Biking the Greenway Loop-Jubilee Connector in Campbell River

Checking out the map of our route

by Keith and Heather Nicol

    I recently purchased a touring bike with the idea of exploring the roads and trails of the Comox Valley and beyond and to familiarize myself with some of the better routes I decided to head out with the Evergreen Cycling Group from Courtenay. The plan for May 20 was to check out the Greenway Loop in Campbell River and since it was all new to me I was keen to tag along. The weather forecast was not stellar (showers and wind ) and it wasn’t until 9:00 Monday morning that the decision was made to head out. Eleven of us congregated at the Discovery Foods parking lot in Willow Point and we set out to do the loop in a clockwise direction.

   This route is a mix of roads, walkways, and gravel trails and our group had a variety of bikes from hybrid and road bike and there were several electric bikes in the mix. The route was about 30 km in total and started uphill paralleling the Jubilee Parkway on a gravel trail. Some people opted for the road and we turned right at Dogwood Street which we followed until Hilchey Road. There we picked up a gravel trail through the Beaver Lodge Trust Lands which seemed to have lots of options in terms of other trails snaking off from the main trail. These side trails looked like they might be best handled by a mountain bike and I made a mental note to check these out on another day. From there we followed the Elk River Timber Road which fortunately had no traffic and it ended at Homewood Road and Maple St which brought us suddenly into downtown Campbell River.

The broad gravel trail of the Beaver Lodge Trust Lands made for easy cycling

    From there we worked our way along city streets to Tyee Spit and Dick Murphy Park which is adjacent to the estuary of the Campbell River. Here we enjoyed a fine view of Quadra Island and Discovery Passage.  Lastly we peddled back along the waterfront of Campbell River past stores and shops where a lunch spot was selected for fish and chips. After lunch the final 6 km were along either roads or the seawalk trail which parallels the ocean.  Overall this route has abit  of everything but I enjoyed cycling through the Beaver Lodge Trust Lands the most since it was quiet and tucked in the trees. For more information on the Evergreen Club and some of their wide ranging programmes see: http://evergreenclub.ca/    That web page also provides links to the cycling club and many others.   

At Tyee Spit looking out to Quadra Island and Discovery Channel