British Columbia's Vancouver Island is the outdoor recreationist's dream, with magnificent waterfalls, secluded fishing spots and wilderness trails. Many of the best out of the way places are accessible only by way of the roughest logging or mining roads, which makes the Island a perfect place for four-wheeling as well.

This third instalment in Harbour Publishing's successful four-wheeling guide book series, Four-Wheeling on Southern Vancouver Island: Victoria to Tofino, by David Lee and Keith Thirkell, shows residents and visitors to Vancouver Island where to take those pick-up trucks, sport utility vehicles and even the more hardy family station wagon. From the busy backroads of the Sooke Hills to the snow-covered heights of Mount Arrowsmith to the garden-like beauty of Nanaimo's Rhododendron Lake to the windswept beaches of the west coast, the authors take the responsible four-wheeler on nearly 50 of the best routes from Victoria to Tofino and everywhere in-between.

Whether you're a seasoned backroader who has winched himself out of many a mudhole, or a new 4 x 4 owner who doesn't want to get too far off the beaten track, Four-Wheeling on Southern Vancouver Island will be an invaluable guide, with photographs, mileages (in kilometres), route difficulty ratings on a scale of one to ten, tips for the new four-wheeler and notes on the best places to camp, fish, or just enjoy the view.

David Lee was born and raised in Mission, BC. Upon receiving his BA in English from UBC, he moved to Toronto where he worked for the jazz magazine Coda and, with his wife, Maureen Cochrane, ran the publishing house Nightwood Editions. He also studied double bass and worked actively in Toronto avant-garde theatre, dance, and multi-media performances, as well as touring internationally and recording with the Bill Smith Ensemble, Leo Smith, and Joe McPhee. Moving back to the west coast, he played in community bands, co-founded the Pender Harbour Jazz Festival, wrote a Vancouver Island guidebook, and co-authored the autobiography of jazz pianist Paul Bley, Stopping Time. David Lee received his MA in Music Criticism from McMaster University in 2004 and currently lives with his family in Hamilton, Ontario.

David Lee's profile page

Keith Thirkell is a photographer whose work has been featured in Beautiful British Columbia, BC Extreme, the Vancouver Province and the books Sunshine & Salt Air: A Sunshine Coast Visitor's Guide and The Sunshine Coast. He lives in Gibsons, BC.

Keith Thirkell's profile page