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.