“It’s like being on top of the world!” I enthused. My husband, Brent, and I were hiking on Cathedral Provincial Park’s rim trail, where our panorama included distant summits of the North Cascades and the Coastal Range.

Although the vista was indeed a rewarding grand finale, the entertainment en route had been equally uplifting. We had come across molting mountain goats, California bighorn sheep and large hoary marmots while hiking the rocky trail. The air was filled with the sounds of cooing ptarmigans, chirping chickadees and the whistling of timid picas.

Cathedral Provincial Park has 60 kilometers of the most heavenly hiking trails in British Columbia. The 80,000-acre (33,000-hectare) mountain wilderness is splashed with azure lakes, cloaked with alpine meadows and backed by some mighty majestic jagged peaks.

An early spring snow dusts Lake of the Woods.

It’s also known for the geological rock formation Stone City, where massive rocks are stacked atop each other. And although the trailheads are just 30 kilometers from the British Columbia interior town of Keremeos, their approximately 6,600-foot (2,000 m) elevation provides a good jumpstart to the scenic vistas.

Our journey to the park the day before had begun with a 14-mile (22 km) drive through Ashnola Valley. Upon arrival at the trailhead, we joined other Cathedral Lakes Lodge guests, including a group of camera-clad enthusiasts and the Goodwins, a family of six that had traveled across Canada in pursuit of this experience.

The lodge’s 4-wheel-drive vehicles bounced through potholes, swayed around curves and climbed nearly 4,000 feet (1,200 m) to deliver us to our destination, Quiniscoe Lake, 6,800 feet (2,000 m) above sea level.

Thick stands of spruce, fir and larch circled the lake, and snow-tipped peaks provided a breathtaking backdrop. Cozy, hewn-log cottages, an airy yurt and well-groomed campsites were scattered along the shoreline, with the Bavarian-style Cathedral Lakes Lodge (with half-a-dozen guest rooms) as the focal point.

Finished in warm cedar, our room was clean and comfortable, and boasted a spectacular lake view. We looked forward to soaking in the lodge’s hot tub for a bit of therapeutic reprieve and relaxing in the guest lounge, where board games would be a welcoming replacement for T.V. and e-mail.

Through the wall of windows, we could see rowboats secured at the dockside, canoes bobbing alongside. And, leading away from the tranquil water, we spotted what we’d come here to find: A tangle of trails well-marked by cairns would soon lead us to a chain of seven crystal-clear lakes and a full range of hiking options.