The “Pub to Pub” trail makes a great lunch time walk

by Keith and Heather Nicol

We always love doing the so called “Pub to Pub” trail which is roughly half way between Campbell River and Courtenay since is a scenic trail with both river and ocean/beach views. We hadn’t done the trail for a few months since last fall and so with a sunny forecast we decided to walk on Friday, May 14 with some xc ski buddies from Mt Washington who had not done the trail before.  The trail gets its name from the fact that 2 pubs were located close to the start and end point of the trail but now these “pubs” are no longer there. 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. You can see from the photo below that the trail surface is well maintained and is generally flat so is walkable for just about all ages.

 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.  There is parking for several cars but this area is popular so we try to go mid week to be able to get a spot. There are a few forks in the trail but bear to the left and you should be fine.  After about 1 km you reach the ocean and from there you follow the Jack Hames Trail to Salmon Point. You can walk the trail in either direction although we tend to walk it south to north most of the time. 

 From there 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 but our group had our picnic on some logs overlooking the ocean. You can also walk the high tide line as you can see in the above photo . After about 1 1/2 hour (including time for lunch) we came out to road next to the Salmon Point 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.