Access: Take the bus to Horseshoe Bay and catch the ferry to Langdale on the Sunshine Coast. Crossing time is 40 minutes. As you step off the loading ramp of the Langdale ferry you’ll find the tiny ferry to Keats Landing immediately on your right. Since this ferry services both Gambier Island and Keats Island make sure you get on the correct sailing. Published schedules are sometimes altered on the fly to accommodate weekend rushes. The trip to Keats usually takes just 10 minutes. Getting a good connection on the return trip is often impossible so be sure to bring a book or magazine to make time stuck in the ferry terminal bearable.

Dockside at Keats Landing.

Like Newcastle Island, Keats Island is home to a Provincial Marine Park. Though well-known among mariners, the park at Plumper Cove is a well-kept secret among landlubbers. Similar also to the previous getaway, two ferries are required to get there. Unlike Newcastle, however, only a small portion of Keats has been accorded park status. From Keats Landing it is a 2 km hike to the park itself. Walk directly up the hill from the dock, taking a short-cut across the expansive lawn dotted with summer cottages. At the top of the hill you’ll come across a gravel road. To your right you’ll see a large kids camp. Go left along the road instead for a few hundred metres until you see a building with a sign that says simply: “BC Hydro.” A trail plunges into the bush just to the right of this building. Since there are numerous branch trails watch signs carefully to ensure you take the correct route. Follow the mainline marked with yellow squares and a few decrepit signs that indicate “Marine Park.” The trail is maintained by the local resident who originally constructed it to keep trespassers off his own property. Still, expect to have to scramble over or under numerous deadfalls along the otherwise well-kept trail.

Camping

Unlike Newcastle Island and most other parks in the islands of the Gulf of Georgia, fires are permitted at all of the 20 walk-in campsites at Plumper Cove. Since prevailing winds come from the direction of the yacht anchorage choose your site wisely so your fire pit is on the lee side of your tent and picnic table. Arriving midweek or early on the weekend will ensure you have choices to make. Late comers may have no choices at all during busy, summer long-weekends. Worry not, however, as there is plenty of overflow camping space in the grassy field that serves as a picnic area. No fires allowed here however. Reservations are not possible at this time on Keats Island. Cold drinking water is only available from a hand pump. Pit toilets will provide a rustic element to your camping experience but be forewarned to bring toilet paper as supplies, though replenished daily, sometimes run out.

Dusk view from Keats Provincial Marine Park.

One of the finest features of Plumper Cove is the grassy headland that overlooks Shoal Channel to the west. Use this romantic vantage point to witness the slow summer sunsets that have made the Sunshine Coast famous. As the sky colour deepens from orange to red to purple, stars flicker on as do the lights of Gibsons across the Channel and, further off, Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. And while consuming alcohol is forbidden-if tolerated-in all provincial Parks a robust Bordeaux in a coffee mug goes a long way towards satisfying both park regulations and the mood of the moment.

Hiking Trails

There are three trails of note on Keats Island. The first one is a simple loop trail that extends past the last campsite, climbing up to an elevation of 120 metres to a treed ridgeline before doubling back to reconnect with the park proper. Yellow ribbons and plastic squares mark the Loop Trail. From the summit it may be possible to spot deer grazing in sunny forest glades below. Trail length is a mere 1½ km. A second trail climbs 216 metres to the top of Stony Hill. Follow the trail back towards Keats Landing for about 20 minutes in order to access the Lookout Peak Trail. An old, somewhat faded wooden sign marks the trail that then branches off up the slope from the main trail. Follow green markers to the summit after another half hour of upward plodding.

Hauling in the big ones in Eastbourne

The third route starts out the same as the Loop Trail but branches off to the left after just a few minutes. Watch carefully for the intersection as it is not marked in any way. This unnamed route follows well-above the shoreline until connecting up with a one lane forest track that soon leads past a place called, for obvious reasons, simply “The Farm” by locals. From The Farm the road turns inland and uphill for some 40 minutes or more sometimes paralleling an electric powerline on the right. Eventually you’ll reach the main gravel road that connects Keats Landing with the village of Eastbourne. Take a left here and continue up and down a number of rolling hills. After a further 25 minutes or so you’ll see a llama farm of all things. Feel free to stop and take pictures of these woolly cousins to the camel but beware: the fence is electrified and llamas, being territorial by nature, spit as a defence mechanism against intruders. Better pack along some lens cleaning paper as a precaution.

Stopped Bus

From the Double K & J Corral, as the llama farm is called, another 25 minutes will take you as far as the “bus stop” in Eastbourne. Though the bus stop sign looks suspiciously like one of Vancouver’s old BC Transit signs don’t plan on taking the bus back this year at any rate. The bus stop is an example of local humour, providing the occasional bit of light-hearted retribution against the seasonal invasion of city slickers to this quiet rural backwater. Tourists sometimes wait for hours for the bus that never comes.

Lumbering car-encumbered barge departs Keats Island, clueless and without a life-jacket in sight.

Eastbourne, site of a tiny government dock and the best beach on Keats, is just a further five minutes to the right and downhill from here. A fourth trail, an alternative to the Eastbourne route just described, will be mentioned but is not recommended. Called the Farm Trail, this poorly marked and overgrown path cuts across the island from near the beginning of the Lookout Peak trail to the Farm. Ironically the Farm Trail slices through by far the most beautiful forest scenery on the island. Following a number of dry and not-so-dry stream beds, the farm trail often disappears altogether and only a careful search for orange trail markers or ribbons will reveal its course. Fear not, though, since Keats Island is so small that after stumbling around in the forest lost for a couple hours you are bound to happen upon one of the routes that crisscross the island. Use common sense however and don’t stumble alone.

Juan De Fuca Marine Trail <<->> Krumholtz

So you’d like to get-away-from-it-all but don’t know where to start. Start off slow with a visit to Newcastle Island Marine Park.

Newcastle Sunrise: A stout Garry Oak silhouetted against the dawn.

Just off shore from downtown Nanaimo, it’s the perfect spot for a day trip or even an easy going overnighter. Unlike so many other wonderful places, it’s easy to get to Newcastle Island using public transportation, faster and cheaper in fact than taking your own dinosaur along. Hop a Nanaimo-bound ferry in either Horseshoe Bay or Tsawwassen, then grab a cab on the other side. [See Appendix Getting to Horseshoe Bay or Getting to Tsawwassen.]

From Departure Bay, an $10 taxi ride will take you to the Newcastle Island ferry dock in a matter of minutes. The Nanaimo Seaporter will whisk you from ferry terminal to ferry terminal for slightly less when it is available. Look for the shuttle bus when exiting the terminal or call in advance [250-753-2118] in order to have it meet you on arrival.

As an alternative you can either take a bus or walk between the two ferries. The #2 Hammond Bay bus runs at half-hour intervals from Departure Bay ferry terminal to downtown Nanaimo. Get off at the corner of Wallace and Comox Streets and walk back towards the civic arena behind which you’ll find the Newcastle Island Ferry dock.

Arbutus: Called madrona south of the border, arbutus is is the only broad-leaf evergreen on the coast. Rather than losing its leaves every autumn the arbutus sheds its bark instead.

Nanaimo’s Harbourside Walkway leads directly to your destination along the waterfront. After arriving in Departure Bay you’ll find the start of this pleasant seawall route at Sealand Oceanarium & Market just east of the ferry terminal entrance. Total walking time is about 45 minutes.

The Newcastle Island foot passenger ferry runs regularly in the summer months so if you miss one stay cool, there will be another one along in a few minutes. Kind of like dating, isn’t it? And speaking of dating, romance could be high on your list in this tranquil, idyllic setting.

Ship to Shore: Being a Marine Park, Newcastle Island attracts vessels of all sizes.

As you step off the ferry you’ll find plenty of picnic tables and wide grassy fields perfectly suited for frisbee, football or other fun. At the edge of the forest there is ample camping so set up that tent and set out to explore the many wonders of this small isle. Newcastle Island is rich in history. Middens, essentially stone age garbage pits made up of clam shells, fish bones and wood fire ash, bear testimony to the prehistoric Indian villages that once flourished here.

Newcastle Quarry: Explore the grindstone quarry with the original sandstone cookie-cutter still in place.

In the mid-1800s frenetic coal mining activity threatened the island’s tranquility. Bits of coal can still be found littering the beaches and airshafts that extend deep into the gloom of yesteryear attest to Nanaimo’s colourful coal mining past.

From 1910 a small fishing community was established by Japanese-Canadians on Newcastle Island until, well, you know what we did to them at the time of World War II.

And for many years the Canadian Pacific Steamship Company operated a holiday resort on Newcastle Island, the main pavilion of which still stands as a visitor centre complete with cafe.

An adjacent building houses the island’s only flush toilets and hot showers. The facilities are pretty primitive but most welcome.

You’ll also find an old sandstone quarry that at one time supplied grindstones for pulp mills throughout the Pacific Northwest. Yet with all that past activity, Newcastle Island is still an excellent example of the unique west coast island environment characterized by mixed deciduous and coniferous forest, with Garry Oak and Arbutus predominating near the foreshore.

Newcastle Trails: Whether jogging the island circuit in fast forward or exploring at a more leisurely pace, you’ll find the trails well-marked and well-maintained.

Expect to find lots and lots of feral bunnies hopping about. Could it be they too have been seduced by the island’s romantic charms? Black-tailed deer have also proliferated. The best time to see these shy, gentle creatures is early in the morning. While campers sleep the dog-sized deer sneak out to graze the dew damp grass.

As you explore the forests and seashore of Newcastle Island be sure to keep a sharp eye out for bald eagles perched high in old fir snags. You’ll have to call for a cab on the return journey. There is a pay phone on Newcastle Island so you can call just before boarding the ferry and have your ride waiting for you when you reach the other side. If vandalized, you’ll have to wait, then cross the Island Highway to use the pay phone at the beer and wine shop.

Mount Capilano <<->> Nodding Onion