By Keith and Heather Nicol
On October 6 we decided that it was time to do one of our favourite hikes - the so called “Pub to Pub” trail which starts along the Oyster River, roughly half way between Courtenay and Campbell River on Vancouver Island. For some reason we hadn’t done the walk this year and with the nice weather we thought this was a good day to do it. We love this trail since it is a scenic trail with both forest/river and ocean/beach views. Since the trail is just 3.5 km (1 way) it is suited to a variety of options. If you have young children or walkers that would find 7 km too long a hike, you could park a car at each end and just make the 1 way trip.
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Heather walks through the leaf covered trail enroute to the shoreline
To get there from Courtenay drive north on Highway 19A and keep an eye out for the Oyster River bridge since you want to turn right on the next road (Glenmore Road). Then travel one roughly 1 block and then turn left on Regent and look for a parking lot with a sign Oyster River Nature Park. The parking lot coordinates are 49. 52.232 N and 125 07.616 W. Then follow the Ferguson Trail which is well signed and easy to walk on. After about 1 km you reach the ocean and from there you follow the Jack Hames Trail to Salmon Point.
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Lunch spot overlooking the Salish Sea
The trail winds along the upper part of the beach and through the trees giving fine views of Georgia Strait and mountains beyond. There are even some picnic tables along the way for anyone wanting a scenic place to have lunch. There is also tons of driftwood which offers good seating as well and we found a nice spot along the shore to have lunch. After about 1 hour (not including lunch) we came out to Salmon Point Resort RV Park and the trail’s end. We fully recommend this trail since it offers scenic ocean views and can be walked by a wide variety of people. Check it out on your next trip to this area.
Walking along the coastal trail
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