Qualicum Beach and the surrounding area offers up a wealth of local attractions and activities such as parks, hiking, fishing, skiing, watersports and more. There is plenty of local entertainment with various local festivals, fairs and events throughout the year.
Little Qualicum Falls Provincial Park - Little Qualicum falls park provides excellent camping and miles of walking trails that slowly wind their way along the Little Qualicum River. Stop for a few minutes to admire the falls as they tumble down over the rocks and into the pools down below, and on a really hot day enjoy swimming and lounging around in the slow moving pools.
Cameron lake Provincial Park - Cameron Lake is a popular spot for windsurfers, waterskiers and fisherman. There is a large beach for those hot summers and a picnic area/boat launch to make access easy. The lake is well known to be quite windy on occassion and has become very popular with windsurfing crowd. Fisherman love Cameron lake because it holds an excellent population of Rainbow and the elusive Brown Trout. Cameron lake is also rumoured to have it’s “lake monster” swimming around the murky depths, there are a few new sightings reported every year.
Coombs Country Market – If you like to shop, Coombs is the perfect little place to spend an afternoon. With a variety of boutique shops, bookstores, outdoor clothing, toys, candies, and more Coombs has become a favorite for locals year round and a summer shopping haven for the tourists that flock to the area. The Coombs Country Market imports a variety of international foods, imported gifts and some of best fresh baked goods you’ll find on Vancouver Island. Their 5 Cheese bread is to die for, and who could pass up checking out the goats that live on the markets roof! It’s truly a unique and fantastic local treasure.
North Island Wildlife Recovery Center – The North Island Wildlife Recovery center is a world class wildlife rehabilitation facility specializing in raptors and black bears. Magnificant eagles can be viewed through one way glass in the largest flight cage if its kind in Canada and there is a wide variety of “hands-on” stuff for the kids. A local favorite for school field trips, and an easy way to spend a few hours with the family.
Spider lake Provincial Park – Just a short drive from the town of Qualicum Beach is Spider Lake provincial park. There is an excellent sandy beach, with plenty of parking space and picnic tables for those summer picnic lunches. During the summer months the water gets quite warm and it’s a very popular place to go, there is a maze of little islands and channels throughout the lake that keep boaters busy for hours. With a No-Motor restriction on the lake it’s always a nice quite place to spend an afternoon and the fishing for Rainbow Trout and Smallmouth Bass is excellent.
Woodgrove Center – Only a 30 minute drive from Qualicum is the popular WoodGrove Shopping Center in Nanaimo. One of the best shopping malls on the Island you’ll find all your favorite stores including The Bay, Wal-Mart, Toys R Us and More. Located within walking distance of the mall are several bigbox stores such as Staples, Chapters, Save-On-Foods, Costco and Canadian Tire.
Mt. Washington Ski Resort - Only about an hours drive from Qualicum is Mt. Washington Ski Resort which as of late has become one of the most popular wintersports playgrounds in the province. Reknowned for it’s heavy snowfall every year Mt. Washington boasts excellent opportunities for the Skier or Snowboarder in your family. During the summer months Mt Washington turns into a beautiful summer mountain paradise where wildlife and wild flowers abound, so it’s also a very popular hiking mecca during the warmer months.
