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Qualicum Beach is most often associated with things like gardening, art and craft shopping and lazy days at the beach but it’s also a great jumping off point for outdoor activities like hiking, biking, birding, spelunking and horseback riding.
Almost every harbour in the area offers boat rentals and fishing, sailing, kayaking, wildlife viewing or scuba diving tours. Local galleries, artists’ studios, museums and heritage sites are open year-round and in summer, there are festivals and outdoor concerts to enjoy as well.
In winter, you can spend the morning on the golf course and the afternoon carving up the slopes at the biggest downhill skiing and snowboarding facility on Vancouver Island.
Qualicum Beach, with its dense forests, waterfalls, caves, mountains and coastline, is a treat for hikers and outdoor enthusiasts in general. Easy, wooded hiking trails start right in the Civic Centre parking lot and there's a wheelchair-accessible trail in Rosewall Creek Provincial Park. Little Qualicum Falls Provincial Park's trail system links its campgrounds with the Little Qualicum River, which is popular with swimmers. In Englishman River Falls Provincial Park, trails will lead you to two, lovely waterfalls and a crystal-clear, freshwater swimming hole. You'll also find a small waterfall at the end of the coastal forest trail in Rosewall Creek Provincial Park. Hiking 1,829 m (6,000 ft) to the summit of Mt. Arrowsmith is a challenge but the breathtaking views of Vancouver Island make it well worth the effort.
Spelunking, or exploring caves, is the main attraction in Horne Lake Caves Provincial Park. Experience beautiful crystal formations and ancient fossils first-hand, on your own or with a guide. Various tours are available; everything from educational, family-oriented outings to seven-hour climbing and rappelling adventures.
If you have some experience with horseback riding, you and a guide can spend a whole day exploring the forests and backwoods along Englishman River Falls on horseback. If you have little or no experience, you can opt for a one-hour introduction or something in between.
Other popular pastimes include biking and golf, which can be played year-round in the area.
The most notable structures around Qualicum Beach are the Chrome Lighthouse, the Sisters Island Lighthouse and the railway trestle over the French Creek River. Both lighthouses are classic white with red roofs and matching out buildings. They sit on rocky islands and contrast beautifully with the dark-blue waters of the Strait of Georgia. The trestle stands near one of the area's largest cedar trees. Walk the short path to the river's edge, nearby, and you can study the trestle from below. Arrive at the right time and you'll see the E&N Dayliner passenger train pass over it (twice daily).
Visit The Old School House in the heart of Qualicum Beach to enjoy the work of local artists and artisans. Works on display inside the 80-year-old Victorian school house include paintings, sculptures, carvings and pottery. Hands-on workshops, studio tours of artists in residence and a well-stocked gift shop are all part of the experience. In summer, theatre productions are mounted in a tent nearby. You'll find a totem pole on the beach by the boardwalk and a number of First Nations galleries just west of town.
The Qualicum Beach Museum & Historical Society has one of the most complete fossil collections on Vancouver Island, including "one of the best preserved Ice Age walrus skeletons in the world." The Power House Museum focuses on the history of the town, with a particular emphasis on power generation in the area. Other displays showcase family histories, early shipwrecks, carpentry and blacksmithing artifacts, even antique golf paraphernalia. At Haig-Brown House, you can learn about natural history, fly fishing, gardening and the fascinating life of one of BC's most distinguished conservationists, Roderick Haig-Brown.
Gardening is something of a local obsession in Qualicum Beach, which has won a number of Communities in Bloom awards, including the top honour of Five Blooms. Well tended trees, lush plantings and colourful hanging baskets line its streets. Milner Gardens, laid out over four hectares (ten acres), is famous for its shade plants and 500 varieties of rhododendron. It also lies adjacent to a rare, old-growth Douglas-fir forest.
Your whole family will enjoy Butterfly World, the Big Qualicum Fish Hatchery and Coombs Country Market. At Butterfly World, butterflies, finches and hummingbirds flit hither and thither among palm fronds and rare tropical blooms. You can actually hear the armies of caterpillars munching on leaves and watch as butterflies emerge from chrysalises.
The hatchery is a Federal Fisheries project for the enhancement of salmon stocks. It has an underwater fish-viewing area and nature trails along the Big Qualicum River and spawning channel. You can shop for an exceptional variety of fine local produce, gourmet foods and unique gifts at Coombs Country Market but it's the goats grazing on the roof that really set it apart!
Qualicum Beach has a vibrant arts scene that includes a local theatre that organizes four productions a year, an annual artists' festival that showcases local talent and occasionally, regional drama festivals and concerts. The community is also known for the quality of its shops and markets. In addition to the fine local produce, gourmet fare and exotic gifts at its famous Coombs Country Market (a family of goats grazes on the roof in summer!), you'll find lots of small gift, craft and specialty stores.
Qualicum Beach is handy to three provincial parks, a protected heritage forest and a wildlife recovery area. Hiking trails in Englishman River Falls Provincial Park wind through a dense forest of old and second-growth Douglas-fir, cedar, hemlock and maple and feature two spectacular waterfalls. There is also a campground and large day-use area in that park. Little Qualicum Falls Provincial Park also features two waterfalls and beautiful, forested trails. It's very popular with families because of its swimming lake and picnic facilities. To experience a rare, old-growth Coastal Douglas-fir ecosystem, visit the Heritage Forest of Qualicum Beach located just minutes from the centre of town.
Birders will find plenty to interest them along the woodland trails at Hamilton Marsh, which is a natural habitat for red-winged blackbirds, jays, swallows, ducks and geese. The bird species that use the Englishman River Estuary are far too numerous to name; sandpipers, dunlin, yellowlegs, whimbrel, Virginia rail, red-necked phalarope, bald eagles and bush tits are but a few. Finally, injured, ill and orphaned birds and other wildlife are cared for at the North Island Wildlife Recovery Association. Educational tours can be prearranged by phone.
There is no shortage of relaxing environments around Qualicum Beach: two full-service spas operate in town and three more are less than 10 minutes away. There is also a wonderful seaside promenade with gorgeous island and mountain views and just adjacent to it, a sandy beach suitable for sunning, swimming and picnicking.
Qualicum Beach has a local beach of the same name that is popular with swimmers, beachcombers, picnickers and sun worshippers. Spider Lake is a warm-water lake just 15 minutes west of town that is frequented by swimmers canoeists, kayakers, picnickers and anglers in search of smallmouth bass and trout. Motorized boats are prohibited. You can rent or charter boats and book fishing, sailing, kayaking, wildlife viewing or scuba diving tours at almost every harbour in the area.
Winters in Qualicum Beach are mild enough that most outdoor activities, including golf, are year-round pleasures. Snow sports, of course, can only be enjoyed in the winter and the town is just an hour's drive from Mt. Washington, Vancouver Island's biggest skiing and snowboarding facility. It has ski-in, ski-out accommodation and also offers cross-county skiing, snowshoeing, luge, night skiing and snow tubing. Its season runs from December to mid-April.
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