Top Things to do in Comox Valley
Top Hotels in Comox Valley
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What to do and see in Comox Valley, Vancouver Island: The Best Budget-friendly Things to do
Discover the best top things to do in Comox Valley, British Columbia including Helliwell Provincial Park, Vancouver Island Visitor Centre, Grey Wolf Expeditions, Island Gourmet Trails, Blue Moon Winery, Courtenay & District Museum & Paleontology Centre, Air Park, Miracle Beach Provincial Park, Saratoga Speedway, I-Hos Gallery.
Restaurants in Comox Valley
1. Helliwell Provincial Park
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 137 reviews
Reviewed By skychaserCalgary - Calgary, Canada
Walking through a forest of douglas fir and cedar one comes to the trail that takes you along the shoreline...very beautiful views
2. Vancouver Island Visitor Centre
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 56 reviews
Whether you are in the planning stages of your vacation or have arrived in the area and don't know where to begin, the Comox Valley's Vancouver Island Visitor Centre is your first stop to create an unforgettable vacation! The Centre also offers a fun and interactive introduction to Vancouver Island from ocean to alpine! Touch a live oyster, identify local trees or explore the region through a touch table of Vancouver Island images. Take a few fun photos of your own and enjoy free WI-Fi so you can catch up on the news at home. There are outdoor picnic tables, pet walking area and a children's play structure. There is even an e-vehicle charge point.
Reviewed By chc9533 - Hong Kong, China
My wife and I were fortunate to have been many places in Canada and visited many visitor centers. They are literally all good. But we found VIVC-CV to be the best of the very best. We came here seeking info about the herring spawn. There wasn’t too much public info out there and the help, guidance and support given by Glen and Kazumi were simply unbelievable, well above and beyond our expectations! The herring spawn was truly a nature’s spectacle. We want to share our experiences but TA doesn’t provide a good spot for posting this type of reviews which are not tied to one particular destination. As such, we decided to post it here. Hopefully people coming for herring spawn in future will also visit this site. We stayed in Comox for 14-nights, Feb 29 – Mar 14. The very first thing we did upon arrival was visiting Vancouver Island Visitor Centre, Comox Valley. We collected tons of helpful info and great advice. Highly recommend that you make VIVC to be your first stop! We also read DFO’s Fishery Notice religiously. They gave updates at least daily and upto 2-3 times/day at the peak period, giving us good pointers on where to go. Saw our first ever herring spawn on Mar 4. We were so glad to have arrived 4 days early and had the opportunity of exploring the potential spawning sites, getting ourselves familiar with the area, and doing some sight-seeing. Make sure you pick up a leaflet “Comox Valley Nature Viewing Guide”. We visited 14 of the 17 sites listed in the leaflet. Many of these later turned out to be spawning grounds and we had the benefits of knowing time needed to get there, where to park and the access trail to the beach, etc. We visited Denman Island on Mar 2 and leisurely checked out hotspots like Morning Beach, Fillongley and Boyle Point. Not only we enjoyed the discovery, such knowledge became invaluable assets afterwards. Between Mar 4-14, we viewed spawning from the following sites. It seemed to move in a North to South direction (see our map). - Kitty Coleman Beach - Seal Bay - Kye Bay - Point Holmes/Cape Lazo - Longbeak Point (Denman Island) - Morning Beach (Denman Island) - Fillongley (Denman Island) - Fanny Bay - Bowser - Qualicum Bay - Qualicum Beach - French Creek - Parksville Beach Most of our viewing was done on land, but we also chartered a boat with Adam of All in Sportfishing as viewings from a boat was different. There were also places only accessible by boat. We went out 4 times from Comox marina: - Mar 4: circumnavigated Denman Island, then returned north to Kitty Coleman and saw our first ever herring spawn ☺. - Mar 8: spent most of our time in upper Lambert Channel along Komas Bluff. - Mar 12: sailed south down Baynes Sound to Bowser. - Mar 13: sailed along the east coast of Hornby to Flora Isle, then checked out Bowser before returning to Comox. Our best viewings were: - Mar 4 at Kitty Coleman: we viewed from the boat in the morning and went back again to the beach in the afternoon. Fishery was not yet opened. Seabirds and marine mammals were in their full strength. It was an unbelievable sight and truly a nature’s spectacle. Viewings from the boat and from the beach were very different and we were so glad doing both on this day! - Mar 6 at Morning Beach: Fishery opened today. Over a hundred fishing boats were dotting the upper Lambert Channel. The spawning was more spread out, the feeding frenzy continued just not as concentrated as Mar 4 when the sky of Kitty Coleman was literally covered by birds. - Mar 7 at Longbeak Point: Spent the whole afternoon here watching the bald eagles went fishing. We lost count but there must be over a hundred eagles. Unlike catching salmon when one fish can feed the family, herrings were much smaller and the eagles had to work harder. They seemed like bombers launched wave after wave. A couple of river otters were also there fishing and playing. We had a wonderful afternoon and so did the eagles! - Mar 8 at Komas Bluff: There seemed to be less fish today and we didn’t see too many eagles around. Nonetheless, sea lions seemed to be working harder and we had some amazing photos taken from our boat which allowed us getting closer to the action. - Mar 11 & 14 at Qualicum Bay and Parksville Beach: While we continued seeing the spawn zone in the water, there seemed to be less fish in our inexperienced eyes. The gulls were mostly working on the roe at the beach. Sighting of numerous species of seabirds was highlights of these 2 days. According to DFO, seine fishery opened at 6:30am on Mar 6 and closed 26.5 hours later at 9am on Mar 7 after reaching a validated catch of 2,019 against the 2,025 ton quota. However, gillnet fishery took a much longer time. Gillnetters’ accumulated catches against their 7,215 ton quota were as follows: - Mar 6: 850t (est.) - Mar 7: 1,300t (est.) - Mar 8: 3,500t (est.) - Mar 9: 6,000t (est.) - Mar 10: 6,800t (est.) - Mar 11: 6,800t (est.) - Mar 12: 6,800t (est.) - Mar 13: 7,090t (est.) - Mar 14: 7,090t (est.) - Mar 15: 7,067t (validated) - Mar 16: 7,067t (validated) - Mar 17: 7,067t (validated, fishery closed) We are no experts, our thoughts from a layman’s perspective: - Gillnetters had the ability of catching more than 2,000t/day as seen on Mar 8 and 9. - Yet they seemed to struggle since Mar 10 and their catches almost stagnated. When fishery closed on Mar 17, they didn’t even hit their quota. Maybe there were good technical reasons behind, otherwise we were tempted to think the herrings en mass weren’t there?! - This almost coincided with our own observations. Since Mar 10, we have travelled up and down the coastline and found wildlife activities not as intense as before. Could it be that the predators were already full after days of feeding? We don’t know but it begs the questions on where were the herrings and more importantly, will they be coming back? - Please forgive us for our ignorance. We were merely a one-time observer and lack the insights of the locals. But from people we met, including the good ladies at our motel, many dog walkers on the beaches, the passionate photographers, and the friendly islanders at Denman/Hornby were all telling us the spawning seemed to be getting smaller by year. Hope DFO will do the right thing to protect the well being of the herrings, a small but such an important species in our ecology. The wildlife drawn by the herring spawn was spectacular. We are not birders, but we can still name the following birds: bald eagle, surf scoter, common goldeneye, great blue heron, bufflehead, long-tailed duck, mallard, greater scaup, common loon, red-necked grebe, brant goose, double-crested cormorant, brandt’s cormorant, dunlin, black oystercatcher, American wigeon, northern pintail, common merganser, hooded merganser, killdeer, snow goose, greater white-fronted geese, mew gull, glaucous-winged gull – thanks to the ebird app! There were birds that we couldn’t ID and surely we must have missed some others. When we finally returned to Vancouver, the world has turned into a very different place. We both left YVR on Mar 17. My old friend flew home to Toronto and I departed for Auckland. Without prior knowledge, I took literally the last Air Canada flight that landed in Auckland 14 hours before NZ closed its border! We counted our blessing of seeing what we saw, a special thanks again to Glenn for his guidance, much appreciated!
3. Grey Wolf Expeditions
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 74 reviews
Sea Kayaking & Whale Watching Tours Campbell River BC, CANADA - 4 Day / 3 Night Orca Camp Tour - 3 day / 2 Night Women’s Only Kayak Retreat - Day Tours at Saratoga Beach Black Creek - Custom Multi Day Sea Kayak Expedition - NEW: Experience Croatia in 11 days Adventure next summer with Grey Wolf Expeditions to experience the amazing wilderness of the British Columbia's coast. These all inclusive 5 star tours are for everyone who loves sea kayaking, whale watching, salmon fishing, beach combing and the outdoors in general. Experience days of sea kayaking, fishing, whale watching, yoga, meditation and healthy eating with other outdoor enthusiasts in a comfortable and luxurious wilderness nature setting on Vancouver Island. Inhale the fresh sea breeze and detox from tension of day-to-day life. Together, we will find the perfect balance of exploring our beautiful coast by kayak and foot.
4. Island Gourmet Trails
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 36 reviews
Island Gourmet Trails offers delicious day tours within the Comox Valley. This culinary adventure is planned to cover different trails throughout the Valley. Tours are customized to suit the group’s specific interest: stops may include farmer’s markets, bakeries, cheese dairies, organic farms, shellfish farms, wineries,coffee roysters etc. You can end your day with a gourmet dinner in a local restaurant or a cooking class. Those culinary tours are designed to help you experience the Valley in all its splendour and its flavour!
5. Blue Moon Winery
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 31 reviews
Creating an interesting variety of craft ciders and fruit wines from BC fruit. In the Cider House, try a complimentary tasting of unique dry ciders. Please check the website for our Tasting Room hours. Comox Valley Farmers Market on Saturday Campbell River Pier Street Market on Sundays. A family owned and operated craft winery/cidery and blueberry farm, located 5 minutes from downtown Courtenay. Visit our Tasting Room and taste our small batch award winning wines and ciders.
Reviewed By MalcolmA_12 - Chorley, United Kingdom
We found this place via the Sip and Savour the Comox Valley leaflet from out hote. Delightful Host in a small cider and winery- extremely knowledgeable and friendly, happy to let us try different ciders and wines. Amazing fruit ciders
6. Courtenay & District Museum & Paleontology Centre
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 78 reviews
Reviewed By edn636 - Delta, Canada
My wife and I have gone through many different local museums, but this one has the most varied collection. It goes from Paleontology to First Nations to pioneer days in the Cowichan Valley. I loved the variety of exhibits and it is clear a great deal of work and effort has gone into this museum. I particularly found the early history of Courtenay and the the Cowichan Valley interesting. If you enjoy local community museums, this one deserves a look.
7. Air Park
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 221 reviews
Reviewed By T8386HFmichellep
This is an amazing park to go visit with your family and friends of all ages! It's A serene calm place to go for a nice walk , bike ride, or even roller blade. There is a wonderful little cafe in the beginning of the park that has small snacks to eat coffee and ice cream. Watching all of the small planes, single engine mostly karma coming in to land and taking off is lots of fun and makes for great conversation. I would highly recommend coming to the Courtenat Air Park any time of year and you're guaranteed to see lots of migratory birds and the Trumpetor swans are just beautiful!
8. Miracle Beach Provincial Park
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 170 reviews
Miracle Beach Provincial Park is a popular oceanside family campground with a popular day-use and beach, conveniently located 22 km north of Courtenay and 22 km south of Campbell River off Hwy 19a. It makes a great home-base while visiting the popular Comox Valley, Campbell River, or for those looking to ferry to nearby islands. Visitors can also find horseback riding, golf, fishing and many other recreational activities in the area. The large family campground is world-renowned and offers 201 non-serviced campsites located under a dense forest canopy. Campers have three flush washroom buildings in the campground as well as a large shower building. Water taps and pit toilets are located throughout the campground. There is also an RV sani-station available to empty waste tanks and to refill water tanks. Campsite reservations are accepted and some first-come first-serve sites are also available.
Reviewed By travelengnancy - Vancouver, Canada
Definitely great beach to stop at. The entrance builds anticipation as you can see the blue sky and you know there's a beach at the end! Great view. Great for families, couples, campers and day trippers. Stay for a few days or a few minutes, it's always a great stop.
9. Saratoga Speedway
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 56 reviews
Saratoga Speedway is a affordable family friendly Auto Sport facility! We host Race Cars, Go-Karts, Car Racing, and various Street Car Events!
10. I-Hos Gallery
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 100 reviews
During these times, it is mandatory to wear a face covering while visiting I-Hos Gallery. We do encourage our customers to follow our social distancing markers on the floor. Only six customers allowed at a time inside I-Hos Gallery. Proper glass guards installed around our counters. I-Hos Gallery presents a collection of traditional and contemporary Northwest Coast artwork, including masks, prints, gold and silver jewelry, wood carvings and more produced by First Nations artists. I-Hos Gallery is Band owned and operated by K'omoks First Nation. Our culture is expressed through our art. We are located between Courtenay and Comox on Vancouver Island, on the site of the original K’omoks Village. We deal directly with all of our First Nation artists and provide you with all legends and artist biographies. I-Hos Gallery is Band owned and operated by K'omoks First Nations and has been est. since 1995.
Reviewed By GlendaInCourtenay
I just had the BEST experience with I-Hos Gallery. I placed an order online, and Ramona went above and beyond for customer service. If you're in the position to do some online shopping, I encourage you to keep I-Hos Gallery in mind for their quality of goods, amazing customer service, and you're supporting a small business - you won't be disappointed!!
