Qualicum Beach, Parksville & Nanaimo on Vancouver Island

Markus exploring Fan Tan Alley in Chinatown in Victoria, British Columbia

Living in the Vancouver area, we love to make regular visits to Victoria on Vancouver Island. We have family there, so hopping on the ferry for a day or two in the island is familiar. But despite all those visits to Victoria, we have yet to explore other parts of Vancouver Island. On this special trip, we started with a stop in Victoria to say hello to the family and then we made stops in different areas on Vancouver Island, to Qualicum Beach, Parksville and Nanaimo.

About Vancouver Island Off the coast of British Columbia, Vancouver Island is home to its capital city of Victoria. Known for its beautiful gardens and the inner harbour, Victoria has a nice charm and is a popular tourist destination and a place that we're lucky to have in our backyard.

Markus with a classic photo in front of the British Columbia Parliament Buildings in Victoria

On this particular visit, we made some stops to our usual touristy destinations around the inner harbour, British Columbia’s Parliament Buildings and Chinatown including Fan Tan Alley. We were also fortunate enough to be able to get on a boat with Markus. It was Markus' first time on a (smaller) boat and he was nervous getting in, but eventually found his sea legs!

We couldn’t help but think about the contrast and this idea that less than two years ago, Markus had gone over a year in a rescue shelter without being adopted. Today, he's living a new life surrounded by water on a boat in a completely new experience. When we adopted Markus, we didn't know what type of life he would be living as our dog. We certainly never pictured us being on a boat together. Even though it was only for a short time, it was something that we were glad Markus got to experience.

Where We Stayed in Qualicum Beach

Location: Qualicum Beach 1br Getaway 203 (an Airbnb)
Pet Fee: None

We loved our stay at our Airbnb in Qualicum Beach. The space was luxurious and exactly what we were looking for. We had an entire condo to ourselves and the decoration of the room was very modern and clean. For me, the best part to the whole thing was that it was nice and quiet. Although there are other rooms rented out in the same building, we never had any trouble with Markus barking at the door. Whenever we stay somewhere, Markus’ guard dog instincts will perk up and he will bark if he hears voices or footsteps, but we never had an issue.

Markus as a boating dog in Oak Bay Marina, British Columbia

This location is also close to the busy street in Qualicum Beach. We enjoyed walking through the quiet town and hitting up restaurants like Giovanni's. Do note that the restaurants do get busy! If there's a place you’re hoping to try, make sure you make a reservation. There were a couple places that we didn't get to try because they were booked until closing! Since we were only there for a couple nights, we ended up not being able to try a couple of places we wanted to.

Since this area is so accessible to us, we will definitely come back in the future and try out some of the hikes, trails and restaurants that we didn't get to try this time around!

My Recommendation For Reactive Dogs

We really felt taken care of at this Airbnb location. Although there are a couple of other rooms in close proximity and there were other people in them, we never saw them and hardly heard them. The space was big and open enough because it really was just a one-room condo with a full kitchen and living room area that we had to ourselves. We enjoyed this stay, Markus had a good time and we’re sure to be back in the near future.

Cathedral Grove in MacMillan Provincial Park

Markus looking small in front of a giant Douglas Fir in Cathedral Grove, British Columbia

The Cathedral Grove in MacMillan Provincial Park is a two-part park that exists on the two sides of a highway. On the south side, you'll find the largest Douglas firs (on measuring up to 9 metres in circumference) and on the north side, you'll find groves of red cedars. We did a full breakdown of our walk in the Cathedral Grove in MacMillion Provincial Park with Markus that you can find here.

Kinsol Trestle

While in the area, we also visited the Kinsol Trestle. This was less of a hike and more a walk to the trestle, but there is plenty along the way for dogs to explore. The trestle itself was a thing of beauty and we documented our walk, which you can find here.

Other things to do around Qualicum Beach

Qualicum Beach Farmer's Market

Every Saturday (year round) from 8:30am to noon, the Qualicum Beach Farmer's Market is open so you can buy locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables. My wife and I ended up spending more than we thought we were going to here, but everything was just too interesting!

Please notes that dogs aren't allowed at the Qualicum Beach Farmer's Market, so you'll have to leave doggo at home.

Parksville Community Park

During our stay in Qualicum, we made a stop over to Parksville. We went window shopping around the town which consisted of small shops like clothing stores, music stores and used-book stores (I'm a sucker for these). After we were done, we went across the street to the Parksville Community Park which was a cute little place!

The Parksville Community Park has everything that families would need - a splash park, a playground, access to the beach, etc. For dog owners, there was a nice wooden walkway built along the beach where we enjoyed an evening stroll during the sunset with Markus. The park lives up to its name, as I felt very much a part of the community while I was there.

Fanny Bay Oysters at Seafood Shop

If you're from the Pacific Northwest and enjoy oysters, you've probably heard of Fanny Bay Oysters. Did you know that Fanny Bay is also on Vancouver Island? We made a stop to the Seafood Shop in Fanny Bay to pick up a few (or a dozen) oysters. Keep in mind that this is a seafood shop and not a restaurant, which means that you'll have to shuck your own oysters if you're purchasing any. They also had a wide assortment of other seafood snacks like candied salmon. If you're in the area, it's definitely worth a stop.

Little Qualicum Cheeseworks

If you love cheese as much as we do, you'll want to make a stop to Little Qualicum Cheeseworks (but without your dog). The staff was incredibly friendly and helped us discover new types of cheeses to try! We ended purchasing a bunch to bring back with us. Since we've been here, we've started recognizing Little Qualicum Cheeseworks products at more local grocery stores and it was great to visit the source of it all.

Have Nanaimo Bars in Nanaimo

You may have had a Nanaimo Bar before, but did you know that they actually originated from Vancouver Island in a city called, well, Nanaimo? If you're not familiar with this tasty treat, the Nanaimo Bar is a 3-layer dessert with chocolate, custard, coconuts and plenty more. The city of Nanaimo takes so much pride on this dessert named after them that you can actually find a recipe for Nanaimo Bars on their city website.

The city also has a Nanaimo Bar Trail, which boasts over 30 different variations of Nanaimo Bars around the city. We stopped in for a few traditional Nanaimo Bars at a couple different locations and we were not disappointed!

Little Qualicum Falls Loop & Englishman River Falls Trail

We didn't have enough time to do these hikes during our trip, but you might find them interesting! Little Qualicum Falls was one that we really wanted to do, but something was under construction while we were in the area (I wanna say a fallen tree was blocking the entrance?), so we'll be back to tackle these in the future.

Rathtrevor Beach

We wish we had spent more time researching into this beach, but we discovered (only after we had arrived) that they don't allow dogs. There are signs at just about every entrance into the beach, so you really can't miss it. Supposedly if you kept walking further down the beach, there are areas for dogs, but it looked to be an empty spot on the beach more than a designated dog area, so we didn't bother.

Disclaimer

Markus is a reactive, but not aggressive dog. His instinct is to avoid other dogs and he may growl, bark or lunge if provoked, but will not attack. We normally do not have issues with leashed dogs when both sides are controlled, but we will be on guard when an oncoming dog is not leashed. There are varying levels to a dog’s reactivity and only you can decide if this park, trail or hotel is appropriate for your dog. Our visits generally will not include off-leash areas; most experiences shared on The Markus Project are within leashed or undefined areas.

Please remember that our past experience visiting a park, trail or hotel may not be the same as your experience at the same park, trail or hotel. We have no control of who visits the park and whether they adhere to park rules - like leashing their dogs on leash-required paths - or not. Please use your discretion with the information provided and with your personal knowledge of your dog’s reactivity when visiting these parks, trails or hotels.