By Keith and Heather Nicol
We don't get to Quadra Island very often even though it is just around the corner from the Comox Valley. So with a couple of friends we recently decided to check out some of the short hiking trails and do some exploring by car. We caught the 10 am crossing and were driving toward the Mudge Point lighthouse by 10:30 after a quick stop for coffee in Quathiaski Cove. We had hoped to do a coastal trail in the area but one of the people we ran into at the RV Park thought that it was not in great shape so we opted to do the Haskin Farm trail which friends had recommended to us. It features a nice walk though the tall trees and has an open area which we assume used to be the farmstead and then the trail gets steeper and descends to the ocean. Here you get scenic views of various islands and the mountains of the BC mainland. Our GPS showed a distance of about 3.5 km return and it took us about 1 hour to whole trip.
The Rebecca Spit Trail is a Don't Miss Hike!
By this time we were getting hungry so found a delightful picnic spot at Rebecca Spit overlooking Hariot Bay and then did a gem of a hike to the end of the spit. The trail is a suited to all ages since it is flat and very picturesque. It is just 2 km return and time taken will be determined how many pictures you take or how long you sit on the beach and enjoy the view. Our final hike for the day was one that headed inland and was much rougher than the first two with lots of roots and rocks with an elevation gain of about 100 m. The Hariot Ridge trail (1 km one way) provides glimpses of the ocean back toward Campbell River but we thought it would give better views to the East. Perhaps trees have grown up but next time we want to try a hike that gives good vistas back toward Rebecca Spit. All of these trails plus many more are listed on the Quadra Island map that we picked up on the ferry. Be sure to get one because it lists many other attractions on Quadra Island and even has the ferry schedule on it. We had time for quick snack at Quathiaski Cove before we boarded the 4:00 pm ferry which put us back in the Comox Valley in time for dinner. We had just scratched the surface of hikes to do on Quadra since the map we used listed over dozen other options. See you on the trail.
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