Located in the Comox Valley on central-east Vancouver Island, Cumberland (population 2,881) is stepping out of its past as a coal mining city, climbing to its feet and putting on new duds as niche community and dynamic tourist destination. It's wooing newcomers with colour, character and wide-open-spaces activities such as hiking, mountain biking, rock climbing, freshwater fishing, camping, skiing and snowboarding.
Cumberland's past defines its striking looks. Its buildings are a coffee-table book of late 19th and early 20th century architecture. It's a community rich with the textures of time and hardship, of Queen Anne and Victorian manses, cedar-shingled cottages and sagging porches. Newbies say that entering town is like driving on to a movie set.
Vibrant Community
Today the reviving village boasts a vibrant, growing downtown with young families moving in, Heritage buildings are being preserved, old homes are under restoration and new homes are jumping out of the ground. Galleries, boutiques, cafes and restaurants are following. To date, there are no chain operations or fast food signage.
Galleries, Boutiques & Spa
Visit Main Street's Magnolia Gallery & Garden for lovely perennial flowers, then shift into the gallery for paintings and craft works. Step into Dark Side Chocolates for hand-made truffles. Or hook up with your body in an hour of massage at Integral Balance Massage Therapy.
Cumberland History
From 1888 to 1966, Cumberland toiled as a coal mining community, complete with tragic fires and mine explosions, murderous labour disputes and an international force of coal miners that included one of the largest Chinese populations in BC. As the coal industry dwindled in time, the mines closed, the settlements collapsed and Cumberland seemed destined to be written off as a ghost town. Wrong.
Cumberland Museum
The history of settlement in the area is vividly captured at the Cumberland Museum, which includes a walk-in replica of a coal mine and thousands of storytelling artefacts. Check out the silk slippers for the bound feet of Chinese wives and daughters.
Comox Valley Heritage Experience
Visitors can walk Cumberland's history with the mapped and detailed Comox Valley Heritage Experience walking tour brochure available free of charge at the Cumberland Visitor Centre. The self-guided downtown tour lasts about one hour and can include pauses for cappuccino or a pint o' suds.
Cumberland Location
Cumberland surroundings are a stunningly beautiful collage of mountain peaks, foothills, forests and lakes. The Beaufort Mountain Range dominates the horizon. The landmark is the flat-topped Comox Glacier, the largest glacier on Vancouver Island. The slate of things to do seems outlandishly hefty.
Where to Stay
Although just a village, Cumberland boasts a surprising range of downtown hotel, B&B, rental cottage, hostel and campground accommodations. The Riding Fool Hostel in the heart of the village is something special: Recommended by Lonely Planet as one of Vancouver Island's top hostels, it occupies a handsomely restored 1895 building that used to be Cumberland's hardware store.
Cumberland Foodie
As born-again Cumberland gets to its feet and flexes its muscle, local dining is beginning to take root. Cumberland boasts at least two espresso bars, a Cantonese kitchen, a historic pub known for its live music and a bistro serving European-style cuisine.
Festivals & Events
Being the sort of place it is, Cumberland's a natural bastion of artists and musicians. Signalling the revival of Cumberland culture most ebulliently is the mid-August Big Time Out, a one-day music fest at Cumberland Park. Eclectic, award-winning talents from Canada, the US and abroad rock non-stop noon to midnight.
Getting Started
The Highway 19 drive from Victoria to Cumberland (214km/133mi) is just under three hours. From Nanaimo, the drive (104km/65mi) is about 75 minutes. Cumberland town centre is approximately 2km/1.2mi off Highway 19, exit 117. When travelling between Nanaimo and Cumberland, Highway 19A or the Oceanside Route is the slower but more scenic approach.
For tourist information and the Cumberland walking tour brochure, visit the Cumberland Visitor Centre at 2680 Dunsmuir Ave in Cumberland.
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