Port Alberni, Alberni Valley

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• Port Alberni sits at the head of Vancouver Island's longest inlet, and is actually a saltwater port - 40 km from the west coast! The Alberni Inlet is a long indentation that reaches so far inland from the Pacific Ocean that it comes to within 30 miles (50 km) of Parksville on the east coast of the island.

• Port Alberni has become known as the Gateway to the Pacific Rim - to the west is Ucluelet, Tofino and spectacular Long Beach. Port Alberni is also the starting point of a 102-km unpaved road to the village of Bamfield, and the start of the famous West Coast Trail.

• Head for Alberni Harbour Quay, at the foot of Argyle Street in Port Alberni, a friendly conglomeration of restaurants, galleries, tour operators, and shops to find an island souvenir for friends back home. In summer, the steam locomotive Two Spot departs from the station at the head of the quay for a tourist tour along the waterfront.

• View from Port Alberni down Alberni Inlet

  Step back in time and experience the heritage of British Columbia's forest industry at McLean Mill National Historic Site, a restored sawmill with houses, out buildings, a dam, and a mill pond. A troupe of professional actors breathes life into the very people who built this province. Through daily interpretive drama, songs, stories, and dance, the period characters show how it was for the pioneers of the logging industry. While the site is accessible to the public year round, mill demonstrations, theatre presentations, and tours operate from May to September.

• Visit the Alberni Valley Museum and view an exceptional display of local artifacts and original native crafts, such as the intricately woven cedar bark baskets of the Nuu-chah-nulth people.

• Throughout downtown there are some 18 murals celebrating valley life.

• Port Alberni was devastated by a tsunami on Good Friday, March 27, 1964. The tidal wave reached three metres above the high water mark and destroyed everything in its path - without loss of life! Anchorage in Alaska was rocked by one of the strongest earthquakes of the century, measuring 8.5 on the Richter scale and raising a section of the ocean floor by 15 metres. The resulting waves travelled from the Gulf of Alaska, reaching speeds in open water of up to 720 km/h, At midnight, 4-1/2 hours after the earthquake, the first of these waves entered the mouth of Alberni Inlet. As the waves entered the funnel-shaped inlet, the narrowing shoreline forced the waves to pile up. In 10 minutes the wave advanced 60 kilometres (360 km/h) toward Port Alberni. The second wave was the most damaging, cresting three metres above the high tide mark when it raced inland and into the homes of sleeping residents. Four less forceful waves stormed in between 3am and 6.45am, reaching levels about two metres above the high tide mark. When the sun broke through the mist the next morning, 58 properties had been destroyed, 350 buildings damaged, and 300 cars written off, but nobody was drowned or even seriously injured.

• The Robertson Creek Hatchery officially opened in 1960, when it was the largest artificial spawning channel in North America, and is now the most successful hatchery on Vancouver Island, producing nearly 10 million smolts annually; chinook salmon, coho salmon and steelhead trout. The hatchery is open 7 days a week from 08:00 to 16:00. Drive through Port Alberni on Highway 4 and turn right on Great Central Lake Road; follow the signs to the hatchery.

• Almost 160 species of birds have been found on the land that is part of the Somass Estuary project. Comprised of intertidal marshes, mudflats, forested islands and lowland meadows, the estuary lies at the head of the narrow 40-km-long Alberni inlet, creating one of the most protected winter feeding sites for waterfowl migrating and wintering along the west coast of Vancouver Island. Some of the winter residents include the once endangered, Trumpeter Swan, Canada Geese and many species of ducks. The Estuary teems with other wildlife including, Black Bears, Bald Eagles, Black-tailed Deer, Beavers, Mink, Harbour Seals, as well as 5 species of Salmon. This property was purchased by Ducks Unlimited, and a variety of other government and local organizations to protect it from development and to protect the fish and bird habitat. The Somass River is the second-largest river on Vancouver Island draining the land around Sproat Lake, Great Central Lake and reaching into Strathcona Park.

• Actively feeding spring salmon begin appearing in March as they follow the bountiful herring and anchovy spawning runs. Springs linger into May, when they are replaced by early-run tyee (also called chinook) salmon migrating in the Alberni Inlet. Sockeye salmon succeed the early-run tyee in late June and are joined by late-run tyee, the largest of all salmon, in July and August.

• One of the chief staging areas for fishing the Alberni Inlet is China Creek, 9 miles (14 km) south of Port Alberni on the road to Bamfield. You'll find a marina, a private campground, a boat launch, and quite possibly a salmon or two. China Creek is now designated as a provincial park. Primary fish runs in China Creek include cutthroat trout from January to March, and steelhead from October to December. China Creek offers a privately operated marina and campground.

• Golf: The Hollies Executive Golf Course is surrounded by the Beaufort Range and breathtaking views of Mount Arrowsmith. The 9-hole par 30 public course offers a fully stocked pro-shop, club rentals, snack shop and licensed lounge. Located 2 km past the Visitor Info Centre on Highway 4 entering Port Alberni. Open daily from dawn till dusk, with no tee times required. Golf Vacations on Vancouver Island.

• Port Alberni has a freshwater fishing side that would be the envy of any fishing town anywhere. Freshwater streams and lakes nearby are filled with steelhead, rainbow, and cutthroat trout.

• The Somas River runs through the heart of town. Bank casting is possible from a number of locations beside Hwy 4 and along Hector Road off Hwy 4 west of Port Alberni, including the privately operated Arrowvale Campground (30 vehicle/tent sites) on Hector Road.

• Just north of Port Alberni, the Stamp River would probably make every chinook and steelhead angler's Top Ten. Beginning in January and lasting through March, a winter run of steelhead occurs in the Stamp.

• In late summer, upwards of a half-million salmon make their way to the spawning grounds near the Stamp River Hatchery. Bank casting is permitted downstream from the hatchery. Follow Beaver Creek Road about 7.5 miles (12 km) north from Hwy 4 to Stamp River Provincial Park. Watch for pullouts beside the river along the way.

• Nearby Sproat Lake also has a good reputation for rainbow-trout angling, particularly June through September. Use the boat launch here to head out for some trolling or casting. April and May are good months for steelhead in Sproat Lake.

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