The Sunshine Coast, named for its 2,400 hours of annual sunshine, is north-west of Vancouver, a 40 minute ferry ride from Horseshoe Bay in the North Shore. It is a 180 km (110mi) stretch of rainforest, seashore and mountains. This is the secret destination of many individuals, where the island life is found on the mainland. Here is a slower pace of life, where those who appreciate the beauty of outstanding marine parks and marshland bird sanctuaries, old growth forest and alpine peaks will find this the perfect destination.

Regions

Cities

  • Powell River - largest town in the region
  • Gibsons setting of the classic TV show The Beachcombers.
  • Lund - outdoor opportunities at the end of the road
  • Sechelt

Other destinations

  • Egmont - A tiny fishing village on the northern tip of the Sunshine Coast peninsula.

Culture and History

The southern portion of the sunshine coast is almost a bedroom community of Vancouver. There are a number of people who commute to Vancouver on a regular basis, in this area.

Talk

Travel to Sunshine Coast (British Columbia) - Visa Requirements

Access from Vancouver to Sunshine Coast is primarily by BC Ferries [1]. The ferry out of Horseshoe Bay leaves every 2 hours and it is a 40 minute ferry ride to Langdale on the Sunshine Coast (Sechelt Peninsula). First ferry leaves Horseshoe Bay at 7:20 AM and the last ferry leaves Langdale at 8:20 PM. Cost is $9.60/$4.80 (adult/child) in peak season; cars are $34. The fare to Langdale is return, so you do not have to pay to leave.

Malaspina Coach Lines [2] operates a twice daily bus service from Vancouver to Powell River that includes stops in all the major communities of the Sunshine Coast.

Tours and Getting around Sunshine Coast (British Columbia)

The automobile is the easiest way of getting around the Sunshine Coast. Car rentals are available at a number of locations on the Sunshine Coast, but it is generally considerably cheaper in Vancouver.

Sunshine Coast (British Columbia) tourist attractions and sightseeing

  • Skookumchuk Narrows Provincial Park is the site of some of the strongest and most spectacular currents in western North America. These narrows occurs where the water enters into the Sechelt Inlet. There can be as much as a 2m difference in sea level between Sechelt Inlet and the Jervis inlet. The water can be moving at speeds of up to 16 knots and creates standing waves up to 1.5m and whirlpools. Access to the best place to view the narrows is about a 1.5 hour hike from the parking lot. This is located in the fishing village of Egmont.

  • Princess Louisa Inlet. One of B.C.'s most beautiful natural locations. The wide opening of Jervis Inlet narrows to become a forty-mile long fjord ending in Princess Louisa Inlet. Accessible only by boat. On the journey up, your boat will navigate past dozens of waterfalls that trickle down from steep, craggy granite bluffs that loom over you on both sides. Once past the geological constriction called Malibu Rapids, Princess Louisa Inlet opens up -- revealing the glacier-fed Chatterbox Falls, the highlight of this sheltered inlet. This region is protected and preserved within the 65-hectare Princess Louisa Marine Provincial Park. Beside Chatterbox Falls, there is a dock with water, but no electricity, for boaters. There is also moorage available for at least twenty boats. Board walks will take you along trails to the Falls, where the air is so moist that the trees are covered with thick moss and ferns. Tours leave for Princess Louisa from Egmont on a scheduled basis all summer long. 

Itineraries

Sunshine Coast (British Columbia) city tours

Sunshine Coast (British Columbia) Restaurants: cheap, moderate and expensive

  • The Backeddy Marine Pub is known for its gigantic "Skookum Burger". - 604.883.3614 - Backeddy Road, take the Egmont exit off Hwy. 101 just south of the ferry terminal for the boat to Powell River
  • West Coast Wilderness Lodge, (The village of Egmont), ☎ 604-883-3667, [3]. The fine dining at the Lodge is all about the view. It has floor-to-ceiling windows that span the entire dining room, and was built high up on a bluff overlooking Sutton Islands and the Sechelt Inlet.  

Sunshine Coast (British Columbia) nightlife, bars, clubs and pubs

Stay safe

Get out

Catch the ferry at Earls Cove to go to Powell River.

Destinations in Sunshine Coast (British Columbia):

This page was last edited by Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel. Based on work by Harry Wood, Stacy Hall, Darren Kirby, Ryan Holliday, Evan Prodromou, Niels Elgaard Larsen and James Blake, Wikitravel user(s) Shaund and Nzpcmad and Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel. - Content on this page is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 1.0 license

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