Vancouver Island

[undercoverbrother]

My wife and I will be on the island the first week of March,

We are staying in Mill Bay and want to explore the island a bit.

I would love some recommendations/places to stay.

[TrentCrimmIndependent]

Take half a day and head up to Cameron Lake and Cathedral Grove.

[PaperBagger'14]

2nd for cathedral grove, Hatley castle (from the x men movies), and check for a whale watching tour. Lots of fun there.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by PaperBagger'14

2nd for cathedral grove, Hatley castle (from the x men movies), and check for a whale watching tour. Lots of fun there.

We did whale watching last year.

In fact the day before we went whale watching the ####ing things showed up in Mill Bay for the first time in a long time.

I tried to convince my wife that was her whale watching and we could now save some $$, no dice.

But we also went into the Straight of Georgia and saw Humpbacks as well

[dammage79]

Gold River and Tahsis. Beautiful drive and a fantastic Lake to camp at in between the two towns called Muchalat lake.

You'd also be fools to miss out on Botanical Beach and Sombrio beach along with Port Renfrew loop, which also has multiple wonderful campsites along the way. Lizard Lake, Fairy lake (bonsai tree rests in the middle of fairy lake)

The world tallest Douglas fir is in the Port Renfrew area as well, protected by some nice giant cedars. Its really easy to follow the logging road from San Juan river turnoff. It's called the Red Creek For, it's marked on Google maps.

If you're really into seeing the island, Cape Scott is a must. But that's a trek and a half all the way to the very northern tip of the island.

Between Tahsis and Gold River you'll see as many bears as you want to possibly see. There is so many its amazing.

[Cheese]

The Kinsol Trestle Bridge is close to there, great little walk and visit.

[PaperBagger'14]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

We did whale watching last year.

In fact the day before we went whale watching the ####ing things showed up in Mill Bay for the first time in a long time.

I tried to convince my wife that was her whale watching and we could now save some $$, no dice.

But we also went into the Straight of Georgia and saw Humpbacks as well

Man I’d kill to see some humpbacks that’s pretty cool. My wife and I lucked out years ago on our whale watching tour, we had a pod swimming right at our zodiac and one orca surfaced about 20’ away.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

You'd be a 10 minute drive from the Malahat Skywalk. It's got some pretty spectacular views.

[DownInFlames]

Tofino has a killer skate park.

[dammage79]

Oh and as a recent ex islander, avoid Tofino. I find that place as bland as tapioca. If you must go out that way, turn left and go to uculet.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

If you do go to Cathedral Grove, a few minutes away is the Little Qualicum Falls. Pretty spectacular walk along several rapids and waterfalls.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by Cheese

The Kinsol Trestle Bridge is close to there, great little walk and visit.

We have hit that up, pretty cool

Originally Posted by Cali Panthers Fan

You'd be a 10 minute drive from the Malahat Skywalk. It's got some pretty spectacular views.

My sister bought us passes for Christmas and we are gonna do that this time.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by DownInFlames

Tofino has a killer skate park.

The food at Wolf in the Fog was great.

[opendoor]

It sort of depends if you're wanting to stay in multiple places or just do day trips from the Cowichan Valley. Places like Tofino or Strathcona park aren't really doable in a day from Mill Bay (~4 hours each way). But if you're willing to stay up island for a night or two, they're beautiful, even that time of year.

For stuff that's closer, the west coast beaches (about 1-1.5 hrs away) can be pretty nice if the weather cooperates. China Beach is the most accessible, or if you're wanting a bit of a hike, then Mystic Beach is pretty nice too.

Someone else mentioned Cathedral Grove, and that could be a nice day trip with a few stops along the way. Places like Coombs, Parksville, Little Qualicum Falls, and Englishman River Falls might be worth considering.

Saltspring Island could be another option for a day trip, but not everyone's cup of tea.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by opendoor

It sort of depends if you're wanting to stay in multiple places or just do day trips from the Cowichan Valley. Places like Tofino or Strathcona park aren't really doable in a day from Mill Bay (~4 hours each way). But if you're willing to stay up island for a night or two, they're beautiful, even that time of year.

For stuff that's closer, the west coast beaches (about 1-1.5 hrs away) can be pretty nice if the weather cooperates. China Beach is the most accessible, or if you're wanting a bit of a hike, then Mystic Beach is pretty nice too.

Someone else mentioned Cathedral Grove, and that could be a nice day trip with a few stops along the way. Places like Coombs, Parksville, Little Qualicum Falls, and Englishman River Falls might be worth considering.

Saltspring Island could be another option for a day trip, but not everyone's cup of tea.

We are planning a night or two away.

We will have one of my sister's vehicles.

[Winsor_Pilates]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

We are planning a night or two away.

We will have one of my sister's vehicles.

Definitely recommend going up to Tofino in that case.
A lot of places like Cathedral Grove, Coombs etc can be stops on the drive anyway.
I don't think most of those places take long IMO; I guess it depends on your interests.
I can only look at goats on a roof or very tall trees for a few minutes; though they are interesting.

[opendoor]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

We are planning a night or two away.

We will have one of my sister's vehicles.

Yeah, then Tofino/Ucluelet would probably be worth doing if you've never been. The area is a bit touristy, but it's nice. And even when the weather isn't great, it kind of has that cool stormy atmosphere. And the drive up can be kind of cool too, as some of the places mentioned above (Cathedral Grove, Qualicum Falls, etc.) that are right on the way and make for good quick stops.

Strathcona Park and some of the mountainous areas up by Courtenay/Comox and Campbell River are nice too. But honestly, the main attraction is that that area has the only real alpine kind of landscape on Vancouver Island. So for that it's amazing, but coming from Calgary, it's not going to be very impressive compared to the Rockies.

Further up the island can be nice too, but if you're only doing a night or two I'd probably got for Tofino/Ucluelet.

[TrentCrimmIndependent]

If you decide you want to see whales, Cowichan Bay has whale watching excursions that depart from there, right up their road from where you'll be.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by TrentCrimmIndependent

If you decide you want to see whales, Cowichan Bay has whale watching excursions that depart from there, right up their road from where you'll be.

That's the one we used!

Just down from the Masthead.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

If it were my I'd just put all my dough into an airbnb by the water near Ucluelet with ludicrously nice views and just... chill. Maybe go for a hike.