from the BC Automobile Association (BCAA) by calling tel. 800/222-4357 or 604/293-2222. Seat belts and daytime headlights must be used while driving in the province.

BIKING-- Throughout British Columbia are countless marked mountain-bike trails and cycling paths. In Victoria, the 8-mile Scenic Marine Drive has an adjacent paved path following Dallas Road and Beach Drive, then returning to downtown via Oak Bay Avenue. On Newcastle Island Provincial Park, off the Nanaimo coast, the Shoreline Trail circles the lovely island, which was once a holiday resort. There are plenty of marked trails to explore on Salt Spring Island in the Gulf Islands group between Vancouver Island and the mainland.

The best Okanagan Valley off-road bike trail is the incredible Kettle Valley Railway route. The Myra Canyon railway route near Kelowna crosses over 18 trestle bridges and passes through two tunnels carved through the mountains. In the Shuswap Lakes region of the High Country, off-road trails run through the hilly terrain surrounding the lakes and rivers that attract hordes of houseboaters and anglers. It's also the location of the world's largest salmon run.

The ski runs on the lower elevations of both Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains are transformed into mountain-bike trails during summer. Bikes are permitted on the gondola ski lift, allowing you to reach the peaks where the winding marked trails begin. From here, experts, intermediates, and novices barrel down through the colorful alpine slopes. June to September, bike challenges take place regularly on both mountains. In town, the Valley Trail offers 20km (12 miles) of paved paths that pass through residential areas and around alpine lakes. Next to the Chateau Whistler Golf Course, the Lost Lake Trails feature numerous unpaved alternative routes that fan out from the main lakeside trail.

BOATING & SAILING--While you're in Victoria, take a leisurely cruise south to Sooke Harbour or up the Strait of Georgia in a rental boat or a skippered vessel. There are many outfitters at the Brentwood Bay and Oak Bay Marinas.

On the Gulf Islands, you can take the wheel of a 30-foot sailing craft or enjoy a skippered cruise on a power catamaran around the Gulf Islands. The remote Queen Charlotte Islands offer a world of marine beauty you can best discover by taking a guided cruise on a skippered schooner. The crews are familiar with the history and lore of the mysterious waters surrounding the home of the Haida Native-Indian tribe. On the mainland, more than a dozen Okanagan Valley lakes lure boaters, houseboaters, and water-sports enthusiasts. Whether you're into waterskiing, fishing, jet skiing, house-, or pleasure boating, local marinas offer full-service rentals.

CAMPING--British Columbia's national parks, provincial parks, marine parks, and private campgrounds are generally filled during summer weekends. Most areas are first-come, first-served, so stake your claim early in the afternoon (for weekends, arrive by Thurs). However, March 1 to September 15, you can book a campsite up to 3 months in advance by calling Discover Camping at tel. 800/689-9025 in North America or 604/689-9025. It's open Monday to Friday 7am to 9pm and Saturday and Sunday 9am to 5pm. There's a nonrefundable service fee of C$6, and reservations can be confirmed only with MasterCard or Visa.

The provincial park campgrounds charge C$9 to C$19 per site. There's a 2-week maximum for individual campsite stays. Facilities vary from rustic (walk-in or water-access) to basic (pit toilets and little else) to luxurious (hot showers, flush toilets, and sani-stations). All provincial drive-in campgrounds offer precut-wood piles, grill-equipped fire pits, bear-proof garbage cans, pumped well water, and well-maintained security. The rustic wilderness campgrounds provide minimal services--a covered shelter or simply a cleared patch of ground and little else.

CANOEING & KAYAKING--You'll quickly discover why sea kayakers rate Vancouver Island's west coast one of the world's best places to paddle. Novice and intermediate paddlers launch from the passenger ferry MV Lady Rose into the sheltered waters of Barkley Sound. Surf kayakers are drawn to the tidal swells that crash along the shores of Long Beach, part of Pacific Rim National Park. And the Broken Island Group's many islands offer paddlers an excellent site for overnight expeditions amid the rugged beauty of the outer coast.

On Vancouver Island's east coast, Johnstone Strait lures paddlers to one of the world's largest orca (killer whale) populations, and to ancient native-Indian villages. In Whistler, paddlers are treated to an exhilarating stretch of glacial waters that runs behind the village itself. Some savvy kayakers and canoeists call it the "River of Dreams."

CLIMBING & SPELUNKING--Off Valleyview Road, east of Penticton in the Okanagan Valley, Skaha Bluffs has more than 400 bolted routes set in place. For info about organized climbing trips throughout the province, contact the Federation of Mountain Clubs of BC, 1367 W. Broadway, Vancouver, BC V6H 4A9 (tel. 604/737-3053).

FISHING--Numerous fishing packages depart from the Victoria docks, where charters run to the southern island's best catch-and-release spots for salmon, halibut, cutthroat, and lingcod. About 134km (83 miles) north of Victoria, Elk & Beaver Lakes Provincial Park's Beaver Lake is stocked with steelhead, rainbow trout, kokanee, Dolly Varden char, and smallmouth bass. Year-round sportfishing for salmon, steelhead, trout, Dolly Varden char, halibut, cod, and snapper lures anglers to the waters near Port Alberni and Barkley Sound. Nearby Long Beach is great for bottom fishing.

On Vancouver Island's east coast, Campbell River is the home of Painter's Lodge. A favorite Hollywood getaway for over 50 years, it has entertained Bob Hope, John Wayne (who was a frequent guest), and Goldie Hawn. The Queen Charlotte Islands were only recently opened to sportfishers, and the fish stories about 70-pound tyee salmon and 125-pound halibut emanating from these misty shores are true. Langara Island and Naden Harbour on Graham Island are perfect salmon-fishing spots where anglers commonly release catches under 30 pounds as they aim for the big fish.

The desert-like Okanagan Valley summers are far too hot for fish and fishermen, but for the region's Okanagan, Kalamalka, and Skaha Lakes, spring and fall are bountiful seasons. The best summer fishing centers around the small hillside lakes surrounding the valley. These spots brim with trout, steelhead, Dolly Varden char, and smallmouth bass. Sportfishing is the best reason to visit the Cariboo Country lakes, about 250 of which are accessible by road. Some lakes are nestled at altitudes as high as 6,000 feet and can be reached by booking a guided floatplane trip.

In the Shuswap Lakes area, weed beds nurture the shrimp, sedge, and insects rainbow trout thrive on. Many of these lakes are considered trout factories. The area is close to civilization, but it's not hard to get away by helicopter or floatplane to isolated Bonaparte Plateau fishing resorts for even more excitement.

Whistler's Green River and nearby Birkenhead Lake Provincial Park have runs of steelhead, rainbow trout, Dolly Varden char, cutthroat, and salmon that attract sport anglers from around the world.

GOLFING--Considering Victoria's British heritage and its lush rolling landscape, it's no wonder golf is a popular pastime. The three local courses offer terrain--minus thistles--similar to Scotland's too.

There are also a number of outstanding layouts in central Vancouver Island, including an 18-hole course designed by golf legend Les Furber. The Morningstar championship course is in Parksville. The Storey Creek Golf Club in Campbell River also has a challenging course design and great scenic views. There are 9- and 18-hole golf courses in the Okanagan Valley, including the Gallagher's Canyon Golf & Country Club in Kelowna and Predator Ridge in Vernon. Visitors to Whistler can tee off at the Chateau Whistler Golf Course, at the base of Blackcomb Mountain, or the Nicklaus North golf course on the shore of Green Lake.

The Salmon Arm Golf Course and Shuswap Lakes Estates Golf & Country Club offer beautiful terrain, great values on greens fees, and more than your fair share of bunkers, traps, and ascents.

HIKING--Among the best short nature walks on Vancouver Island, the lush temperate rain forest of Goldstream Provincial Park offers hikes through centuries-old stands of Douglas fir. Accessible by ferry from Nanaimo, Newcastle Island Provincial Marine Park has trails that meander through the wooded interior and along the sandy shoreline.

On Vancouver Island's west coast, the world-famous West Coast Trail is considered by many seasoned hikers the challenge of a lifetime. The boardwalked South Beach Trail near Tofino provides a contemplative stroll through a Sitka-spruce temperate rain forest, as does the Big Cedar Trail on Meares Island. The trails following Long Beach allow hikers a close-up glimpse of the marine life that inhabits the tidal pools in the park's many quiet coves. At Whistler, Lost Lake Trails's 30km (19 miles) of marked trails around creeks, beaver dams, blueberry patches, and lush cedars are ideal for biking, Nordic skiing, or just quiet strolling and picnicking. The Ancient Cedars area of Cougar Mountain above Whistler's Emerald Estates is an awe-inspiring grove of towering old-growth cedars and Douglas firs.

Whistlers' Singing Pass Trail is a 4-hour moderately difficult hike winding from the top of Whistler Mountain down to the village via the Fitzsimmons Valley. North of Whistler, Nairn Falls Provincial Park features a gentle 1.6km (1 mile) trail leading to a stupendous view of the icy-cold Green River as it plunges 196 feet over a rocky cliff into a narrow gorge. There's also an incredible view of Mount Currie peaking over the treetops. In the High Country, Shuswap Lakes Provincial Park was the site of a gold-mining operation during the 1930s and 1940s. Today, the old-growth ponderosa pines and second-growth red cedar and Douglas fir form a towering canopy over an extensive network of trails. And nearby Copper Island has a pleasant circular trail leading to elevated views of the surrounding countryside.

HORSEBACK RIDING--Besides booking a trip to one of the Cariboo Country guest ranches or the outfitters and guest ranches near Wells Gray Provincial Park, you can take an afternoon ride along a wooded trail near Victoria's Buck Mountain. In Whistler, there are riding trails along the Green River and across the Pemberton Valley, and even up on Blackcomb Mountain itself.

RAFTING--Whistler's Green River offers novices small rapids and views of snowcapped mountains for their first rafting runs. Intermediate and expert rafters can take on the Elaho and Squamish rivers, which offer Class IV runs. Just a 2 1/2-hour drive from Vancouver, the wild Nahatlatch River offers some of the best guided whitewater trips in the province. The Chilco-Chilcotin-Fraser river system near Williams Lake has sosme of the most challenging whitewater in the province.

SKIING & SNOWBOARDING--Cross-country and powder skiing are the Okanagan Valley's main winter attractions. Big White Ski Resort gets an annual average of 18 feet of powder and has more than 20km (12 miles) of cross-country trails. Apex Resort maintains 56 downhill runs and extensive cross-country trails. And Silver Star Mountain Ski Resort & Cross-Country Centre offers cross-country skiers 93km (58 miles) of trails (including 6.6km/4 miles lit for night skiing), plus 50km (31 miles) of trails in the adjacent Silver Star Provincial Park. The ski-in/ski-out resort resembles a 19th-century mining town. For off-piste fanatics, some of Canada's most extreme verticals are here among the resort's 72 downhill runs. Nearby Crystal Mountain caters to intermediate and novice downhill skiers and snowboarders.

There are 63 downhill runs and two snowboarding half pipes at the High Country's Sun Peaks Resort. Up in the mountains of Wells Gray Provincial Park, outfitters offer expert guidance through the miles of cross-country skiing trails surrounding Trophy Mountain. And then there's Whistler Mountain. With a 5,006-foot vertical and 100 marked runs, it's the cream of the province's ski resorts. And Blackcomb Mountain, which shares its base with Whistler, has a 5,280-foot vertical and 100 marked runs. Dual-mountain passes are available. Helicopter skiing makes another 100-plus runs accessible on nearby glaciers. Lost Lakes Trails are converted into miles of groomed cross-country trails, as are the Valley Trail System, Singing Pass, and Ancient Cedars.

WILDLIFE WATCHING--Whether you're in search of the 20,000 Pacific gray whales that migrate to Vancouver Island's west coast, resident orcas (killer whales) in the east coast's Johnstone Strait, or thousands of bald eagles in Goldstream Provincial Park, there are land-based observation points and numerous knowledgeable outfitters who can guide you to the best nature and bird-spotting areas the island has to offer.