Vancouver Island Picnic Spots & Hide Aways

I can't afford to go away for a holiday in a super exotic and fabulously sunny destination but fortunately we really don't have to go very far to find something just like that. All we have to do is take a little drive and build a picnic basket picking up stuff from the farmer's markets and delis along the way.



Cameron Lake, my favourite picnic spot.



The water is crystal clear, but can be as cold as hell, but hey, you don't have to go swimming. It's nice enough just to look at it.



I think this view of the old train tracks right beside the lake is worth a million bucks.



About 10 or perhaps 20 minutes or so away is Cathedral Grove or MacMillan Provincial Park, an old growth forest where you'll find gigantic trees that are at least 500 or so years old.



This is sad because it's the root base of a 700 year old tree, but this will give you an idea of how big this beastie was when it was still standing.



I swear I'm not a tree hugger but this is the story of how this poor tree died.



Englishman Falls... hmn... funny name but isn't this gorgeous? I've forgotten exactly where this is but this is one of my favourite places on the Island. It's a nice little hike too.







Come fall, Goldstream National Park is a great place to go for a walk. If you're not totally squeamish, the river gets clogged with spawning salmon around November. They look horrifically ugly and yet you'd be amazed at the salmon's determination to actually find exactly the same spot where they were born.