Beaches & Parks

Start at Rathtrevor Beach & See Where Nature Takes You

Ocean Trails is surrounded by many beautiful beaches and an incredible abundance of regional and provincial parks.

Beaches

Our Parksville lodging is located on the bluff above world-renowned Rathtrevor Beach, a 5 kilometer stretch of sandy beach. At low tide the ocean recedes a kilometer from shore leaving a vast stretch of sand perfect for beachcombing and sandcastle building.

Water currents and ocean floor topography combine to create wide, flat expanses of sand on Rathtrevor Beach. In summer the water warms to 20°C and tidal pools are brimming with sea stars, crabs and sand dollars.

If you love all types of beaches, there are 19 kilometers of shoreline close to Ocean Trails. Area beaches include:

• Rathtrevor Beach – Sandy beach with woodland and oceanfront trails, and picnic grounds.
• Parksville Community Beach – This Parksville vacation beach is home to an excellent children’s beach playground with swings, slides, water canons, and picnic area.
• Qualicum Beach – 4 km of curved sand beach in the town of Qualicum Beach, are rimmed by a paved promenade for hikers, bikers, and sunset watchers. The beach has picnic tables, trees, and a change-room.
• Lighthouse Country – North of Ocean Trails’ Parksville lodging are many secluded bays and the beaches become rockier – perfect for beachcombing. This area is home to Qualicum Bay, Bowser and Deep Bay, as well as two picturesque lighthouses.

Parks

For vacations, Parksville’s nearby regional and provincial parks have incredible forests, rivers, waterfalls, lakes, mountains and beaches. There are 20 provincial parks in the area along with many regional and local parks offering opportunities for enjoying nature and spectacular scenery.

Some of the parks close to Ocean Trails’ Parksville lodging include:

• Parksville Community Park - Featuring two ball fields, a lacrosse box, public tennis courts, curling rink, concession stand, BMX/Skateboard Park, two beach volleyball areas, and a children's playground with water sprays.
• MacMillan Provincial Park – Cathedral Grove is home to forest giants, Douglas firs more than 1000 years old and ancient Western red cedars that line a network of trails.
• Rathtrevor Beach Provincial Park
• Englishman River Falls
• Little Qualicum River Falls
• Horne Lake Caves Provincial Park
• Spider Lake Provincial Park
• Rosewall Creek Provincial Park
• Horne Lake Regional Park
• Mount Arrowsmith Regional Park
• Top Bridge Mountain Bike Park