Vancouver Island Trails Information Society About the Vancouver Island Trails Information Society, publishers of Hiking Trail Books of Vancouver Island

The Vancouver Island Trails Information Society is a non-profit society dedicated to providing accurate information to the public about trails and parks on Vancouver Island.

Originally, VITIS was formed as the Outdoor Club of Victoria Trails Information Society. O.C.V. members, especially Dr. Jim Fiddess and Ted Fairhurst, had long dreamed of producing a book about the trails known and used by the club. Their dreams were realized in 1971 with the formation of a hard-working committee. The new editor was to be Jane Waddell, ably assisted by Bill Burroughs, John Harris, Dave Birch and Jane Toms among others. The group incorporated as a non-profit society and produced its first book in December of 1972, more than 35 years ago.

That very first volume, Hiking Trails: Victoria and Southern Vancouver Island, contained only 32 pages and 18 destinations, and had an initial print run of only 2000 copies. Hand-drawn maps and delightful sketches by Laurie Rossiter illustrated the text. Several of the original supporters of the project had promised to underwrite the printing costs, should the project fail, but by the time the invoice for printing was received from Morriss Printing, the book had hit Eaton's best-seller list and the printing costs were already recouped.

By 1975 it had been reprinted five times and already revised, expanded and retitled; separate volumes on central and northern Vancouver Island had also been produced.

In 1993, in an effort to better describe the scope of our work, and to eliminate long-standing confusion, the name of the Society was changed to the Vancouver Island Trails Information Society.

John W. E. Harris is the only founding member still with the Society, although Betty Burroughs continues in the place of her late husband, Bill. Sadly, Jane Toms, a founding member, suffered a stroke in August, 2000, and died the following month without having seen the finished eighth edition of our Hiking Trails II: South-Central Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands.

In keeping with its goal of providing accurate information, the Society regularly updates all three volumes. Thus, as of 2008, the books are in their thirteenth, eighth and ninth editions (Hiking Trails I, II and III respectively). To make the information accessible to the public, the selling price of each volume is set as low as possible, just high enough to recoup the cost of its production, plus a narrow profit margin which is plowed back into the production of the next volume. From time to time, the Society also makes donations toward worthy projects, such as the Trans-Canada Trail and the teaching shelter at Swan Lake Christmas Hill Nature Sanctuary.

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