Category: Vancouver Coast Mountains

If you are like most divers, then you probably dream about tropical blue waters with an abundance of colorful fish and a rainbow of corals. Traveling north to British Columbia for the express purpose of SCUBA diving might seem a little odd at first, but once you find out more about the wonders that await beneath the clear, cool waters that surround the province’s coastline, you will probably find yourself feeling a bit anxious to get started. Incredible Marine Life While marine life in many cool water environments tends toward green and brown shades with an occasional flash of color, […]

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Imagine yourself suspended in midair, high above a tumultuous river, with soaring canyon walls stretching as far as the eye can see.  This is only a small part of what you will experience as you explore; Hell’s Gate at Fraser Canyon is a place you’ll never forget. A Haunting History Located just 2

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Located near Egmont on the Sunshine Coast, this is an unusual Provincial Park for a number of reasons.  When you think “park” one often thinks of nice spots to have a picnic or enjoy a view.  The view at the end of the trail is the ultimate purpose of the park. Visitor Centres and your accommodations will have a tide chart for Skookumchuck Narrows.  Plan to arrive shortly before the tide ebbs or floods or you won’t receive the full reward for taking the trail. The Skookumchuck Narrows Provincial Park’s parking lot is off Egmont Road, about 6 km (4 […]

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Across the road from the entrance to Skookumchuck Narrows Provincial Park, which is on Egmont Road, you will find the Egmont Heritage Centre.  It’s a small museum with artefacts from Egmont’s pioneer and 20th century past. What’s refreshing about the museum is that it’s not so fancy that you can’t get up close to things.  For kids, they can play with old phones — dialling is a novel activity.   A lot of Egmont’s history is connected to Portuguese Joe, also known as Joe Silvey.  His rather busy life — which included whaling in the Azores, two wives, many children […]

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Roberts Creek is smaller than you might think, but if you are running up and down the Sunshine Coast Highway, make sure to head toward the water along Roberts Creek Road. The key reasons are: 1. The Shops are quite quaint as is the architecture.  There’s a lost Hippy feeling to it that is unique. The stores include a General Store and a children’s clothing shop. 2.  The Beach.  At the end of Roberts Creek Road is a tiny parking lot (brace yourself for disappointment at finding a spot on a sunny day) where you can park and walk down […]

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Cliff Gilker Park is the easiest of three walks we did on our Sunshine Coast vacation.  The problem for us was a three-year-old.  He was keen to walk his little legs off, but with roots and ups an downs, we were worried. Before I get too far into the details, Cliff Gilker Park, is at 3110 Sunshine Coast Highway near the Roberts Creek Road intersection.  The access to the park is on the east side of Hwy 101.  We took the upper parking lot.  At the same location were swings, a baseball diamond and well kept bathrooms. The key reason […]

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Considering the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia is actually part of the BC mainland, it’s odd that you need to take a 40 minute ferry ride to get there.  BC Ferries provides the same sort of ships from Horseshoe Bay that they do when you sail to Victoria or Nanaimo on Vancouver Island.   You arrive in Langdale and then you drive the Sunshine Coast Highway (a.k.a. Highway 101) to your destination.  When driving this highway, keep in mind that it’s all two-lane undivided roadway, which isn’t what a lot of us consider a highway.  There are a lot of […]

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You just have to love the potential for adventure in BC.  We were entertaining guests from the States, so we took a beautiful May day to explore the Sunshine Coast.  The highlight was an evening cruise with Bryce of Sunshine Coast Tours to explore Skookumchuck Narrows in Egmont.  Bryce is an excellent tour guide who freely shares stories and information about the area.  It was an extra large current day, and we happened to find some avid kayakers taking advantage of the rapids.  Even though it had been a rainy day, the skies cleared for our late afternoon cruise and we […]

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In order to save my wife’s sanity, I took the kids away for a couple of nights.  Sustained effort on any aspect of life, from cleaning to accounting, is next to impossible with a 2-year-old around. So on a truly autumnal late October we decided that Harrison Hot Springs was the ticket.  I convinced the kids that we were going to look for Sasquatches and to have some fun.  Harrison Hot Springs has the feel of being a long way from Vancouver, but if taking a risk like I was, a two hour drive has the kids back before any […]

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I travel a lot around the Sunshine Coast, Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands for business.  Here’s a list of places I love to go to and, after 18 years on living on the Sunshine Coast, I can confirm that they are good eateries, reasonable prices and good service. The order is not meant to show favourtism, it’s just the order that came into my head. 1. Nagomi Sushi Bar 446 Marine DrGibsons, BC604 886-2562 Small little, mom & pop operation right by the Harbour in lower Gibsons. Vancouver quality but Sunshine Coast prices, meaning it’s a real deal. A […]

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