The Trans Canada Trail within British Columbia is broken into the following regions:

  • Vancouver Island
  • Lower Mainland
  • Fraser Valley
  • Okanagan
  • Boundary
  • West Kootenay
  • East Kootenay & Rockies
  • Northeast BC

Each regional page contains an overview of the trail. Each region is in turn broken into smaller trail areas. Each area page contains in-depth details such as directions and trail closures.

Generally, when describing the trail, we describe its eastbound direction, starting from the Pacific Ocean in Victoria and travelling to the Alberta border at Elk Pass. This incorporates 6 of the 7 regions (Vancouver Island to East Kootenay). The trail weaves its way through 7 mountain ranges on a journey more than 1750 kilometres long. A portion of the Trans Canada Trail also runs north from Vancouver to Whistler along the Sea to Sky Trail.

In the northeast of the province, the Trans Canada Trail enters from the Yukon border at Lower Post (just east of Watson Lake) and follows the Alaska Highway to Dawson Creek, crossing into Alberta on a journey of over 1000 kilometres.

The trail is still in development, though 80% is complete and operational, but thousands of people are already using operational portions of the trail throughout the province – often on a daily basis.

Disclaimer

This trail information is subject to changes. While reasonable effort has been made to ensure that the information on this site is correct, Trails BC makes no warranty about the accuracy of this information and accepts no liability for any inconvenience or any direct or consequential loss arising from reliance upon this information. Be sure to check our Latest Trail Closures before heading out and read our full disclaimer!

About the Trans Canada Trail

Initiated in 1992 as a project to celebrate Canada’s 125th year, the Trans Canada Trail is the world’s longest network of multi-use recreational trails. When connected, it will stretch 23,000 kilometres from the Atlantic to the Pacific to the Arctic Oceans, through every province and territory, linking over 1000 communities and all Canadians.

The Trans Canada Trail is made up of close to 400 individual trails, each with unique and varied features. This contributes to the diversity and grandeur of Canada’s national Trail. For day trips or multi-day adventures, the Trail offers countless opportunities to explore and discover. To date, more than 16,800 kilometres of the Trail are operational across the country which is more than 73 percent of the proposed route. Today, four out of five Canadians live within 30 minutes of completed sections of the Trail.
The Trans Canada Trail is a community-based project. Trail sections are owned, operated and maintained by local organizations, provincial authorities, national agencies and municipalities across Canada. The Trans Canada Trail does not own or operate any trail.
The Trans Canada Trail is represented by provincial and territorial organizations that are responsible for championing the cause of the Trail in their region. These provincial and territorial partners together with local trail-building organizations are an integral part of the Trans Canada Trail and are the “driving force” behind its development. Their collective membership represents approximately 1,500,000 volunteers across Canada. Within BC, the provincial partner is the Trails Society of Biritsh Columbia (aka Trails BC)
In British Columbia, the Trans Canada Trail runs nearly 1,700 kilometres from Victoria to the Rocky Mountains, through some of the most spectacular scenery in the world. It passes through or near many communities including: Victoria, Duncan, and Nanaimo on Vancouver Island; the North Shore, Vancouver and Lower Mainland communities to Langley, Chilliwack, and Hope in the Fraser Valley; Princeton, Penticton, and Kelowna in the Okanagan; Kootenay and Rocky Mountain communities including Grand Forks, Trail, and Cranbrook, and onto the British Columbia-Alberta border. It will have spur trails linking to it as the British Columbia Trail Network develops.
In the province’s north, the trail runs an additional 1,000 km along the Alaska Highway from Dawson Creek, BC to Watson lake, Yukon in order to connect the Yukon Territory and the Arctic Ocean using a land route (as opposed to the water route from Alberta to the Arctic via the Northwest Territories).

About the Pavilions

The Trans Canada Trail’s presence is felt not just by trail but by its well-known red roofed pavilions, which can be found across the country and are a way of thanking those who have donated funds to the completion of this project. Within BC, over 31,356 individual names and 900 messages are enscribed on the pavilion panels.  We thank all the Trans Canada Trail supporters and proud Canadians that have submitted these names and messages.

In BC there are completed pavilions in:

  • Victoria
  • Nanaimo
  • North Vancouver
  • Vancouver (Granville Island)
  • Burnaby
  • Pitt Meadows
  • Maple Ridge
  • Coquitlam
  • Fort Langley
  • Abbotsford
  • Chilliwack
  • Hope
  • Penticton
  • Grand Forks
  • Trail
  • Cranbrook
  • Fernie

The dominance of pavilions in the lower mainland is due to local community support. Most are smaller pavilions and financed by the community.

For more information about the Trans Canada Trail, please visit their web site: www.tctrail.ca
Links to the other Trans Canada Trail Provincial Partners: