Top 10 things to do in Parksville
Parksville beaches
Eagles, geese and toys
Cathedral Grove
massive tree hugging
Markets
Goat on a roof
Tiger Lily Farm
Horse rides and more goats
Top Bridge Park
River tubing fun
Wildlife Recovery Centre
Bears and birds of prey
Cameron Lake
Paddleboarding in crystal waters
Englishman River Falls
Waterfalls and swimming holes
Summer Fairs
Funfairs and farmers
Seaplanes
Catch an aquatic aircraft
Best things to do in Parksville
1. Beaches
Parksville Town Beach
One of the best things to do in Parksville is check out the many beaches.
The town fronts a shallow, sheltered beach where you can walk out to sea for what seems like miles and still only be knee deep in water.
Timings are crucial – at low tide it’s a kilometre to get to the water’s edge. At high tide there is nothing left of the beach. The wave-free tide comes in as fast as you can run. Perfect for small children, dinghies, paddle boards and inflatable food.
Behind the beach is a promenade, sandy children’s play park and grassy area which plays host to ball games, fairs and live music throughout the year. And, importantly, toilets.
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- Parksville Town beach
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- Driftwood climbing fun
The vast skies are great for sunsets when Canadian geese really do fly over in V-formation.
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- Canadian Geese in actual V
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- Parksville sunsets
There is a professionally high standard at the annual beach Sandcastle competition.
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- Sandcastle competition
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- Sand lady
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- Sunset beach
Rathtrevor Beach
A 5 minute drive out of town takes you to another beach, Rathtrevor, where deer spring from the woods and eagles pepper the huge fir trees which line the beach path. Driftwood is a feature, and the huge logs are great as backrests during a day’s lounging (whilst waiting for the water to come back).
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- Shallow tidal pools
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- King of the castle
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- Inflatable beach food
Pipers' Lagoon
A 30 minute drive down the coast take you to Pipers’ lagoon where the burnt orange trees twist themselves in to complicated den areas, and boats lazily drift past.
Miracle Bay
An hour north of town you arrive at the isolated Miracle Bay beach or, for a total contrast, heading 2 and half hours across the back of the island takes you to the west coast, and wild, surfing Tofino, which faces the brunt of the Pacific waves, winds and weather.
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- Driftwood for giants
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- Miracle Bay
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- Miracle rainbows and rain
Best things to do in Parksville
2. Cathedral Grove
A 20 minute drive inland is another of the best things to do in the Parksville area, Cathedral Grove. See the oldest, tallest, widest trees at nature’s own Cathedral, where the sun shines through the canopy as if through real church windows.
These magnificent specimens growing in the 150 acres at Cathedral Grove are the last survivors of forest fires and logging, which reduced the area by 97%. They still draw a million visitors a year.
An easy 30 minute board-walked stroll through Douglas Fir and Red Cedar takes you to the star of the copse – at 800 years, the oldest tree in the woods. At up to 250 feet tall and 29 feet wide, you may struggle to find words to convey the enormity of these trees. All I can is is they are big enough to swallow a small boy.
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- Tree canopy, at Cathedral Grove
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- Impossibly tall
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- and boy eatingly wide trees
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- Climable roots
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- Too big to hug
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- Feel like Mr Small
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- Land of the dinosaurs
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- Tangled tree roots
Best things to do in Parksville
3. Markets
Errington Market
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- Pretty as a picture produce
The weekly Errington farmers’ market with knitwear-clad trees, selling hand crafted jewellery and incredible vegetables (including courgettes for the annual zucchini race) is set in a woodland idyll.
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- Errington market
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- Knitwear for trees
Craig Street Market
Craig Street Market runs weekly throughout the summer. Market stalls stretch out over several streets, filled with music, food and home made trinkets. You can hold parrot, twirl a hoop and buy a silver spoon transformed into a funky ring (I did).
Coombs Market
Many things can be bought here. There are 15 foot high stone Buddhas, tie dye clothes and artisan home wares. The ice cream shop sells any flavour you care to name but the best bit is the herd of goats happily munching away on the turfed shop roof at the Old Country Market. You can even buy a goaty t-shirt souvenir.
Best things to do in Parksville
4. Tiger Lily Farm
Don traditional Canadian riding boots and head off in convoy into the sun dappled dusty woods at Tiger Lily Farm.
Be warned: cougars roam the area and there is more than a chance of encountering a bear in the woods. A very exciting bonus feature.
After the trail, have a play with the farm animals in the petting zoo area. Watch out for the pesky skirt chomping goats (goats being generally a bigger Canadian feature than anticipated).
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- Ready to ride
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- Dusty bear trail
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- Goat feeding (on my skirt)
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- Riding boots
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- Playing chicken
Best things to do in Parksville
5. Top Bridge Park
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- Top Bridge, Vancouver Island
A stretch of emerald creek, just deep enough to speed ride a rubber ring through (grown ups watch out for the stony river bottom making contact with your own). For a less stressful alternative, drift gently through the deeper water round the corner, under “The Nose”, a pointy rock jutting out about 25 feet above the water. Just watch out for the fearless big kids launching themselves off it. For the smaller, more risk averse child, there is a mini jumping rock just down the river. There are also snakes. Do not attempt to cross Top Bridge barefoot. It is like a cheese grater.
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- Top Bridge at top bridge
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- Clear waters
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- Shallow tubing
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- Jumping
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- Slow tubing
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- Rapid tubing
Best things to do in Parksville
6. North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre
This wildlife sanctuary has a country artisan vibe with ramshackle wooden buildings, and mysterious faces floating in the ground.
You can see bears being fed (white rolls, which was a bit surprising) and watch birds of prey flying right past your ear in the displays. They also cage and exhibit pigeons, which you don’t find back home.
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- Faces in the floor
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- Metallic and real chickens
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- Rustic chic
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- Bridge fun
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- Regal eagle
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- Rock dove? Clearly a pigeon
Best things to do in Parksville
7. Cameron Lake
With unfeasibly clear water, this lake is a perfect place to swim or paddle away an afternoon – or get lost among the twisty tree roots that line its edge. Like the Caribbean of Canada.
Don’t forget your inflatable cupcake.
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- Unbelievably clear
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- Inflatable food
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- Not falling in
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- Twisty roots
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- Still standing
Best things to do in Parksville
8. Englishman River Falls
Trying hard not to be put off by it being named after an Englishman who drowned trying to cross the river here, we spent a lovely afternoon at Englishman River Falls, a 30 minute drive from Parksville.
Mossy trees, ancient woodland, rushing waterfalls and a clear swimming creek make Englishman River Falls Provincial Park a winner.
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- The creek
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- Scoobydoo trees
Best things to do in Parksville
9. Summer Fairs
Coombs Country Fair
From funfair rides and rows of afro chickens to horse trials – by way of the ubiquitous zuccini racing, experience a proper Canadian County fair day out at the annual Coombs Agricultural Fair.
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- Coombs balloon man
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- Farm fair
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- Afro chicken – Coombs
VIEX Nanaimo
Watch the wrestlers before having a go yourself (padded up of course) at the big annual VIEX event in Namaimo. Then don even bigger padding for some inflatable human football before flipping upside down at the fair as the sun sets.
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- Live wrestling VIEX
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- And now the kids’ turn
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- Zorb football VIEX
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- Fun fair – VIEX
Parksville Kidsfest
Head down to the beach for some bouncy castle skateboard rodeoing and hammer swinging at the annual Parksville Kidsfest. $5 for an armband and you are set for the day.
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- Padded rodeo
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- Hammer time
Errington "Hi Neighbor" Day
Fill up on a huge pancake breakfast whipped up by the local fire brigade in the community hall, before joining a fancy dress parade at this “be good to your neighbour” themed event.
The music is live and country, and a local farmer hands out free corn. Ladies wander around in traditional dress. Kids can juggle and hoopla and, of course, race another zucchini. (Be warned – once again the standard and engineering proficiency are scarily high).
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- Zuccinnis ready
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- …go!
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- Traditional dress
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- and fancy dress
Best things to do in Parksville
10. Catch a sea plane
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- All aboard
Don’t miss the opportunity to fly in a tiny sea plane as it rattles over the channel between Nanaimo and Vancouver.
It’s much cheaper and much more fun than a real plane. If you are taking 3 weeks’ worth of international luggage with you, there are logistical issues, but you can buy a bag upgrade ticket or send it as an advance party.
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- Like a noisy tin can
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- but with better views
Looking forward to going back next summer and doing it all again!
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Related
Check out my Canadian Road Trip (via Bigfoot, the Rockies and Vancouver Island) to see what we got up to on the rest of the trip.
And my best shots of Niagara, Bow River and Athabasca Glacier.
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