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Courtenay
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Back along Hwy 19 beyond Buckley Bay is a short stretch of wild, pebbly beach, and then the Comox Valley, open rural country that's not as captivating as the brochures might lead you to expect. Of three settlements here - Comox, Cumberland and
COURTENAY
- only the last is of real interest for all but the most committed Vancouver Island devotee, and only then as a ferry link to Powell River on the mainland. The terminal is a good twenty-minutes' drive from the town down back roads - hitching is almost impossible, so you have to take a taxi or hold out for the minibus shuttle that leaves the bus depot twice on Tuesday and Friday to connect with sailings. Courtenay is connected to Nanaimo and Victoria by
bus
(4 daily), and is the terminus for
trains
from Victoria (1 daily). If you get stranded in town, there are plenty of
motels
along the strip on the southern approach, close to the black steam engine and
infocentre
at 2040 Cliffe Ave (daily 9am-5pm, longer hours in summer; tel 334-3234). The best
camping
is 20km north of Courtenay at Miracle Beach Provincial Park - a vast, but very popular, tract of sand ($12).
The
Comox Valley
scores higher inland, on the eastern fringes of Strathcona Provincial Park
and the new
skiing
areas of Forbidden Plateau and Mount Washington. There's plenty of
hiking
in summer, when the Forbidden Plateau lifts operate at weekends from 11am to 3pm. A great day-hike on Mount Washington is the five-hour walk on well-marked trails from the ski area across Paradise Meadows to Moat Lake or Circlet Lake. For details of tougher walks (Battleship Lake, Lady Lake), ask at the infocentre. Access to the trailheads is by minor road from Courtenay. Other useful information
for tourists (each section contains more specific sub-sections): |
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Canada,
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