Vancouver Island destinations
Tsusiat Falls is worth it. If multi-day hiking
and sleeping under the stars – and reserving
a spot a year in advance – isn't your thing,
you can still hoof it on a day hike along a
portion of the 47-kilometre Juan de Fuca
Marine Trail (env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/
explore/parkpgs/juan_de_fuca/) located
just south and with an easy-access trailhead
at China Beach near Sooke.
Side trip: Stop at Sooke Potholes
Provincial Park (sookepotholes.com), one
of the Island's most popular swimming
spots, for an afternoon dip.
WaTer World
Forward stroke. J stroke. The sweep.
All paddle strokes you'll likely learn from
a Nuu-chah-nulth guide in a traditional
dugout cedar canoe with the T'ashii
Paddle School (tofinopaddle.com). It's a
paddle back in time to when this was the
main form of transportation, and the
shoreline looked much the same as it
does now. Or go low, skirting the surface
in a kayak. Glide on glassy waters a bit
farther south in the Broken Islands Group
off the northern tip of Pacific Rim
National Park, tenting it seaside over
several days with BikeHike Adventures
(bikehike.com). Expect to do lots of
colourful starfish spotting – purple,
orange, red – and share this 100-isle
archipelago with sea lions, eagles,
porpoises and even orcas.
Side trip: Looking for
a more relaxed
experience? Skip the
paddle and set sail on a
freight ride aboard the
historic ship, M.V. Frances
Barkley (ladyrosemarine.com), on a day
trip from the centre of the Island in Port
Alberni to Bamfield on the west coast
and back.
Wade in
Don a pair of hip waders and make like
you're a fly fisher. It's easy on Vancouver
Island, a mecca for world-class sport
fishing. Local guide and record-holder
Randy Killoran has taken out the likes of
past U.S. Presidents, and can coax a
respectable flick of the line from most
fly-fishing neophytes. Working out of the
Lodge at Gold River (thelodgeatgold
river.ca), Killoran will take you out into the
Elk River, where the steelhead bite in rapid
fire, and point out pools and pauses in
the current and just
the right spot to
land that lure. Or
salmon-fish on the
Campbell River,
known as the
"Salmon Capital
of the World,"
and along Discovery Passage on the east
coast of the Island, where Painter's
Lodge (painterslodge.com) takes anglers
out on 17-foot Boston Whaler boats.
Side trip: Take the free ferry across
Discovery Passage from Painter's Lodge to
April Point Resort & Spa (aprilpoint.com)
on neighbouring Quadra Island for an
afternoon trip or post-fishing massage.
Sky high
Inland from Campbell River is the north
end of Strathcona Park, B.C.'s oldest
provincial park, and the nearby
Strathcona Park Lodge (strathcona
parklodge.com), an off-grid outdoor
learning centre with an enviro-friendly
ethos. It's been coaching school groups
and Canadian Outdoor Leadership
Training for more than 50 years now –
green thinking long before it was cool.
Here, kids and grandparents alike can
test their vertigo quotient on a zipline,
high ropes course or learn how to
rock-climb to reach the top of
bluffs overlooking Upper
Campbell Lake. And the
almost 250,000-hectare
Strathcona Park, with its
network of alpine-access
trails, is just a short drive
or paddle away. If you
want more gravity-defying
adventure, another set of canopy-
Hike to Tsusiat Falls along the West
Coast Trail; zip along at Strathcona Park
(left); or learn the art of fly fishing at the
Lodge at Gold River (below).
(top to bottom) Chris Cheadle/All Canada Photos, Tourism Vancouver Island, courtesy The Lodge at Gold River Summer 2015 bCA A .Com 15
