Checking out the fall colours along the Union Bay Coastal Trail

By Keith and Heather Nicol

On our quest to check out the fall colours in the Comox Valley we wanted to revisit the Union Bay coastal trail which we discovered earlier in the summer. On Thursday, October 26 we headed south of Courtenay to Union Bay along highway 19A. To access the trail there is small parking lot on the ocean side of the road just north of the community of Union Bay.  For those handy with a GPS the coordinates for the parking lot are: 49 35.250 N and 124 53.210 W. There are prominent signs indicating private property so enter at your own risk. There is more information about the history of the site in our original post (http://keithnicol.blogspot.ca/2017/07/exploring-union-bay-coastal-trail.html). Heather walking past some of the large cottonwood trees      We were not disappointed with the colours provided by tall cottonwood trees and we really like the open landscape that has resulted from the former coal washing site. There are numerous trails but we followed the main one that heads along the shore and then back along “Washer” or Hart Creek. Allow about 45 – 60 minutes to do the mostly level 2.4 km walk depending on how long you linger along the way. Don’t get too close to edge of the “cliffs” which are actively eroding and respect the signs that are posted.  Heather photographing Tree Island with Denman Island on the right