Inspired in part by “wild swimming” of the U.K. and a shared love of exploring unknown waters, authors Alex McKeen and George Harwood Smith launch Swimming Holes and Beaches of Southwestern British Columbia on May 20.
The duo met through a house-share in Vancouver in 2018. New to the city, both enjoyed swimming and saw every piece of water as an opportunity.
In Europe, Harwood Smith had told McKeen, a guide to swimming holes is commonplace; something he picks up when travelling to a new country.
“That sounds like the best possible way of exploring a new place,” she said.
They set out to find one.
And couldn’t.
Instead, armed with backroad guides and a sense of adventure, they set out to find lakes, rivers, ponds and oceanside beaches in their new community.
“We spent a lot of time just going out and seeing things and exploring all of the spots,” Harwood Smith said.
The pair quickly amassed a list of places they’d been. Recognizing the growing trend of outdoor swimming, they set out to fill the void they'd discovered.
Greystone guidebooks were a part of their lives already, said McKeen, a journalist who now calls Victoria home, so it’s a good fit that the publisher launches Swimming Holes and Beaches of Southwestern British Columbia on May 20.
The full-colour guide includes a description of each location, including the type of swim, water depth, level of difficulty, and distance to the swim, as well as the features and amenities found there.
It’ll get folks there by car, public transit, bike or foot, including trail maps for the harder-to-locate spots.
Tidbits on social, cultural, and natural history of each swim area round out the read.
Now, newcomers with a sense of adventure and love of the water have a guide to dive into 100 amazing places to swim outdoors in the Lower Mainland, Gulf Islands, Sunshine Coast and south-central Vancouver Island.
Swimmers can seek seals, rope swings, floating docks or a place to bare it all.
There are rocky and sandy beaches accessible by public transit, clear cool ponds reached after a forest walk, roadside lakes where you can cool off on a long car trip, and gently flowing rivers with picnic areas, campgrounds and play structures.
Swimming is a good sport for all ages and abilities, McKeen noted. A guide to public spaces make it that much more accessible. She hopes it inspires others to see every body of water as a potential swimming hole – like they did.
“George and I approached this as newcomers to British Columbia, we were discovering the province and it would have been useful to us to have a guide,” McKeen said.
The book also serves as a best practices guide on how to enjoy the natural areas in a respectful way, to both the land and neighbours.
“If more people in the world go out and swim in beautiful British Columbia that will be a benefit for all.”
