Port Alberni, Canada

Our home is in the country at the lake 10 minutes from Port Alberni. To get around you need a car. You can fly into Vancouver and rent a car and take the ferry across to the island. You can also fly into Victoria and rent a car and drive about 2.5 hours up to Port Alberni. Locations within an hour of our house that we often go to are Coombs, Qualicum, Parksville, Nanaimo and Courtenay. If you love the outdoors you will love Vancouver Island and our location. In the summer the weather is usually hot and dry and in the winter it rains a lot.

Vancouver Island is home to temperate rainforests where 1000-year-old conifers grow up to 300 feet high and 30 feet around. Experience these giants at Cathedral Grove in MacMillan Provincial Park, located between Qualicum Beach and Port Alberni, an easy walk amongst stands of ancient Douglas fir trees.

For the more adventurous, a 2 hour drive away, hike the Three Sisters Trail in the Carmanah Valley. A remote spectacular experience where you will see ancient, gnarled cedars and some of the largest sitka trees in the world. See A Complete Guide to Carmanah Walbran Provincial Park, Vancouver Island at offtracktravel.ca or the web site bcparks.ca/carmanah-walbran-park/

The town of Tofino, is 1.5 hours drive, on the West Coast of the Island, is known as Canada's surf capital. It was recognized by Outside magazine as "the best surf town in North America".
Taste and toast the thriving beer culture at stops along the Vancouver Island Ale Trail. see web site Vancouver Island Ale Trail Part 2 – The BC Ale Trail