Driving Tours

From Parksville, Highway 4 cuts due west, climbing up over the mountainous spine of Vancouver Island before dropping into Port Alberni, at the head of the Pacific's Alberni Inlet. From here, you can join the mail boats MV Lady Rose and MV Frances Barkley as they ply the inlet's narrow waters, delivering mail, supplies, and passengers to isolated communities. Bamfield, the southern terminus of the mail-boat run, is one of the two departure points for the West Coast Trail. Mail boats from Port Alberni also negotiate the waters of Barkley Sound and the Broken Group Islands before arriving at Ucluelet, a gentrifying fishing port.

The Drive to Port Alberni

West of Parksville is the North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre, 1240 Leffler Rd., Errington (tel. 250/248-8534; www.northislandwildliferecoverycenter.org), which takes in injured and orphaned wildlife. Its eagle flight cage is the largest in Canada. It's open mid-March through October, daily from 10am to 4pm. Take a left from Highway 4 onto Bellevue Road; turn right onto Ruffels Road and then left onto Leffler Road.

Just 3km (1 3/4 miles) west of the junction with Highway 19, turn south to Englishman's Falls Provincial Park. Easy trails lead to both the upper and lower falls. Picnic tables and a basic campground are available.

Below the cliffs of 1,818m (5,963-ft.) Mount Arrowsmith, Highway 4 passes along the shores of Cameron Lake. The western end of the lake is preserved as MacMillan Provincial Park, with a magnificent stand of old-growth forest called Cathedral Grove.

Finally, you'll reach Port Alberni, a hard-working town of nearly 20,000. The busy port is home to a number of fishing charters and boat-tour companies, as well as the mail boats that offer day trips to Bamfield and Ucluelet. If you need a hotel, consider the Coast Hospitality Inn, 3835 Redford St. (tel. 800/663-1144 or 250/723-8111; www.coasthotels.com), with doubles from C$129 (US$103); or the Best Western Barclay Hotel, 4277 Stamp Ave. (tel. 800/563-6590 or 250/724-7171; www.bestwesternbarclay.com), with rooms from C$129 (US$103) in high season.

MV Lady Rose & MV Framces Barkley

Lady Rose Marine Services (tel. 800/663-7192 Apr-Sept, or 250/723-8313; www.ladyrosemarine.com) operates two packet freighters that deliver mail and supplies to communities along the Alberni Inlet and Barkley Sound. The boats take sightseers to the wild outback of Vancouver Island, for a fascinating glimpse into the daily life of remote fishing and logging communities. You'll likely spot bald eagles, bears, orcas, and porpoises. Year-round, the freighters depart from north Harbour Quay at 8am on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. They head to Bamfield via Kildonan, with an hour-long layover before returning to Port Alberni at 5:30pm. From the first Friday in July to the first Friday in September, there's an additional 8am Friday sailing from Port Alberni to Bamfield. The company also operates from Sechart.

June through September, freighters depart on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 8am for Ucluelet via Sechart near the Broken Group Islands, arriving back in Port Alberni at 7pm. The freighters also convey kayakers bound for the Broken Group Islands. Lady Rose Marine Services drops off kayakers at Sechart, on a spur of Vancouver Island across from the islands themselves; kayakers then make the crossing on their own (Oct-May the freighters will drop kayakers at the islands with advance notice). From the first Sunday in July to the first Sunday in September, there's an extra 8am Sunday sailing to Bamfield via Sechart.

One-way fare to Bamfield is C$25 (US$20); round-trip fare is C$50 (US$40). One-way fare to Ucluelet is C$28 (US$22); the round-trip fare is C$55 (US$44). You can go to Kildonan for C$18 (US$14) each way, or to Sechart for C$25(US$20). Children 8 to 15 pay half the adult fare. Bring windproof jackets and hats, as the weather can change dramatically during the course of the trip. Reservations are required.