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Powell River
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Given its seafront location,
POWELL RIVER
has its scenic side, but like many a BC town its unfocused sprawl and nearby sawmill slightly dampen the overall appeal. The main road cruises past almost 4km of box-like retirement bungalows before reaching the town centre, which at first glance makes it a not terribly captivating resort. If you're catching the
ferry
to Courtenay on Vancouver Island (4 daily; 75min), you might not even see the town site, as the terminal is 2km to the east at Westview, and some of the
buses
from Vancouver are timed to coincide with the boats; if your bus doesn't connect, you can either walk from the town centre or bus terminal or call a taxi (tel 604/483-3666). The local
infocentre
(daily 9am-5pm; tel 604/485-4701), which is immediately at the end of the wooden ferry pier at 4690 Marine Ave, can supply a visitors' map with detailed coverage of the many trails leading inland from the coast hereabouts; they can also advise on boat trips on Powell Lake, immediately inland, and tours to Desolation Sound further up the coast.
In the event of having to stay overnight, you can choose from a dozen or so motels in town and a couple near the terminal itself. The most central of several campsites is the 81-site Willingdon Beach Municipal Campground on the seafront off Marine Avenue at 6910 Duncan St (tel 604/485-2242; $13-20).
The northern end point of Hwy 101 - which, incidentally, starts in Mexico City, making it one of North America's longest continuous routes - is the hamlet of
LUND
, 28km up the coast from Powell River.
Desolation Sound Marine Provincial Park
, about 10km north of Lund, offers some of Canada's best boating and scuba diving, plus fishing, canoeing and kayaking. There's no road access to the park, but a number of outfitters in Powell River run tours to it and can hire all the equipment you could possibly need - try Westview Live Bait Ltd, 4527 Marine Ave, for
canoes
; Coulter's Diving, 4557 Willingdon Ave, for
scuba gear
; and Spokes, 4710 Marine Drive, for
bicycles
. The more modest
Okeover Provincial Park
, immediately north of Lund, has an unserviced campsite ($12). Other useful information
for tourists (each section contains more specific sub-sections): |
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Canada,
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