Not a realtor, but its real nice out here in the summer:
http://www.legacyonmaralake.com/

There are sooooo many beautiful areas of BC. Vacation homes within 4 hours of Vancouver tend to be quite expensive, but areas like the Gulf Island offer a great lifestyle. Otherwise, the Okanagaon, Kootneys, and Cariboo all offer beautiful areas 4-8 hrs drive from Vancouver. It really depends what you want to do on vacation, and if you want to use it all year round.

My in laws own a cabin on Keats island (about a 15 min boat or ferry ride from Horseshoe Bay), and it's beautiful there. We spend a lot of time up there in the summer. It's a great place to get away from it all. As a Realtor myself I like to keep up with the real estate in the area and there seems to be a lot of great places for sale out there for a good price. In the last few years prices have dropped out there pretty significantly, so you can purchase a waterfront property for $500,000 or less. Here's a good website for viewing some of this properties http://www.realestatevalley.ca/keats-island-real-estate.php Drop me a line if you have any questions stephaniearnold@macrealty.com
Happy house hunting!
Stephanie

Tulameen! Lots of family cabins, quick trip from Vancouver with year round use! Lots of lakes, fishing, snow-mobiling, About 20 minutes outside of Princeton. Not to mention a lot of gold panning opportunities :-)

Thanks for all the info! We are going to write a blog post on this and will be definitely using your tips and may be in contact with you!

I see a lot of mentions online about Tofino. What can you tell me about Tofino?
What is the size of the average vacation home there and how much?
Thanks so much for your help.

Hey @Brennan, some comments from the wonderful world of Twitter:
JDLHomes - "Yes! Storm watching from the Wickanninish Inn. The best. wickinn.com Nearby Uclulet is much cheaper, tho!"
allstarrealtor - "Heard its amazing. Good times."
krystalatwork - "I love Tofino! :)"

Brennan said:
I see a lot of mentions online about Tofino. What can you tell me about Tofino?
What is the size of the average vacation home there and how much?
Thanks so much for your help.

Awesome area - little tough to get there - but once you are...Heaven on earth! Prices range from $424,000 up to $6,800,000
Check it out!
http://www.realtylink.org/prop_search/Summary.cfm?BCD=VI&imdp=51&RSPP=5&AIDL=10002&SRTB=P_Price&ERTA=False&MNAGE=0&MXAGE=200&MNBD=0&MNBT=0&PTYTID=5&MNPRC=200000&MXPRC=900000000&SCTP=RS

There are other opportunities as well. Resorts generally have under performed from a sales perspective. In any economic downturn, vacation places are sold first. That market just hasn't seen the price recovery. Whistler overall is still down. BUT there are a plethora of places depends on what you are looking for. Option as always, include lakes/waterfront, ski resort, cabin/hiking and their proximity to airports, ferries and the distance from YVR. Each of these considerations affect the price.

Tofino is amazing, but a long slog from YVR unless you fly in.
Whistler is beautiful (and close to YVR) but there are properties dotted along the sea to sky highway and after Whistler that are affodable but then you are driving in to ski (downhill anyway)
Tullameen, lovely but again 4 hours away from YVR. However, it is a remarkable spot for dirt biking, hiking and has some smaller lakes. This is our version of cabin country.
The journey TO Tullameen has many cabin options as well.
Wine country - Osoyoos, Penticton, Kelowna and Kamloops all provide close access via plane and a 4-5 hour drive from YVR. Remarkable, beautiful and feature many amenities
Cabin country in the US is more affordable now. People are buying in Whatcom County and Point Roberts (Washington). Point Roberts has amazing homes with ocean access and boating, 25 minutes from downtown YVR.
And we haven't even talked about houseboat country up in the Shushwap.

I could go on but you get the idea... We relax hard in YVR :)