Pemberton tourism is not only increasing but is doing so quickly and sensibly. A far cry from when it was named after Joseph Despard Pemberton, a land surveyor of the Hudson Bay Company back in the 1850s. Back then the gold rush was just getting underway as news of discoveries reached San Francisco. Some of the miners followed the route from Vancouver up the Harrison River and Lake and into Lillooet Lake. Seeing the beauty of Pemberton, they settled in the area of Mount Currie.

Here are five very exciting activities waiting for your arrival:

Trail rides. Delight in a slow gait up through the magnificent cedar and pine forest, emerging above the tree-line where you will marvel at the beauty of the gorgeous array of wild flowers. View the wild and magnificent Coast Mountain Range stretching out before you for miles in every direction. Take a breather alongside a pristine mountain lake where your guide provides you with a stick to your gut lunch. Your friendly horse will take you home safely.

Jet-boat rides. The specially designed jet-boats are incredibly stable craft. They are able to carry their passengers safely over the roughest of white water. No propellers to foul, the propulsion system is simply a very high capacity pump which creates a jet of water to push the boat through the water. Excellent for river cruising. Variety is the keyword with Pemberton Adventure ranch river tours. From the fairly quite Green and Lillooet rivers to the gold rusher action of the lower Lillooet rapids there is excitement for every taste.

Mountain snowmobiling in the Whistler area is a whole new deal. First of all the area is unbelievably huge. Mountains rise up to over 8,000 feet. Glaciers can be 1,000 feet thick with an annual snowfall of over 30 feet. And the beauty of it is you have an amazing choice of areas to explore. You could snowmobile for an entire winter and never hit the same area twice. Mountain snowmobiling is such fun. You have the urge to tell anyone who will listen about your fantastic adventure.

Glider Soaring. Imagine yourself seated in the cockpit of this glider as your experienced pilot guides you to within mere feet of the ruggedly spectacular mountains of the coast range. See the ski slopes of Whistler, the fertile Pemberton Valley and the emerald green glacial lakes dotting the landscape. Ride the thermals like the Bald Eagles do as you soar over the majestic mountains and valleys unfolding before your eyes. No engine noise to disturb your thoughts, only the stillness of the scene keeps you in the reality of the moment.

River Rafting Whistler waterways is a lot of great fun. When the snow melts in the mountains and the rivers flow fast it’s time to don the helmets and floatation devices and climb aboard. It’s called rafting or whitewater rafting but it all means that it’s a recreational activity using a rubber raft to navigate a river or lake. No matter how you may try to describe it, it all comes down to a fantastic ride and a lot of Great Fun!

About the author:
Joe and Irma Mac Millan have enjoyed the Whistler Mountain and valley area of British Columbia for many years. They have camped, hiked and skied the mountains and fished and kayaked the rivers and lakes. Their website Whistler-Outdoors.com/ is a must visit for anyone considering a trip to Whistler as well as the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. They invite one and all to take a look.

What does a person say about one of the most beautiful places on the planet? That is our dilemma as we set out to tell you about Whistler, British Columbia. We could use all of the adjectives in the dictionary but they are only words, aren’t they.Irma and I have been visitors to Whistler for a good many years. If we wanted to take you with us for a visit we would probably begin our journey from the city of Vancouver, certainly one of the worlds most beautiful. The two hour drive to Whistler will take us along the deep blue waters of Howe Sound where we view the ferries delivering people to the many destinations such as the Sunshine Coast, as well as Vancouver Island, Gabriola Island, Victoria and Campbell River, better known as the salmon fishing capital of Canada, lying in the distance.

The highway clings to the mountainside. Great vistas of water and snow capped peaks open up before our eyes. As we reach the small town of Squamish at the head of the Sound, the first of many glaciers come into view, contrasting with the greenery of the cedar and Douglas fir forests filling the valleys. Shortly, we pass the signs for Diamond Head and Elfin Lakes where hiking enthusiasts may spend hours or days enjoying the fantastic views of mountain lakes and lush meadows carpeted with the most beautiful and aromatic wild flowers nature has to offer.

As we drive the winding highway we pass a few Provincial Parks quietly inviting us to pitch our tents or park our RV’s on their perfectly maintained campgrounds. The excitement builds as we reach the first part of Whistler called Creekside with it’s residential areas surrounding the first of the High Speed chair lifts. Now we enter the glorious valley of Whistler Village, home to 9,000 permanent residents who spend most of their time pampering the more than 2 million visitors who drop by every year to enjoy the many activities the Valley has to offer.

Whistler Mountain Accommodations come into view now, the top rated hotels, condos and private homes blend into their settings perfectly situated to take advantage of the Whistler Ski Area with it’s more than 200 amazing ski runs served by perfectly placed high speed quad chair lifts and gondolas to whisk you anywhere you want on the two mountains of Whistler/Blackcomb. Visitors may wish to heli ski the pristine mountain bowls, take a snowmobile tour over glaciers with snow and ice lying 1,000 feet thick. Perhaps a quiet afternoon of cross country skiing or snowshoeing is more your style. Summer visitors (almost the same amount visit in summer as winter) will love the top rated golf courses built by the likes of Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer to name a couple. The adventuresome will want to take a ride on a jet-boat or a glider out of the magnificent Pemberton valley only 25 minutes north of Whistler.

By the way, Whistler is named for the cute little Marmots who call to each other with highly distinctive whistles. Hiking to a high mountain area such as Blowdown Pass will give you ample opportunity to view these wonderful creatures up close. Fishing, touring, gold panning, white water rafting, kayaking, and horseback trail rides will all lead you to the many outdoor activities waiting for you to enjoy while vacationing in the wonderful Whistler outdoors of British Columbia.

Whistler British Columbia lies a two hour drive north of the beautiful city of Vancouver. You could travel the world for a lifetime but not find a more picturesque, magnificent or exciting place to see or visit. Just when we thought it couldn’t get better, the 2010 Vancouver Olympics are going to set the place on fire. You really must come for a visit.

About the Author

Joe and Irma Mac Millan own the very informative website www.whistler-outdoors.com featuring all of the vital information visitors should have before they come to this beautiful destination.

The increase in tourism has been rapidly increasing in Whistler for many years. Noted for being one of the best skiing and snowboarding areas in the world, having the largest skiing area in North America as well has having summer activities to match the winter, including world class golfing, mountain biking and hiking, thanks to the abundance of mountains warmed by the sea air in the summer making it an outdoor enthusiasts dream.

Up until a couple of years ago, the increase in tourism had been fast but steady and controlled. Since the decision for Whistler to host the winter Olympics in 2010 things have changed.

The recent unprecedented level of resort development comes with some urgency, as most developers want to take advantage of the attention the 2010 Winter Olympics will bring to the area. Despite skyrocketing construction costs, developers are feeling confident. The Government of Whistler has challenged the tourism industry to double in size by 2015 and interest in recreational real estate is so high that many projects are sold out before construction even begins.

With a strong economy and the boost in global awareness that the Olympics will bring, the future of tourism in B.C over the next few years looks healthy. The questions arise when long term growth comes into question. Firstly the capacity – will enough people come to Whistler to fill the beds?

Much of North America considers Whistler a difficult place to get too, and with impending tourism increase means possible problems with traffic, demand in air travel and traffic problems around B.C., which may put people off going there. Another potential problem is that most resort development is predicated on the sale of recreational real estate, whether its condo units, time share units, cabins or real estate lots. For a lot of people their considerable investment in recreational real estate means they are going to spend their vacation time using the property. They are less likely to be traveling around the province and sampling the various resorts being developed.

With increasing costs in Whistler and BC, Canadians may be put off the idea of visiting Whistler, instead choosing holidays abroad or to other destinations away from the spotlight that Whistler has fallen under.

These are not potentially catastrophic problems for the area but illustrate a need for long term planning and thought into the development of Whistler, and how to maintain momentum once the Olympics is over.

Poor planning has often led to post-Olympic areas being turned into ghost towns, with unused facilities, empty housing etc. however, with limited space in Whistler, careful thought has led to large areas of the Olympic village being turned into housing after the event, the majority of which for employees of the event. This will limit the possibility of unscrupulous developers ruining the area trying to cash in and potentially destroying the beauty of Whistler.

Despite the doubts and the potential for problems beyond the Olympics, the area looks set to continue with impressive growth in tourism, with 88 major tourism related development projects already underway, worth a combined 17 billion CAD.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/travel-articles/tourism-beyond-the-winter-olympics-199631.html

About the Author:

Skiatwhistler.com offers real time bookings of premium properties in the world class ski resort of Whistler, British Columbia. Our business is to market property rentals in Whistler to high end vacationers in order to maximize property owners’ return on investment (ROI).