Cariboo Chilcotin
The further north one goes in British Columbia the fewer people there tends to be. This means that the definition of luxury real estate is likely to change along with one’s surroundings. When a person from Vancouver thinks of luxury real estate it is likely that a posh condominium with the latest amenities and a view of the Pacific Ocean comes to mind. The location is generally surrounded by the very latest in terms of recreational opportunities for the modern urban citizen.
Northern British Columbia has an entirely different definition of luxury real estate, one much more tempered by the rural nature of the communities here. One of the most scarcely populated regions of the province is the Cariboo Chilcotin region, located north of Kamloops and south of Prince George. The actual region includes hundreds of square miles of truly pristine wilderness.
For the person whose definition of luxury real estate includes privacy and setting, the Cariboo Chilcotin can be a paradise on earth. The very remoteness of even the cities of the region can mean an ability to enjoy a dream property with a dream view and all the recreational opportunities that the rugged country around can afford. Here you will find trophy and ranch properties perfect for the avid hunter, outdoorsman (or woman!) and privacy galore. Let’s take a look at some of the areas where one can find some million-dollar homes within a very natural setting.
Wells Gray Region
Wells Gray Provincial Park is 5,000 square kilometres of provincial land protected for the most part from development. The area includes several high mountains, perfect for heli-skiing, as well as miles of hiking and back country bike trails.
One of the most popular draws in Wells Gray country is the abundance of fresh water which runs through many of the communities. It is along these bodies that one will find some of the finest luxury homes the region has to offer, waterfront houses overlooking some of the most pristine natural water courses to be found anywhere in the world.
Communities in Wells Gray country where one can find some prime pieces of luxury real estate include Blue River, Clearwater, and Little Fort. You won’t find much in the way of five star dining and the few golf courses can best be termed as rugged, but for the person whose idea of luxury living includes an opportunity to develop a piece of pristine and scenic real estate as a base for some rewarding outdoor activities the Wells Gray country is a perfect fit.
Cariboo Proper
To the west of the Wells Gray part of the Chilcotin and Cariboo region lies the Cariboo proper. This region includes a few small towns, none of which exceed the 30,000 mark in terms of population. Quesnel and Williams Lake are the main urban centres in this part of the region.
As with the Wells Gray country, the Cariboo region has very little in the way of what an urban eye would call luxury real estate opportunities. The main modern attraction as far as living is guaranteed to be the Tobiano Estates, now currently under construction. This site is located just south of Savona, and will include modern luxury homes along a five star golf course. Both the course and the homes situated on it will overlook scenic Kamloops Lake. The whole area is destined to be a small section of paradise within a desert setting (think Arizona).
The further north in the Cariboo one goes, the easier it is to see that it is the landscape that truly defines luxury real estate. While people become scarce, the opportunities for scenic real estate seem to grow. There are hundreds of lakes and rivers within the Cariboo and Chilcotin regions that include waterfront property opportunities as can be found nowhere else in the world.
Because of the small population within the Cariboo area, luxury properties tend to come in packages that can best be described as vast. A dollar goes a long way, and this helps define the type of real estate that people are interested in within the region. Ranch and trophy properties tend to be the most popular buys in this region. The big appeal of both types of property is the tract of land that is generally included. Often, the property will butt up against free flowing water or lakes, the perfect location for a majestic ranch house.
Of course, some people might be more interested in the idea of a rustic cabin in the Cariboo, and this type of property is also available. In fact, the regions around Horsefly and Quesnel Lakes are home to properties that both the tycoon and the young family would find appealing. There are resort acreages as well as small cabins all along the shoreline, although spaced out enough to make anyone forget that they have neighbours.
When it comes to luxury living, the Cariboo Chilcotin region of British Columbia is all about spacious living with majestic natural views. There are many pieces of real estate within the area where one can find a perfect residence or vacation home, located just outside the modern hassle of life. Enjoy a winter’s soak in your hot tub while overlooking miles of snow covered, forested landscape. Fish on a lake located just out of your own backdoor, with your own private marina. Alternatively, enjoy the many hiking, biking, cross country skiing, snowmobiling, hunting and other recreational opportunities that a luxury home in these remote setting can afford.
Island life! Living on island time!
That’s the dream of an increasing number of future retirees. An idyll of privacy, security and tranquility. So, what is the reality? Or is it all just an illusion? That depends at lot on the island in question and, just as important, on the person.
Salt Spring Island. A temperature zone climate just off the coast of southwest Canada, not unlike the northern Mediterranean, is home to the largest island in what is known as the Gulf Islands in the Salish Sea. The Salish Sea is so-named for the indigenous Coast Salish peoples who have lived in the Pacific Northwest for over 8000 years. Here is a small archipelago of islands tucked in between the North American mainland and Vancouver Island. Vancouver Island itself stretches almost 300 miles long, the largest island along the west coast of the Americas, and it shelters the Salish Sea from the sweep of the 5000-mile open stretch of the Pacific reaching across from Japan.
Salt Spring Island (SSI) is a unique oasis of a small community lifestyle and seclusion, yet connected to the outside world both physically and artistically. Almost hidden away, even though the superferries pass it at a distance, few but island residents could pick it out from the numerous islets, islands and even headlands of Vancouver Island that loom all around it.
It is known as a healing island to many, some say due to the energy of its natural rock formations. If you look at a map of the island, you can see that it is structured geographically in three distinct sections and that if the ocean waters rose another 50 feet or so, they would divide Salt Spring into three separate islands. This is due to the low, connecting valleys of Fulford / Burgoyne in the south and the valley that stretches from Ganges Harbour to Booth Canal, two-thirds up the island to the north. In between, especially in the southern two sections of the island, are mountain peaks that reach over 2300 feet high.
However, more than anything Salt Spring is a state of mind, a state created by the creative and courageous people who have settled here since the mid-1800s. Naturally, much has changed on this island once devoted almost entirely to farming and some fishing. Although tourism is now arguably the mainstay of the economy, there are still 225 farms and 3 vineyards. Many of the traditional families that settled here in the 1800s are here today and own a number of the main businesses and some significant land holdings.
Arts. This is a special focus of island life, particularly on Salt Spring where about 100 published writers reside, whose works encompass subject matter as diverse as fiction, poetry, satire and dog breeding, to technical treatises on many and varied subjects, not the least of which is the environment. Music is also a passionate focus of Salt Springers, as we are known. From the Gulf Islands Secondary School, renowned for its music program, to the internationally known musicians who live on or own residences on Salt Spring, and who perform here throughout the year, this small island of fewer than 12,000 permanent residents supports an extraordinary music community, to the joy and benefit of all Salt Springers. Visual arts are equally well represented and cherished. SSI supports its artists, from those of national and international renown to developing and dedicated painters, film makers and photographers whose works are just starting to become widely appreciated.
Yes, we have privacy and seclusion if you want it, plus low crime and a broad feeling of acceptance of cultural, religious and political differences and backgrounds. But we are also connected like no other island in the Gulf Islands. Three airlines make scheduled flights by float plane from downtown Ganges to Vancouver every day. There are also three separate ferries connecting to SSI: one from the mainland to Long Harbour, one from Swartz Bay outside Victoria to south SSI at Fulford Harbour, and the last from Crofton, partway up Vancouver Island to Vesuvius Bay on the northwest side of SSI.
Why live here, you ask? What else is so special?
Depends on what you value, but here are some features that make SSI life uniquely livable and rewarding…
A 50-bed hospital with surgical staff on SSI, a library, 3 post offices, a new community indoor swimming pool under construction, a movie theatre, a performing arts theatre, 2 nine-hole golf courses, 4 commercial marinas, 7 public docks around the island, fairgrounds, 16 churches, 7 community halls, schools, bookstores, grocery stores, 3 banks, miles of hiking trails, 22 beaches and much more.
Even with all of its facilities, however, it is the varied richness of the people of SSI, who have come here from around the globe, that makes this island a world-class choice for living in balance with the natural world and amenities of the 21st century.
So, come and discover Salt Spring for yourself.
Author:Trev Mclean, By The Sea Bed & breakfast
Come for a visit; Stay a Lifetime!
One of BC's Gulf Islands, Gabriola Island is located east of Nanaimo and has a population of about 5000. Gabriola is an island of beautiful beaches, parks, trails, artisan studios of all kinds, theatre, two newspapers, and most of what you will need in the way of professional services, trades, non-trades, shops, restaurants and yet a peacefulness and kindness not often found in the city. The city of Nanaimo is only a 20 minute ferry ride away, close enough and far enough. One foot in the city and one in the country.
Although home prices have risen in recent years, prices on Gabriola remain very competitive compared to major areas close to the island. Most homes are on 1/2 to 5 acre lots, giving you lots of space to roam and privacy if desired. Many regular services are available on Gabriola (hydro, telephone, cable); however, most homes have their own wells and septic systems as there is no municipal water or sewer system.
Services on Gabriola include a variety of restaurants, a volunteer fire department, an RCMP detachment and local medical professionals. Gabriola does have facilites to help in some medical emergencies-a bonus not avaiable on some of the other Gulf Islands.
Looking for a rural life, my own community, my own garden, learning what it means to be the steward of my land. What a privilege. The satisfaction of harvesting tomatoes, figs, apples, plums, currants and then sharing my abundance with my community is most definitely where it’s at. It all goes round and comes back to ‘health, wealth and happiness’, a motto my family used as I was growing up and is still true today in its many forms.
It would be my pleasure to provide you and your families with a new outlook in life, a change to the good old country air, peace and gratitude of living on Gabriola. I’m sure if you are interested in finding that right spot, here on Gabriola, we can do this together.
This article was provided by Carol Martin, Realtor on Gabriola Island.
Denman Island......A Natural, Rural Paradise!
Denman Island, one of the Northern Gulf Islands, is just a short ferry ride from Vancouver Island where it enjoys the beauty of a West Coast rain forest surrounded by the blue waters of the Pacific Ocean. Deman has a variety of oceanfront, lakefront and marshfront real estate for sale including bare land, rustic cabins and luxury estates.
You will feel the stresses of the outside world slip away as you drive off the ferry and head to your island home or cottage getaway. No need for high heels and business suits on Denman Island. Hiking boots and Gortex are the haute couture of the island. The temperate climate throughout the year encourages the enjoyment of the lush forest, rocky coves, sandy beaches and many hiking trails. Outdoor activities include canoeing, kayaking, swimming, biking, hiking, fishing, beachcombing and horseback riding.
Peace and tranquility are a given on Denman Island where your solitude will only be broken by the kiyee of the eagles overhead, the raucous arguments of the crows, the gabble of the ducks or the barking of the sea lions. Each spring brings a new crop of fawns often seen in the clearings with their mothers. tidal pools around the island offer a marine world of tiny rock crabs, sea urchins and anemones and the wondrous moon snails and there are clams and oysters to be had by those with a shovel, a bucket and a license.
Denman Island is home to three provincial parks. Walk the winding, picturesque trail through the majestic forest of Boyle Point Park at the southern end of the island to the lookout with its spectacular panoramic views over Chrome Island and down Georgia Strait.
Fillongley Park is an 80 acre park and campground on the eastern shore of the Island. The 10 site campground is located on the beach and enjoys great views across the ocean to Texada Island and the Coast Range Mountains. The sandy beach and the variety and wealth of sea life make Fillongley a popular destination for residents and visitors alike. Hikers will enjoy the network of trails through the forest and along the salmon bearing stream.
Sandy Island Provincial Park at the northern end of Denman Island features a unique ecosystem located on Tree Island which can be accessed from Denman Island by foot at low tide or by boat or kayak.
This article provided by RE/MAX The Islands