Campbell River, British Columbia - May 20th to 22nd, 2022
Being from Colorado, we are not used to a lot of rain. So far during our Season Four travels, we have encountered a lot of rain and cool temperatures. So when the sun came out and the temperatures rose, we were really grateful. We felt lucky during our time in the Campbell River area in good weather.
From Duncan, we started heading north. Our destination for the day was Elk Falls Provincial Park near Campbell River. Our next stop was Chemainus. We ate our picnic lunch at Kinsmen Beach Park in town, while sitting at a picnic table nonetheless! The weather was actually nice for a change. The sun was shining and the temperature reached the 60’s F (15 C). It felt so good to be sitting outside for a change! Just off shore at Kinsmen Beach, is the Xihuw Artificial Reef, a Boeing 737 that was sunk in 2006 for scuba divers. We couldn’t see it of course, but we did enjoy the view of the boats and birds out on the water. There was a bald eagle sitting on top of a pole. He sat there the whole time. We were hoping he would fly or dive for food for us, but no such luck.
Chemainus is another small town, not far from Duncan. This one is known for its 54 murals around town. Again, there were yellow footprints painted on the ground to follow. There were all kinds of styles of murals and they led you all over the small downtown area. We felt that Chemainus is a cuter town than Duncan. What a clever marketing idea for both towns. The search for the totems and murals get you to check out the whole town, passing by all the shops and restaurants. We didn’t do any shopping, but we did enjoy seeing both the murals and the totem poles.
Our last stop was the little town of Ladysmith. The Milepost claimed there was a popular bakery there, the Old Town Bakery. Of course we had to check it out! It looked like the cinnamon buns were their popular item and they came in all kinds of varieties. Some of the flavors were sliced almond with or without cream cheese icing, chocolate pecan, cranberry orange walnut, peanut butter cream cheese, orange poppyseed, and strawberry rhubarb cream cheese. Ann picked the sliced almond with cream cheese. Keith got something totally different, a cranberry orange ginger scone. Ann’s bun was delicious, but a little sweeter and a little larger than she would have liked. However, she managed to finish it anyway, including the icing stuck to the box.
It was another two hours or more of driving from there to Elk Falls Provincial Park. We were stuck in slow traffic part of the time. It was Friday afternoon on a three day holiday weekend. Victoria Day was being celebrated on the coming Monday. The weather forecast called for more beautiful weather for the long weekend. As we drove, we watched the temperature climb to 19 C (66 F). It felt like a heat wave compared to what we had been experiencing for weeks. The locals were excited to reach their favorite spot to enjoy the lovely weekend as well.
It was dinner time when we reached the campground. It was still warm enough out to put our table cloth on the picnic table and eat dinner outside. We think this is only the third time we’ve been able to do that so far this season. Again, we were grateful to be sitting outside. Let’s hope there are more warm times ahead!
Saturday was our big hiking day. We started our hike right from the campground, no need to pack up and try to park at a crowded trailhead. We like that. We started off on the Canyon View Trail along the Campbell River. The trail is on both sides of the river. We took the bridge, just east of the campground, over to the other side. The trail is a little misnamed. The river does not form much of a canyon in this area, we were mostly hiking right next to the river. However, the trail climbs up near the western end to cross a bridge over a small canyon.
In the river was some sort of contraption. A local couple was standing there with us, taking in the view. Keith asked if they knew what it was. Yes, it is a salmon fry counter. The nearby BC Hydro-electric plant is trying to restore the salmon in the area, so they monitor the number of fry that are born each year.
After the bridge, the trail joins up with the trail on the other side leading back to the east, along with the Millennium Trail which heads to the west. We turned onto the Millennium Trail to reach Elk Falls. The falls were pretty spectacular. There are several viewpoints, along with a suspension bridge which crosses the canyon near the falls.
The suspension bridge is new. It opened in 2015. Although it is steep down to the center of the bridge, the surface has very good traction and you are surrounded on both sides with a tall chain link fence, so you feel pretty safe and secure. However, a person who is afraid of heights might have an issue with seeing the canyon below them.
After returning from the side trail to the suspension bridge, we took the Riverside Loop Trail which dropped down to the brink of the falls and followed the river upstream for about a mile, passing by few smaller falls. Then we came back to the Millennium Trail via the Old Growth Loop Trail. This was another misnamed trail. With a name of Old Growth, we were expecting large, tall trees. We didn’t see any big trees until we were back on the Millennium Trail. To be fair, there was one section of the “loop” that we did not hike, so maybe that’s where the big trees are.
When we reached the Canyon View Trail again, we stayed on the south side of the river. The trail passes right through the hydro-electric plant property. It was interesting to see, but not what we would call scenic for a hiking trail. Before long, the trail is on a small strip of land with the river on one side and highway 28 on the other. At least we were in the trees and low enough that we couldn’t see the highway, but we could definitely hear the traffic. It wasn’t bad, but, again, not what we usually like to hear while on a hike.
By the time we reached the campground, we had gone 8.6 miles with an elevation gain of 1181 feet in a little over four and a half hours. This was hike 13 of our 52 Hike Challenge for 2022.
For the second day in a row, we were able to cook and eat outside at our campsite. Woohoo!
Sunday was a relaxing day. We were almost out of chocolate, so we needed to make a run into the town of Campbell River to resupply. The Save On Foods store we stopped at did not have Dove. It’s possible it is not sold in Canada. They had Ritter Sport, but not the dark chocolate that we like, so we picked up some Lindt chocolate. After picking up a few other needed items, we found a place to park near the visitor center. Due to the holiday weekend, many stores were closed, including the visitor center. After eating lunch in our Red Tail Lodge (our van), we tried to find an open bakery and even walked over to a café that Google said was open, but it wasn’t.
We continued our stroll around town. First we checked out a little park on the seashore called Robert V. Ostler Park. It had a few totem poles and some nice landscaping. Continuing south along the shore, we checked out the Discovery Fishing Pier. Near the pier is the Discovery Passage Aquarium which is a small, hands-on experience for kids. There is a small fee to enter, so we did not go in. The fishing pier was rather nice. There were built-in chairs for people to fish from, that sat up high, like a director’s chair, complete with a foot rest, two cup holders, and a holder for a fishing pole on each side. There was also a picnic table on the pier, surrounded on three sides with clear walls to protect you from the wind. Nice! But what caught Ann’s attention was the little ice cream shop on the pier, and it was open! However, it was still a little chilly and we were still full from lunch.
We hopped back into the van and drove a little farther south along the Island Highway to Rotary Beach Park. From there we walked about a mile south on the Seawalk. We wanted to check out what the Big Rock was, but we were not up for a really long walk all the way from the center of town. The Big Rock is just that, a big rock, sitting on the rocky beach. It is a 32-foot tall glacier erratic and it is covered with graffiti. According to native folklore, the big rock was a grizzly bear who claimed he could jump across the strait to Vancouver Island. The Great Spirit warned him that he would turn to stone if he touched the water. He didn’t quite make it, so he became the Big Rock.
The rock was a little underwhelming, but we passed an interesting, quirky little coffee shop along the way called Fogg Dukkers Coffee and Roastery. It was open and was doing a good business. It seemed like the place for the walkers and bikers, both motorized and non-motorized, to stop. Of course we stopped on our way back to the van. They also sold not only a London fog, like Ann had in Sooke (link to old post), but a whole list of different flavors of fog(g)s. Apparently, a fog is a steeped tea latte. Who knew?
We both ordered spicy chai lattes and sat out back, next to a fire pit among the eccentric decorations, with a view of the sea. While we were relaxing there, a bald eagle flew right over our heads with part of a fish in its talons.
Ann still wanted a treat, so we drove back the the Discovery Fishing Pier. Ann ate her ice cream cone while we sat on the pier watching a group of loons diving for their food right in front of us.
For the rest of the day, we hung out at our campsite, outside. Yes, it was another warm day. For the third night in a row, we ate outside. We could get used to this!
The good weather had us in good spirits. We were ready to explore more of Vancouver Island. Our next stop? Pacific Rim National Park.
Check out our related video: Campbell River, British Columbia
(Ann)