"Lupin Way" is well worth a visit in Comox

 by Keith and Heather Nicol

We are not sure who planted all the purple lupins along Lazo Road but they are in their prime now and well worth a visit. A paved path winds through the lupins paralleling Lazo Road and it can be easily walked or included in a bike ride for those people planning to cycle to see it. The paved path runs for several blocks but the key area for seeing the lupins is between Barber Ave and the Balmoral Rd intersection of Lazo Road. It would be nice to see more of this sort of landscaping along pathways like this in the Comox Valley since it is most appreciated. Check it out for you next walk or bike ride. These pictures were taken on May 13, 2026. See you on the trail. 

 

 

 

 

A mid May hike to the Comox Bluffs

 

By Keith and Heather Nicol

 The Comox Bluffs are along the north side of Comox Lake and there is an ecological reserve there to protect the unusual plant life that exists in this dry rocky sun drenched area. Trees like Arbutus and shrubs like hairy Manzanita are common along this area where as they are pretty rare in the rain forest environment of the Comox Valley. We usually go to this lookout in Mid April since many wildflowers are out at that time of year but this year we did not get there until several weeks later on May 11, 2026. There were still a few wildflowers out but clearly we had missed the main flower season this year but this views are still spectacular and it is well worth the trip. This year we had several friends with us including a couple from Canmore who are interested in all sorts of plant and flower life. 

                                                          The viewpoint overlooking Comox Lake is only a 20-25 minute walk from the trailhead
 

                This trail starts at a small parking lot at 49 38.477 N 125 06.256 W on the left hand side of the road a few hundred meters past the bridge the crosses the Puntledge River where it empties out of Comox Lake.  This route is called the Tomato Creek trail and it leads to a lookout which gives fine views of Comox Lake and is surrounded by the rare plants of the Ecological Reserve. It can be reached in just over 1.2 km (20-25minute walk one way ).

                 The first part of the trail winds through second growth forest and the trail is quite easy to follow
 

 A longer trail continues from the lookout and it traverses the entire Ecological Reserve and ends up at the main logging road which you can then follow back to your car. Be aware that logging trucks may be using this road and it can be dusty so you also can return back via the same trail rather that do a loop.  This longer route is about 5.5 km and takes about 2 hours. But the shorter hike to the lookout would suit people families with smaller children or others that want a shorter hike.  Just be aware that the trail is hard to find in some places and it does have forks which makes route finding abit challenging. The full route can be found on AllTrails and is under the name “Tony’s and Tomato Creek Loop”. If you use this app route finding should be easier. For more info see: https://www.alltrails.com/ 

 

  

 

                

               

Edge Cards are the way to go ski Whistler Blackcomb

 by Keith and Heather Nicol

Whistler Blackcomb is certainly one of the top ski resorts in North America and it just around the corner for people living in the Comox Valley. But the high lift ticket costs discourage many people from skiing there except if you get an Edge Card (available if you live in BC or Washington state). According to the Whistler Blackcomb web site you can pay anywhere from an eye watering $305 to $351 for a single day ticket bought at the ticket window . But my 2 day Edge Card bought in September 2025 for this season cost me around $115 per day of skiing. But of course to be a good value you need to use it and so with time ticking on this year's ski season son Michael and I headed to Whistler on April 23 for some great spring skiing. It had been 10 years since I had last skied Whistler and so I was looking forward to skiing its above tree line slopes- something that our local mountain Mount Washington doesn't have. Although conditions were firmer than we thought we might encounter, the snow softened nicely on 7th Heaven whose runs face south. Another bonus is that the views from the top of 7th Heaven are truly spectacular skiers were lined up taking videos and selfies after they off loaded from the chairlift. Over all we made 12 runs on a variety of lifts and can't wait to return to Blackcomb before May 18th- the final day of skiing for the 2025-2026 season to use up our second day of skiing. Check out the Edge Card and buy it early for the best prices if you want to ski Whistler Blackcomb and make it affordable. For more info see: https://www.whistlerblackcomb.com/

 

 

Checking out the Cherry Trees in Bloom in the Comox Valley

 

By Keith and Heather Nicol

Vancouver and Victoria are well known for their cherry trees in bloom in the spring and although the Comox Valley does not have the number of trees of these bigger centres they do have some locations worth checking out. One of our favourite streets to view every spring is Anna Place in Courtenay which not only has many well established trees in bloom lining the entire street but it also has a superb view of the Comox Glacier as you can see in the pictures below.  We either bike or walk along this street every spring when the blossoms at their peak.  If readers have other favourite cherry trees or favourite streets in the Comox Valley let us know where they are.   

 

Spring Wildflowers along the Tsolum River in Courtenay

By Keith and Heather Nicol

 On  Saturday March 28th  we decided to take a break from skiing at Mount Washington to check the fawn lilies and other wildflowers along the Tsolum River in Courtenay. The last couple of weeks have seen some mixed weather with rain and cool temperatures some days but more seasonable temperatures on other days so we weren't sure quite what to expect.

Fawn Lilies are delicate spring wildflowers

  There were carpets of fawn lilies in bloom along the trails which really brightened up our walk. These trails are located behind the Exhibition Grounds off of Headquarters Road in Courtenay and there is lots of parking. Take the main access trail (really a road) toward the river and we found many clusters of fawn lilies on the trails to the right near the river. You don’t need to walk very far before you see the flowers in bloom along the trail and under the trees.

                                                 Heather getting a picture of some fawn lilies along the trail

 We are not sure how long they will last but if like early spring flowers check out this area and don’t forget to bring your camera. If you are into pictures you might want to bring a tripod and something to kneel on since the carpets of flowers are best photographed low to the ground and the ground can be wet. Another bonus of our walk was seeing a couple of great horned owls. They were quite a distance from the trail and we only saw them since there were several photographers with long telephoto lenses taking photos of them as we passed by. There are other song birds in the area and in the past we have seen Pileated woodpeckers at this time of year. Binoculars might not go astray...see you on the trail. 

                                                     I think these blue flowers are Siberian squills 

Hiking the trails at Piper's Lagoon in Nanaimo

 by Keith and Heather Nicol

   After checking out Neck Point Park (see blog -  https://keithnicol.blogspot.com/2026/03/exploring-neck-point-park-in-nanaimo.html) earlier in the day (Friday, March 27) we headed down the road a short distance to explore another ocean front park - Piper's Lagoon. This was also enroute to our daughter's drop off point at BC Ferries terminal at Departure Bay and it proved to be another perfect place to do a short walk. 

 Piper's Lagoon Park offers quite a different coastal experience than Neck Point Park and the first section follows a tombolo (a sort of spit) which connects the mainland to a rocky island. This part of the trail has benches and is an easy to walk gravel trail. But once you reach the rocky island the trail becomes much more rugged and anyone with mobility issues will likely want to turn around at this point. But for everyone else the walk around the island is a fun short hike with lots of ocean views to islands and back toward Nanaimo. Looking south you can see the BC Ferries coming in or doing out just a short distance away in Departure Bay and looking north you can actually see back to Neck Point Park. One of the highlights at this time of year were the abundant spring flowers - especially the Fawn Lilies (see picture below) They carpeted the edge of the trail just about the whole way around . The island has many Garry Oak and arbutus trees which are likely due to the dry rocky nature of this location. Over all the trail was about 2 km and took less than 40 minutes. It is is another hidden gem in Nanaimo that we are not sure how we missed for all these years.Check it out.

 

If you go- We used google maps to navigate to the Park- simply put in Piper's Lagoon Park and it will lead to a large parking lot. We also used AllTrails to confirm the trail and it might be useful to download but is certainly not necessary since the trail around the island is easy to follow.  

 

Exploring Neck Point Park in Nanaimo

 by Keith and Heather Nicol

On Friday, March 27 we decided to check out some new trails in Nanaimo before dropping our daughter off at the ferry to return to Vancouver . Our first stop was Neck Point Park which seemed to have lots of easy trails criss crossing the park and some very scenic shoreline with beaches and even some off shore islands. What we didn't expect was the large number of sea lions that were there as well. We started out walking counter clockwise around the coastal trail from the medium size parking lot. The gravel trail is wide and well marked with several lookouts along the way. There are stair cases in places and as we made our way along the coast we could see several people on a rocky island. 

 The rocky island is connected to the mainland by a narrow gravel spit and once there we could see what all the interest was. All around the waters edge were sea lions either in the water or hauled out on the rocks. There were dozens of barking sea lions and was fascinating watching them diving into the water and "posing" on the rocks with their necks and heads stuck up in the air. After taking many pictures we decided to cut our hike along the coast short since we were getting hungry and headed back to the car to get our lunch. There are several picnic tables near the car park in the sun and they made a perfect spot for a picnic snack. We vowed to come back to check out the other trails in this scenic park on another visit and we wondered it had taken so long to explore this Nanaimo gem.  

 If you go- We used google maps and used the Morningside Drive access to get to the Neck Point Park parking lot. We happened to get the last spot since it was obvious that this is a popular park - particularly now with the sea lions close at hand. If you find the parking lot full - the nearby school might have parking spots available. We downloaded the full walking route on AllTrails which was useful. The tide was 3.4 meters which we were there.At higher tides the island with the sea lions is not accessible. 

Sea Lions getting ready for the annual herring run

 by Keith and Heather Nicol

After coming back from xc skiing on Tuesday March 3 we had heard on social media

that lots of sea lions had hauled out at the spit in Deep Bay just south of Fanny Bay opposite Denman Island. But despite the wind and rain we decided to check it out! Sea Lions usually haul out on log booms and other more protected locations like isolated islands but not this time. For some reason they selected the beach at the end of Deep Bay Drive. They are getting ready for the annual herring run so who knows how long they will be there but it is unusual for them to seek out this sort of location. If you go be sure to obey the rope fence and of course do not feed or interact with the sea lions. And leave your dog at home. Parking is limited and be mindful of local resident's driveways so you may have to park some distance away. It is well worth checking out.  

 

 

Temperature Inversions can make for sunny skies and great skiing at Mount Washington

 

 By Keith and Heather Nicol

    On Monday, March 2 we woke to fog in Courtenay and so I checked the web cams at Mount Washington and sure enough the slopes and trails were in sun. It also turned out to be warmer up in the mountains and than in the cold , clammy fog in town. So instead of a planned trip with our bike group we grabbed out skis and headed to the mountain to ski in great spring like conditions. So it pays to check out the web cams at Mount Washington Ski Resort since while it is cold and foggy in town it might be bright and sunny at Mount Washington.  This is caused by ridges of high pressure which trap cloud and fog close to the surface but as you go up in elevation you break through the cloud giving great conditions on the mountain. So if the fog and chilly temperatures are getting you down, head for the hills and you might find it is alot sunnier and maybe even warmer than in town.  And the views are spectacular with layers of cloud and fog below and snowy mountains rising above them (see photos below). Even if you don't ski or snowshoe you can sit on the deck at Raven Lodge or enjoy the sun at the Alpine Lodge . To check out the web cams at Mount Washington have a look at: https://www.mountwashington.ca/

 

 

 

We are biking now that XC Skiing is closed at Mount Washington

 by Keith and Heather Nicol

Usually during the winter we are skiing but with the poor snow winter at Mount Washington and the closure of the xc ski trails (hopefully temporarily) we have pivoted to biking. This winter has generally been quite dry which has made riding an option for those who want to get some exercise and explore the side roads and trails of this area. Winter riding means wearing more clothing, a thin hat under your helmet and maybe mitts but it is quite easy to stay warm as long as it is above 0 C. For those 55 years and older the Evergreen Bike Group has rides on Mondays and Wednesdays and is a great way to meet cyclists and explore the country roads and trails of the Comox Valley.  On Monday, Feb. 9 twenty cyclists headed from the Filberg Centre for a ride that featured both roads and easy trails enroute to scenic Point Holmes and Wireless Road.   The Evergreen group uses mix of electric , hybrid and road bikes.  The rides on Mondays tend to be longer and it gives us a chance to explore places like Denman and Quadra Island as well as rides in Campbell River and Parksville through the summer months.  On Wednesday morning the rides tend to be in the Comox Valley and run for 2 to 2.5 hours in length. If you are interested in finding out more about this cycling group contact Ernie at: ejkimball62@gmail.com  The pictures below are of the February 9 ride to Point Holmes and Wireless Road. 

 

Check out the Evergreen Bike Group if you like to cycle in the Comox Valley

 

by Keith and Heather Nicol

The Evergreen Bike Group has rides on Mondays and Wednesdays and is a great way to meet cyclists and explore the country roads and trails of the Comox Valley. On Wednesday, Dec 17 ten cyclists headed from  the Quality Foods in Comox for a ride that featured both roads and easy trails enroute to scenic Point Holmes.  The Evergreen group is open to cyclists over 55 years of age and the group uses mix of electric , hybrid and road bikes.  The rides on Mondays tend to be longer and it gives us a chance to explore places like Denman and Quadra Island as well as rides in Campbell River and Parksville through the summer months.  On Wednesday morning the rides tend to be in the Comox Valley and run for 2 to 2.5 hours in length. If you are interested in finding out more about this cycling group contact Ernie at: ejkimball62@gmail.com  The pictures below are of the Dec 17 ride to Point Holmes. 

                                                             

                                                                     

Check out the Winter Lights display at the Kingfisher Resort and Spa this holiday season

 by Keith and Heather Nicol     

The Kingfisher Oceanside Resort and Spa will be presenting its winter lights display in the Serenity Gardens again this year and it is better than ever.  The winter lights display opened in November and is planned to  run until sometime in February , 2026. The display features thousands of lights which form illuminated grasses, lighting up trees, bushes and glistening flowers and our favourite – the butterflies with moving wings.   Interspersed around the light display are many intimate seating arrangements in front of gas fireplaces so you can comfortably sit out under the lights and stars.  The display is stunning and shouldn’t be missed!! 

                                      The Winter Lights at the Kingfisher Resort are very impressive again this year 

So drop into the Ocean 7 restaurant, have a bite to eat and then enjoy a walk through the gardens. Or you can time your Pacific Mist Spa appointment so that you can see the lights after the sun goes down. Lastly if you feel like a staycation you can book yourself in for night and have the lights and garden at your doorstep. Either way it brighten your day and put a smile on your face. For more information and to book a dining reservation, spa appointment or accommodation see:  https://www.kingfisherspa.com/  Congrats to the Kingfisher for putting so much effort into this holiday lighting presentation.

                                    

  

 

New Books to Check out for the Outdoor Enthusiast on your Christmas List

 by Keith and Heather Nicol

    Books are always a welcome Christmas gift and 2 that might appeal to readers of this blog are from Ronsdale Press. The first book was  published in April, 2025 and is called The Final Spire: Mystery Mountain Mania in the 1930's by Trevor Hughes. This book looks at the various attempts to climb the highest point in BC - Mount Waddington (initially called Mystery Mountain!). It weaves the story beginning when long time explorers Don and Phyllis Munday first glimpsed Mystery Mountain from of all places Mt Arrowsmith on Vancouver Island! The book examines various attempts to climb the mountain from various approaches - first from the ocean by the Mundays and then by others approaching from the East and includes a trip by 4 climbers from the flat lands of Manitoba. Who knew that the Alpine Club of Canada got started in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1906 and featured a woman as its first president. For those wanting to see what the climbers of almost 100 years ago had to deal with to explore BC's highest summit then this book is a must read. 

 

   Another book from Ronsdale Press that has just been reissued is Wilderness Mother: A Memoir of 13 years off the Grid. It was just revised and update and published on October 6, 2025.  The book looks at a couple who raised their children in a cabin 160 km from the nearest paved road in the isolated Ningunsaw Valley in Northwestern BC. They lived there for 13 years- constructing their home and raising food in their garden. They even built a small dam to generate their own electricity! For anyone wanting to know what it is like to raise children in such a remote location and feel the seasons turn in a place of natural beauty then check out this classic wilderness book.  The Ningunsaw Valley is now an ecological reserve and provincial park. Both of these books are available either online from Ronsdale Press or at your nearest bookstore. 

Lots of Christmas Events happening in the Comox Valley

 by Keith and Heather Nicol

The Christmas season will soon be here and there are already many events going on celebrating the festive season. On Friday November 21 we took in the Comox Winter Market and tree lighting and today (Saturday) we hope to get to the Filberg Lodge Christmas kick off and Winter Market. It is a rain or shine event and all funds raised go maintaining the Lodge and its grounds. Also the lights at the Kingfisher Resort and Spa are now out and we always like seeing those (see picture below). Of course there are many other Christmas events happening in the Comox Valley and we regularly google what events are upcoming to get an idea of what to take in. 

 Also there is a new book out that people might want to check out which is perfectly themed for the season- It is called A Festive Season on Vancouver Island by Bill Arnott and covers a variety of Christmas themed events happening up and down the Island. The book has more than 20 vignettes which capture the natural beauty and cultural history of the Island at this festive time of year. It is published by Rocky Mountain Books and is available online or at your favourite book store.    

 Juno award winning Helen Austin plays at the Comox Winter Market on Nov 21,2025 

Book ideas for hikers on your Christmas list

 by Keith and Heather Nicol

    Books are always welcome Christmas presents and here are a couple that might be of interest for hikers on your list. Both books are published by Rocky Mountain Books. Seaside Walks on Vancouver Island by Theo Dombrowki has recently been revised and has 39 hikes for you to check out. The majority are in the southern half of Vancouver Island with only 2 listed north of Campbell River. There are lots of colour photos, sketch maps and information about each hike includes key information like distance, difficulty, elevation change and when to go. I like the way the author also adds in some additional information about difficulty by indicating the nature of the trail (ie type of surface) and if there are likely areas that might be muddy or slippery. Most hikes are fairly short (less than 5 km) but some like the Pachena Point Lighthouse shows a distance of 20 km return. We can't wait to check out some of the hikes on our next trips to Victoria and Pacific Rim Park. 

The Pub to Pub Trail is one of our favourite hikes and just one of the hikes featured in Seaside Walks 

Also of interest to hikers, especially those with kids in tow, is Family Walks and Hikes of Vancouver Island also by Theo Dombrowski.  There are 2 volumes and I recently checked out the book dealing with hikes -Nanaimo and North to Strathcona Park- which has also been revised this year. It lists 49 family friendly hikes and it also has many colour photos and sketch maps for each hike. In addition, there is information on distance, elevation gain, difficulty, best hiking season and also a section showing why children might like it. Since the hikes are geared for families most are quite short - less than 5 kilometers which might make ideal for many older people as well. These books will give the interested hiker many hours of reading and are ideal for helping to plan hiking options in various parts of Vancouver Island. The books measure 8.5 by 5.5 inches (21.5 by 14 cm) so easily fit in a pack. Pick them up either on line or at your nearest bookstore. See you on the trail!

                Another local favourite of ours is the Royston Seaside Trail featured in Family Walks

 

 

 

 

  

Fall Colours worth seeing at Millard Creek in Courtenay, B.C.

By Keith and Heather Nicol

      Fall colours are rapidly disappearing due to the windy conditions of late but on Monday, Nov 3 we took advantage of some changeable weather to get in a photogenic hike at Millard Creek. Millard Creek is located in the southern part of Courtenay just off of Highway 19A. We parked at Millard Road where there is a parking lot and several  benches have been built which look out to the Comox Estuary. The coordinates of the parking lot are: 49 39.916 N, 124 58.284 W. The trail starts near the parking lot and a real bonus of this trail is that it has a small brochure with 10 interpretative signs which cover various topics related to salmon, the old railway that traversed this area as well as explaining aspects of the vegetation. Look for the brochures in a plastic waterproof holder at near the start of the trail.

         

                                                        Heather on the bridge over Millard Creek

     There are numerous big leaf maple in the area and they have showered down lots of leaves along the trail but there are still leaves left on the trees at this point in time. There is a bridge which fords Millard Creek but we saw no signs of salmon swimming upstream on our visit. Coho use this waterway and they might come later perhaps with more fall rains. We saw many people on the trail including a number of families and this trail is also used by cyclists. Toward the end, the “wilderness” aspect of the trail ends since a new apartment and several condo developments have been built along the route. We walked as far as 31^st Street which would offer another starting point for the walk but it only has 4 parking places so can fill up quickly. The walk to this point is almost 1 km so the return trip can be done in 30 -45 minutes. Thanks to the Millard-Piercy Watershed Stewards and the Rotary Club for putting together the brochure.

Marker 4 here shows where an old rail line passed through this area

 

Checking out the black bears along the Quinsam River near Campbell River

by Keith and Heather Nicol

    Fall is a spectacular time of year in the Comox Valley and on Vancouver Island in general since the trees are changing colour and the salmon return to the rivers. We have done a previous blog this year about swimming with pink salmon in the Puntledge River in Courtenay and here is a link to that blog-  https://keithnicol.blogspot.com/2025/08/swimming-with-salmon-in-puntledge-river.html.   As the fall progresses different salmon begin to ascend the rivers and we recently had a chance to see bears scouring the river for salmon along the Quinsam River near Campbell River. On this occasion we were lucky since we saw 6 bears in the space of 90 minutes but on a previous visit this fall we saw no bears in the same length of time so this is very much a hit and miss situation. But if you want to try your luck here is how to get to the area where we saw numerous bears. 

 

Bears were certainly getting their fill of salmon

The viewing area is virtually at the Quinsam River Fish Hatchery and you can view a salmon interpretative centre at the hatchery as well. There are several trails in the area and we opted to first take the trail (actually a road) above the hatchery for several hundred meters and then after seeing several bears in that area we headed to trails below the hatchery. The bears tend to walk along the river edge occasionally grabbing a salmon and then walking off into the woods.  Below the hatchery you may encounter many fishermen and we also saw a couple more bears in this area. The bears don't seem to be bothered by the fishermen or photographers but you will want to follow basic bear safety. Read the signs about how to be safe around bears that are posted at the hatchery and carrying bear spray is not a bad idea. These trails are well established and there are large parking lots at the main trail heads. Note that the hatchery road opens at 8:00 am and closes at 3:30 pm so plan your trip accordingly. See you on the trail. 

                             

                                          A fisherman catching a fish while a bear cruises the other side of the river 

Fall is a good time to visit the Elk Falls suspension bridge near Campbell River

 

by Keith and Heather Nicol  

With the good fall weather holding decided to check out Elk Falls near Campbell River and the suspension bridge that has been built there in 2015.  The suspension bridge spans Campbell River in Elk Falls Provincial Park and offers stellar views of the river as it plunges 25 meters over a picturesque waterfall.  The suspension bridge opened in mid May, 2015 and  attracts lots of people during the summer but we wanted to check out it out in the autumn with the fall colours. Also according to the posted information BC Hydro is releasing more from Sept 17 to Nov 13 on Wednesdays and Thursdays   so now might be a good chance to see the falls with extra water if you can go on those days. The pictures below were taken on Thursday, October 16.                                                                         Be sure to check out the side trail to get this lookout of the falls   To get to Elks Falls Provincial Park drive through Campbell River and take the road toward Gold River. Simply follow the signs to the turnoff to the Elk Falls trails and suspension bridge. The bridge is roughly 1 km trail from the parking lot and the wide gravel trail is suited to just about all walkers. We also walked an 800 meter side trail to get down to the river and another lookout which we recommend.                                 On Oct 16 there were a steady stream of visitors to the Suspension Bridge   There are also other hiking trails in the area but we liked the 800 meter Old Growth Loop which passes by some huge trees that have never been logged. These trees also managed to avoid a devastating fire in 1938 which burned much of the timber in the surrounding area. Evidently 1938 was the driest summer in 64 years and the forest was tinder dry. The fire was evidently set off by a logger who accidently dropped a pick on a rock and a spark set off the dry grass near his feet.  For more information on the park see: http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/parkpgs/elk_falls/

Checking out the Fall Colours in Paradise Meadows – Strathcona Prov.Park

 

By Keith and Heather Nicol

We love seeing fall colours unfold in different areas of the Comox Valley. But recently we decided to check out the fall colours in Paradise Meadows in Strathcona Provincial Park. Here the main colours aare created by the blueberry bushes turning a bright red in the open boggy areas. The Comox Valley is blessed with being able to get up into the mountains in just 30 minutes and the Paradise Meadows area can even be accessed by wheelchairs. We walked around the 4 km Paradise Meadows loop which is mostly boardwalk but recommend that people using a wheelchair or children’s stroller stick to the 2 km loop since the longer loop has some rooty wet areas. We parked in the Nordic Centre parking lot at Raven Lodge which is part of Mt Washington Alpine Resort but there is also a parking area at the smaller Strathcona Park Wilderness Centre. We were amazed at how full the parking lot was given that it was mid week but we guess everyone had the same idea we had. Just a note of caution- we waited until around noon to travel to Paradise Meadows yet still in the shady areas the board walk was icy from the frost over night so use caution if especially if you get up there early before the temperature warms up. Check this out this fall to see bright reds and golden colours of fall. See you on the trail.