This Map of Central Island and the Sunshine Coast contains many links to our pages on Towns, Lakes, Rivers and Parks. Click on a live area of the map to link to the desired page.

Central Island
As you drive the Island Highway (Hwy 19), it's always a treat to look across the Strait of Georgia at landmarks on the mainland as spires of the Coast Mountains rise on the eastern horizon. One such scenic view is the profile of Howe Sound Crest as revealed when you look back towards the city of Vancouver from Parksville. The farther north you head towards Courtenay and Campbell river, however, the more the peaks and glaciers of Vancouver Island's ranges, principally the imposing Comox Glacier, Forbidden Plateau, and Mount Washington, rise in the west and vie for equal attention.

As the highway winds past well-kept farms, this is a serenely rural part of the journey. Flowers abound in the gardens that front many of the homes along the way. Small rivers such as the Little Qualicum and the Englishman, as well as the mightier ones such as the Puntledge and the Campbell, empty into the strait. From the highway you catch glimpses of quiet green forest settings on the banks that line each river's course. Come late summer, these streams teem with spawning salmon.

For much of the way between Courtenay and Campbell River the Island Highway runs beside Qualicum Bay, an area rich in seafood. Pullouts beside the road give easy access to the bay's sand and pebble beaches. At several places you can buy fresh seafood, brought to the docks daily from local waters.

The mountains and islands of central Vancouver Island have a mysterious sense about them, as if they're always trying to hide some secret. It's true: you do have to travel farther afield here in order to penetrate its cloud-laced valleys and coastal rain forest. Take your time as you meander through this laid-back region. Its rhythms are subtle, but with gentle probing they reveal themselves, showing greater complexity than first meets the eye.

Getting There
As the new Island Highway (Highway 19) takes shape, it has superseded the old Island highway (Highway 19A) as the way to move quickly between Nanaimo and Campbell River. Parksville, 37 km north of Nanaimo's Departure Bay ferry, lies just east of the new Island Highway. Although the route between Parksville and Courtenay is now complete, it will be some time yet before the 50 km Courtenay-to-Campbell River link is open. For those wishing to make time, the new four-lane route is a blessing. For those wishing to take their time, this will mean fewer cars tailgating along the scenic ocean drive.

Highways 19 and 19A link Parksville with southern Vancouver Island. Highway 4 links Parksville with Port Alberni, and with Tofino and Ucluelet on the west side of the island. Approaching from the north, Highway 19 links Campbell River with the northern half of Vancouver Island. Campbell River may also be reached by BC Ferries from Quathiaski Cove on Quadra Island. Highway 28 originates from Highway 19 just north of Campbell river, and leads west for 92 km to Gold River.

Sunshine Coast
The world's longest highway, the Pan-American (also named Highway 101 in parts of the US and Canada), stretches 15,020 km from Castro on Chile's south coast to Lund on BC's Sunshine Coast. The 139 km stretch of highway 101 between Langdale and Lund outperforms its size. Dozens of parks with biking, hiking and ski trails; canoe and kayak routes; beaches; coastal viewpoints are easily reached from the highway. Campsites are plentiful, and except in July and August and on long weekends from May to September, you won't have any difficulty in finding a place to pitch your tent or park your RV.

The Sunshine Coast lives up to its name. With an annual total of between 1,400 and 2,400 hours of sunshine - that's an average of 4 to 6 hours per day, depending on where the measurements are taken - bright days outnumber gloomy ones by a wide margin. The Sunshine Coast benefits from a rain shadow cast by the Vancouver Island Mountains, which catch most of the moisture coming in off the Pacific. In winter, clouds regroup in the Coast Mountains to the east of the Sunshine Coast and provide sufficient precipitation in the form of snow to coat trails for cross-country skiing. The remainder of the year it falls as rain, British Columbia's "liquid sunshine", which nourishes the temperate rain forest.

The Sunshine Coast is split into two portions on either side of the Jervis Inlet. Roughly speaking, the southern half between the ferry slips at Langdale and Earl's cove occupies the Sechelt Peninsula, while the northern half between the ferry slip at Saltery Bay and Lund sits on the Malaspina Peninsula. The coastline is deeply indented by the Pacific Ocean at Howe Sound, Jervis Inlet, and Desolation Sound. Jervis and Desolation are of such fjordic proportions that they attract a steady stream of marine traffic through the summer months, when brilliant sun shines on the countless cataracts that cascade down the sheer-sided slopes. Come moodier months, the clouds become ensnared in the snaggle-toothed peaks, making you feel just as pleased to stick to the sunnier coastline.

Getting There
The Sunshine Coast is accessible from the rest of the Lower Mainland only by boat or floatplane. Travellers aboard BC Ferries leave Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver for a 45-minute ride to Langdale on the Sechelt Peninsula. Highway 101 links Langdale with Earl's Cove, 80 km north. Another ferry crosses Jervis Inlet to Saltery Bay, a 60-minute ride. Highway 101 makes the second leg of this journey 59 km north to Lund. BC Ferries also connects Powell River on the Malaspina Peninsula with Comox on the east coast of central Vancouver Island.

A note about travel times: One of the most enjoyable aspects of visiting the northern sunshine coast in the off-season from September to May - particularly if you travel midweek - is being able to catch the ferry both from Horseshoe Bay to Langdale, and then from Earl's cove to Saltery Bay, without experiencing interminable lineups. You'll still have to allow six hours to reach the Malaspina Peninsula from Horseshoe Bay, but you can do it without hurrying, enjoying the travel time as much as the play time once you arrive.

If you can't travel midweek to avoid the lines, at least leave Vancouver early Friday afternoon or late Saturday morning and return early on Monday. Those travelling up the entire coast or returning via Vancouver Island should ask at the Horseshoe Bay terminal for special fares (which can save you up to 30%) for the circle tour (four ferry rides).