EverybodyB次元官网网址檚 heard of Long Beach, Cathedral Grove and Butchart Gardens.
And if youB次元官网网址檝e lived for any length of time on Vancouver Island, youB次元官网网址檝e probably visited them too.
But with 32,000 square kilometres to play in, chances are good youB次元官网网址檝e yet to experience everything the Island has to offer.
With writers on the ground in nearly every community, Black Press may know Vancouver Island better than any other publisher. Tourism Vancouver Island is in the business of connecting people with our IslandB次元官网网址檚 best experiences.
WeB次元官网网址檝e asked them to share some of the IslandB次元官网网址檚 underpublicized gems.
Here are five Vancouver Island destinations that you may not have considered
: One tends to look north when thinking of remote, unspoiled Vancouver Island communities, but one of Vancouver IslandB次元官网网址檚 most overlooked spots is less than two hours out of Victoria, greeting the open Pacific from our southwest corner. A bridge between the West Coast Trail and the Juan de Fuca Marine Trail, Port Renfrew offers the ecological wonders of Botanical Beach and Avatar Grove, buoyed recently with the developed of the Wild Renfrew waterfront cottages and its revamped fresh and funky pub. Visitors from the north can get there via Lake Cowichan and the Pacific Marine Circle route.
and the : Amidst the natural splendour of the Tofino area are two man-made oddities that you can reach by hiking an hour or so through some relatively difficult wilderness. Seventy-one years ago an RCAF scouting mission pancaked into the side of a hill. Twelve men survived and the wreckage is more or less intact. The location is not exactly a secret but itB次元官网网址檚 not obvious either. Even more obscure are the Treetop Hammocks, a series of arboreal nets ranking from the size of a small field to a one-person crowB次元官网网址檚 nest rigged high in the trees, offering a great view of the Tofino/Clayoquot area. Neither attraction is easy to hike to, or well-marked. People turn back. People get lost. The appeal of this one is in the adventure. WeB次元官网网址檒l leave it to you to scour the internet and the brains of people around the community for clues on how to get there.
Some time this year, Victor Vesely and Margit Nellemann will harvest the first crop of homegrown tea in Canadian history. But their neat little farm nestled in the pastoral countryside between Duncan and Chemainus is doing more than proving Agriculture Canada wrong. ItB次元官网网址檚 been delighting visitors for a decade now with a charming mixture of pottery, farming and high-quality teas.
Everybody knows about the excellent whale watching tours that run out of a variety of Island locales, but grizzly bears? ArenB次元官网网址檛 they a mainland animal? Well, yes, but one of the best ways to see them in the wild is by hopping a grizzly tour from Campbell River or Island communities further north to the mainland inlets beyond. Multiple boat and even seaplane tours are available. And yes, chances are you will see whales too.
: Have you ever been kissed by a seal? It might happen on this excursion staged regularly out of Nanaimo. More than 250 harbour seals live on Snake Island, a narrow sliver of rock about 15 minutes by boat from Departure Bay. Sundown Diving offers regular tours where you can bump flippers with this crowd of seals as they bustle along through their day-to-day activities.
Not every cool experience is necessarily a destination. Here are 14 other experiences that may not be worth a day trip in and of themselves, but might be well worth checking out if you are in the neighbourhood.
Campbell River: a finger of rock that extends into the entrance of Discovery Passage which on a really low tide is like a window into the undersea world. Beachcombers can explore the nooks and crannies and see starfish, sea urchins, and even octopuses.
Comox: the has a variety of vintage aircraft in an outdoor setting and the museum has a lot interesting memorabilia, including a POW diary and drawings from B次元官网网址楾he Great EscapeB次元官网网址� camp.
Fanny Bay: The are a forested property full of artist George SawchukB次元官网网址檚 unusual scattered musings on life
Parksville/Qualicum: a 10-kilometre round trip, features a bicycle-friendly trail connecting Rathtrevor Beach Provincial Park a magnificent suspension bridge spanning the Englishmen River
Port Alberni: is a short hiking destination where a small, pretty waterfall pours through a unique round hole punched through an imposing wall of shale
Nanaimo: A favourite area hike is , featuring fossils and a gorgeous little waterfall you can get to the base of with a rope-assisted climb.
Ladysmith: another destination hike, is accessed by a relatively steep 20-minute climb that features two lookouts with spectacular views of the Gulf Islands.
Lake Cowichan: Most visitors come for the water sports, but the townB次元官网网址檚 features a great slice of logging history including the legendary Wilmer Gold collection of old logging photographs.
Duncan: offers visitors a chance to get up-close and personal with owls, eagles, hawks and other birds of prey
Brentwood Bay: Next to the legendary Butchart Gardens, the takes walkers down to the remnants of the former cement plant owned by the Butchart Family.
Saanich: Big, in the middle of town, and offering a variety of hikes, goes from seashore to mountaintop and offers amazing views of the Greater Victoria area.
Victoria: HereB次元官网网址檚 one the tourists know better than most up-Island residents. is a creepy 90-minute city tour exploring some of the most gruesome slices of the capitalB次元官网网址檚 history
Metchosin: is almost in East Sooke, and easily accessible from the Galloping Goose Trail if one wants to ride out from the city. ItB次元官网网址檚 got a beautiful old-time swimming hole, and is a gorgeous place to walk around the lake, or sit and contemplate one's navel in nature in relative quiet.
Sooke: In the mid-1800s, exploded in Vancouver IslandB次元官网网址檚 first gold rush. Now few signs remain at the site north of Sooke, but you can get there walking the Galloping Goose Trail.
B次元官网网址� with files from Black Press
Follow me on Twitter
