VICTORIA AND VANCOUVER ISLAND - British Columbia: Including the Alaska Highway - page 260

Occupying one of Courtenay's original residences, Locals (1760 Riverside Ln., 250/
338-5406, lunch and dinner daily, $19-34) sits among the landscaped gardens of a much
more modern Old House Village Hotel. The menu is filled with tempting yet well-priced
Pacific Northwest choices, with produce and game sourced from local producers where pos-
sible. You could start with wild mushroom risotto, then move on to pan-seared halibut as a
main.
Information
Vancouver Island Visitor Centre (3607 Small Rd., 855/400-2882,
www.discovercomoxvalley.com , 9am-7pm daily in summer, 9am-4pm daily the rest of the
year) is an architecturally striking building on the east side of Highway 19 (Inland Island
Highway) at Exit 117 (Cumberland Road). In addition to the usual information services, the
center has an interesting array of interpretive displays that tell the story of the Comox Val-
ley, as well as free wireless Internet, a playground, and a picnic area.
CUMBERLAND
This historic town of 3,000 lies on the west side of Highway 19 (Inland Island Highway)
seven kilometers (4.3 miles) southwest of downtown Courtenay. Its quiet streets are lined
with mining-era cottages, with the main street leading past numerous commercial buildings.
Coal was first discovered in the Comox Valley in 1869, and by the mid-1880s extraction of
the most productive seam was going ahead under the direction of coal baron Robert Dun-
smuir.
Sights and Recreation
Cumberland Museum (2680 Dunsmuir St., 250/336-2445, 9am-5pm daily July-Aug.,
10am-5pm Tues.-Sat. Sept.-June, $3) is a small but excellent facility with interesting his-
torical photos. On the museum grounds is a re-created mine shaft open to the public.
The ocean beaches in this region are not as inviting as those further south around Parks-
ville and Qualicum Beach, so many locals head out to glacier-fed Comox Lake, three kilo-
meters (1.9 miles) west of Cumberland along Comox Lake Road. The swimming area is
protected from motorized watercraft by a boom of large logs, and the beach has a conces-
sion and kayak and SUP rentals.
Practicalities
Instead of motels, Comox has one of Vancouver Island's best backpacker lodges, Riding
Fool Hostel (2705 Dunsmuir St., 250/336-8250, www.ridingfool.com , dorm $25, $60 s or