Parksville, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada

Bordered by ocean and sheltered by mountains, Parksville boasts one of the finest climates in Canada, and is favoured as one of the most popular summer family vacations destinations of Vancouver Island and British Columbia. Mild winters allow the leisurely exploration of tidal sand flats, coastal wildlife viewing, and invigorating golf year-round. Parksville was established in 1910, when the E & N Railroad first stopped at McBride Junction, as it was then known. The town was named in honour of Nelson Parks, its first settler and first postmaster.

Highway 19 (Island Highway) runs besides the open water of the Strait of Georgia on the east coast of Vancouver Island, from Parksville in the south, through the Comox Valley, and north to Campbell River and Port Hardy. 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. Six BC provincial parks are located within thirty minutes drive from Parksville, providing every recreational activity imaginable.

Fishing and Forestry are the traditional mainstays of the local economy, although they have both been surpassed by tourism during the last decade. The waterfront strip between Parksville and Qualicum Beach to the north is an almost continuous strip of resort development and tourism facilities.

Like its close neighbour Qualicum Beach, Parksville is an enchanting seaside village that will capture your heart. Discover for yourself why so many people return again and again to this central Vancouver Island getaway. The central location of Parksville makes this oceanside playground a convenient base from which to enjoy all your vacation activities on Vancouver Island.

Population: 11,277

Location: Parksville is located in Oceanside on the sheltered eastern shore of Vancouver Island, 7.5 miles (12 km) south of Qualicum Beach, just 37 km (23 miles) north of Nanaimo on Highway 19, and 150 km (92 miles) north of Victoria.

The Oceanside Route (Hwy 19A), is an especially scenic section of the Island Highway system that runs parallel to the Inland Island Highway (Hwy 19). The Oceanside Route follows the coastline from the Nanoose Bay area all the way to Campbell River. Enjoy the sights of Parksville and Qualicum Beach and the Lighthouse Country communities of Qualicum Bay, Bowser and Deep Bay. Continue through the charming communities of Fanny Bay, Buckley Bay, and Union Bay, and continue north through Merville, Black Creek, and Oyster River to Campbell River. Parks, beaches, golf courses, and dozens of attractions are located along the Oceanside Route, making it one of the island's most popular driving tours.

View maps of the area:
Map of Parksville and Qualicum Beach
Map of Parksville and Powell River
Map of Central Vancouver Island
Map of South Vancouver Island

Heritage buildings from the Parksville area can be viewed at Craig Heritage Park, Museum & Archives. Among them are the French Creek Post Office (1886), the Duncan McMillan log house (1885), and the Knox Heritage Church (1912). The Museum contains exhibits related to the lives and activities of early settlers, residents, organizations and businesses in Parksville, Errington, Coombs, Hilliers, French Creek and Nanoose Bay. The park is located at the junction of Highway 19A and Franklin Gull Road, adjacent to the Tourist Information Centre.

The Parksville Community Park is located on Corfield Road in scenic Parksville Bay, offering a variety of activities, including the Lion's Venture Land playground, a must for younger members of the family to visit. Tennis courts, ball parks, a lacrosse box, skateboard and BMX park, covered picnic area, large field for kite flying, arena and a Community Hall are also located in the park. The beach itself offers a beautiful view, as well as swimming and sandcastle building.

Paradise Fun Park provides a profusion of colour from over 5,000 flowers, cascading waterfalls, fountains, and finely crafted fantasy scenes. Two miniature golf courses feature a full rigged pirate galleon, treasure cave, 45-foot old woman's shoe, watermill, lighthouse, Victorian Mansion, and village church.

St. Anne's Anglican Church is one of the oldest churches on Vancouver Island, built in 1894 by 45 farmers who used oxen to haul the logs to the site. To find the church, turn left off the Island Highway onto Pym Road, right onto Humphrey Road, and right onto Church Road.

Arts and Crafts abound in the area, which is home to painters, weavers, sculptors, carvers, glass blowers, and other artisans who welcome visitors to their studios. The Station Gallery at the Parksville Train Station features the work of the Arrowsmith Potters Guild, and the People's Gallery in downtown Parksville is home to exhibits presented by the Oceanside Community Arts Council. Pick up a brochure and map of the local galleries that are open to the public for tours and visits, available from the Tourist Information Centre.

The annual Brant Wildlife Festival celebrates the migration of up to 20,000 Black Brant geese from California and Mexico to their breeding grounds in Alaska. The beaches around Parksville and neighbouring Qualicum Beach have been the site of an annual migration of tens of thousands of brant geese since well before the settlement of the towns. With the establishment of the Brant Goose Feeding Area by the Mid Island Wildlife Watch Society, the arrival of the geese triggers annual festivities in mid April. By then, thousands of the black-hued, duck-size sea geese touch down on the beaches and marshlands surrounding Parksville and Qualicum to rest and feed on the algae, eel grasses, seaweeds, and especially herring roe. Most of the migrating birds are travelling to the Yukon-Kuskokwim delta of western Alaska, arriving at their Arctic breeding grounds in early May. Guided tours of the feeding areas take visitors to special viewing locations, or you can simply walk out on the beach with a pair of binoculars and stalk them (and the more than 200 other bird species passing through at the same time).

Sandcastle Competition on a Parksville Beach

Beaches: If you like the beach, you'll love Parksville. With its long sandy beaches and eastern exposure, Parksville is an ideal spot to spend a few days, or the whole summer, basking in the sun and swimming in warm waters. Parksville Community Park offers great lengths of public beach on the town shoreline. Pick a location that appeals to you, park in one of the many access points, and stroll out onto the hard-packed sand. When the tide goes out in Parksville, it leaves hundreds of metres of firm golden sand, internationally acclaimed as the best building material for sandcastles!

The Parksville Beach Festival in August is the venue for the Canadian Open Sand Sculpting Competition, which draws tens of thousands of annual visitors to view a jaw-dropping array of alternately whimsical, complicated and flat-out stunning creations. The sculptures are created in early August and remain standing until the end of August.

The shores of Rhododendron Lake are lined with a stunning profusion of pink rhododendrons every spring, in late May or early June. Growing wild, these beautiful Pacific Rhododendrons (Rhododendron macrophyllum) are believed by botanists to belong to a strain that survived the last Ice Age. Located on forest land, access to Rhododendron Lake and the 2-hectare (5-acre) grove is by private logging road. Check for signs posted at the entrance to Northwest Bay Logging Division, approximately 7.2 km south of Parksville.

Windsurfers and Kayakers are enticed by accessible shorelines and good weather. Local outfitters will provide you with everything you need, including lessons. The federal dock at French Creek, on Hwy 19 north of Parksville, is sheltered by a sturdy breakwater, a hint that conditions do get breezy here on occasion, most notably in winter months, when winds blow from the southeast. When conditions are favourable, this is a good place to launch your kayak.

Golf: Golfers can tee off on any of the 6 exceptional and scenic golf courses in the Parksville area. Located in the Parksville area are the Morningstar Golf Club and the Fairwinds Golf and Country Club in nearby Nanoose Bay. Kids and adults love the two fun-filled 18-hole mini-golf courses located near the beach. Golf Vacations on Vancouver Island.

Boat Launch sites in the area are located at Beachcomber Marina and Schooner Cove Resort in Nanoose Bay, and a public boat launch is provided at French Creek Marina, on the Island Highway between Parksville and Qualicum Beach.

Mountain Biking: Mountain bike enthusiasts enjoy the challenging trails at the Hammerfest Race Course, which mixes fast logging roads with narrow, technical singletrack 6.7 miles (11.2 km). Parksville is the site of one of the major mountain bike competitions on Vancouver Island, the annual Hammerfest mountain bike race, held at Englishman River Falls Provincial Park each May. In addition to the difficult race course, the Arrowsmith Mountain Bike Club has created the Top Bridge Mountain Bike Park on the Englishman River, where more moderate adventuring awaits. To find the park, turn west off Highway 14 at the weigh scales at Kaye Road, then turn onto Chattell Road and follow it to its end, where the fun begins.

Parksville Skateboard Park offers a challenge for skateboarders, BMX riders, and in-line skaters. Ranked among the best on Vancouver Island, the skate park is located on the waterfront behind the arena, just to the south of the public beach.