Coastal Walking trails in the Comox Valley- Pt Holmes to Kye Bay

by Keith and Heather Nicol

Heather walking along the beach at Pt Holmes at low tide

       There are a number of walking trails which hug the shoreline in the Comox Valley and one that we have seen many people on but never walked ourselves until today is the route between Pt Holmes and Kye Bay. For those that read this blog regularly you will know that this is our “go to” place to sea kayak since there is a boat launch and some paddling options depending on the weather and your interest. We often paddle along the Lazo Cliffs to Kye Bay so have seen many people walking the coastline as we paddle. The walk is generally do able by a wide range of people since the walking surface is generally quite good—from sandy beach to smallish cobbles. Also the distance is just 2 km (one way) so that makes it appealing for a variety of walkers as well. We parked just past the boat launch at Pt Holmes and found a short trail to the beach near our car (coordinates 49 41.576 N , 124 52.014 W). After about 600 meters we came to a nice sandy beach and you could make this your destination if that is what you are after (coordinates 49 41.762 N , 124 51.796 W). On this day we were the only people on this stretch of beach so if you want a beach that is way from the crowds check this out. 

The backshore is composed of steep sliffs

 We carried on walking on the nice firm sand and after 1.3 km the shoreline becomes abit rougher and changes direction along the steep cliffs. This change of direction was welcome since we were hiking this route on a warm afternoon and  so this portion was now in the shade which made for cooler walking conditions. If you want to walk the whole route in the sun, aim to do this trail in the morning. After about 2 km the trail arrives at a yellow house and you can walk around the tangle of logs and rip rap to Longview Road. From here you can either reverse your route and return to your car. If you have 2 cars you can park one here at a small parking lot at the end of Longview Road ( 49 42.441 N, 124 51.790 W).  This route has fine views of Denman and Hornby Island as well as toward Powell River across Georgia Strait with the mountains of the coast range beyond.  The back shore is mostly steep cliffs. Allow about 40-50 minutes to make this walk ( 1 way).  The tide was about 2.4 meters at the time we did this walk but only on very high tides with strong SE winds would tides likely become an issue. 

The views of ocean and mountains are impressive