Vancouver Island Vacation Ideas

[corran__horn]

I plan on a short journey to the south-west coastal region of the great nation of Canada. One of the places to check out would seem to be Vancouver Island, and I realized that the only locals I know are here. So I have to ask the question: What cool hikes/bikerides should I be aware of while I plan my time there? Any interesting sites to see that are known best to locals there?

Current things I know of: the gardens of Victoria will be seen.

[Metcarfre]

How much time do you have on the Island? There's a lot of ground to cover, so if you only have a weekend, your options are more limited. Also, transportation; do you have a car, or are you transit/coaching it?

[Matt]

On a nice day, a trip to the top of Mt. Doug is always pretty.
Whale watching is a pretty common tourist activity. If you're a hardcore hiker and have several days, the west coast trail is worth a look.

Long beach, tofino, ucluelet are all neat places to stop on the west coast.

There are some nice provincial parks up island a bit that you can walk through.

Newcastle island in nanaimo is a nice day trip.

Basically, you're talking about an island that's bigger than some countries. There's a lot of shit here, so as met mentioned, timelines and transportation will dictate what you can do and see.

-m

[sdhonda]

Don't forget Port Renfrew.

It's like Tofino but not packed.

[Kathleen]

If you like to ride your bike and coming over on the ferry from Vancouver, bring your bike and ride into town from the ferry terminal. It's about 35 (ie, you can do it pretty easily in 2.5 hours) and really really pretty. Trails almost the whole way through. I don't recommend riding on the vancouver side. No paths and along a dangerous highway.

[Metcarfre]

Weekend, no car (but bike?); Go to Victoria, bike the city, see the sights (Beacon Hill park, downtown, Butchart Gardens I guess, Legislature, walk the seawall and inner harbour, etc.)

With more time, bus to Tofino, see the sights, maybe surf, have a roasted duck sandwich at that bakery (you know the one).

If you have a car, go from Victoria to East Sooke Park, hike and explore the beach. Also, Sooke Potholes. Maybe even make your way to Jordan River, Sombrio, or Port Renfrew to surf or watch surfers, camp, and enjoy the beaches. Have a burger at Shakey's in Jordan River.

Goldstream, Mt. Finlayson and the surrounding area are also fun and have nice easy hikes.

Further up Island, avoid Duncan like the bubonic plague, maybe visit Chemainus for a bit, avoid Nanaimo. Comox Valley is cool. You can drive up to Mt. Washington and hike the alpine lakes of Forbidden Plateau.

If you have time enough to go further, getting into Strathcona park is amazing but you'll need at least a few days to make it worth the drive.

[The Jester]

Weekend, no car (but bike?); Go to Victoria, bike the city, see the sights (Beacon Hill park, downtown, Butchart Gardens I guess, Legislature, walk the seawall and inner harbour, etc.)

With more time, bus to Tofino, see the sights, maybe surf, have a roasted duck sandwich at that bakery (you know the one).

If you have a car, go from Victoria to East Sooke Park, hike and explore the beach. Also, Sooke Potholes. Maybe even make your way to Jordan River, Sombrio, or Port Renfrew to surf or watch surfers, camp, and enjoy the beaches. Have a burger at Shakey's in Jordan River.

Goldstream, Mt. Finlayson and the surrounding area are also fun and have nice easy hikes.

Further up Island, avoid Duncan like the bubonic plague, maybe visit Chemainus for a bit, avoid Nanaimo. Comox Valley is cool. You can drive up to Mt. Washington and hike the alpine lakes of Forbidden Plateau.

If you have time enough to go further, getting into Strathcona park is amazing but you'll need at least a few days to make it worth the drive.

I really wish, after "You can drive up to Mt. Washington and hike the alpine lakes of Forbidden Plateau." you'd put something like "If you have time enough to go further, venture on to the Clifs of Doom, the Dark Keep and then on into the uncharted lands beyond the edge of the world!" all looking, in my mind, like a wizard. XD

Anyway, sorry to derail the thread.


I might referance some of this when I'm along in a few months, so it's cool to read along. ^^

[Metcarfre]

There are Mt. Doom, Mt. Gandalf, and Mt. Shadowfax near Pemberton north of Whistler - does that help?

[corran__horn]

Thanks for the initial responses, and here are some additional details:

We will be driving and have 3-4 days. I will probably end up renting a bike if we choose to go that route (the other people with me are bringing their bikes with them), although we are also decent hikers. We will probably be camping at least part of the time, probably every night.

I am probably looking for moderate to hard (7-15 mile) hikes.

[The Jester]

Hmm, a little, but it's not quite 80s fantasy movie enough... Man, I love 80s fantasy movies. X)

[Matt]

avoid Nanaimo.

Bullshit.

There is a bunch of neat and historic shit in nanaimo, and it never gets any credit from victorians. Yes, the soulth of nanaimo is shit. All of it is not.

also, the firehouse Bar & Grill is goddamn amazing.

-m

[aeric90]

When I visited a friend in Nanaimo he took us to a spot on a river where there were cliffs with nice flat rocks to sun on and where it was deep and wide enough to jump into the water from the top.

That was fun.

[Metcarfre]

The entirety of the BC coast is basically just a collection of those places.

[Graham]

avoid Nanaimo.

Bullshit.

Well, I wouldn't say "avoid", but depending on how long you have in the area, it might not be worth the trip.
Firehouse Grill is friggin tasty.

[Annchan]

You guys are making me nostalgic.
I'm taking a trip with the family back to Vic and Van in about 3 weeks and staying for 2. I'm pretty excited and my parents get to see their grandkids so that's pretty cool.

My 2 year old is going to get spoiled to death though.... I know it.


Some things we plan on doing

Checking out the ocean, lots. We don't have the ocean in Winnipeg

Inner harbor

Beacon hill petting zoo

Lots of visiting with friends and family.

[Tapir12]

Avoid Nanaimo.

Thank you Matt for defending my city! Sometimes I think I am the only one who actually LIKES Nanaimo. It's not such a bad place! We race BATHTUBS people!!! And we give awards to LRR!!

That said, Cathedral Grove is a nice stop. Coombs as well. English River Falls makes for a nice. There is also a wildlife rehabilitation centre somewhere. Parksville has a nice beach. These are all in the Central Island by the way, and would require a car.