VICTORIA AND VANCOUVER ISLAND - British Columbia: Including the Alaska Highway - page 250

Getting around town is easiest on foot. You can rent bikes from TOF Cycles (660 Sharp
Rd., 250/725-2453) for $25 per day (blend in with the locals by adding a surfboard rack for
$15).
Oceanside
Back on the east side of the island, Highway 19 (Inland Island Highway) north of the High-
way 4 junction to the west coast bypasses Oceanside, a stretch of coast that has developed
as a popular holiday area, with many beaches, resorts, and waterfront campgrounds.
PARKSVILLE
Unspoiled sand fringes the coastline between Parksville (pop. 12,000) and Qualicum Beach.
Parksville Beach claims “the warmest water in the whole of Canada.” When the tide goes
out along this stretch of the coast, it leaves a strip of sand up to one kilometer (0.6 mile)
wide exposed to the sun. When the water returns, voilà—sand-heated water.
Sights and Recreation
Running parallel to Highway 19A (Island Highway) through town is the Community Park
Beach, with lots of driftwood and protected swimming in shallow water. Behind the beach
is a boardwalk, a large playground, a splash park, and exercise equipment that anyone is
free to use.
Rathtrevor Beach Provincial Park, a 347-hectare (860-acre) chunk of coastline just
south of the town center, features a fine two-kilometer (1.2-mile) sandy beach, a wooded
area of old-growth Douglas fir, signs of homesteaders dating to the 1880s, and easy walking
trails. The bird-watching highlight occurs in March and April, when thousands of Brant
geese stop by on their annual migration to Alaska, swooping into the water for a herring
feast.
Although the beach is the focus for most people visiting Parksville, there is a small mu-
seum adjacent to the information center at Craig Heritage Park (1245 East Island Hwy.,
250/248-6966, 10am-5pm daily May-Sept., adult $5, senior $4, child $2).
Also known as Beachfest, the Canadian Open Sand Sculpting Competition (250/
951-2678, www.parksvillebeachfest.ca ) takes place along the green space behind the Com-
munity Park Beach during the middle weekend of July. Created by artists from across
Canada, the sand sculptures are nothing short of amazing. But one of the good things about