| 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.
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