By car and ferries from Vancouver to Powell River
After the marathon day previous, Cathy and I were looking forward to a relaxing day on June 10th. It was only 187 km total to our destination, a historic hotel in Powell River, with most of the route new to Cathy. And having two ferry rides would be fun as well.
First, I’ll show you the route. For an interactive version of the map in a new window, click here.
The view over the marina from our room at the Radisson Hotel Vancouver Airport looked much better at 07:30 than it had at 01:00! 😀
On a warm, sunny day, this would be a nice place to enjoy a morning coffee. We had ours at a table inside, though, looking out at this.
We took the airport shuttle back to the airport, picked up our car at Avis (a Nisan Centra with only 2,500 km on it), and were soon on our way. We were much too early, so did a couple of little side excursions, and got to the Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal an hour before our 12:20 reservation as requested. The next photo looks back at the lower level for our spot. There are spaces for 1,265 cars to wait for their ferry.
Our ferry from Langdale/Gibsons unloading.
We were soon settled in on the 139-meter-long Queen of Surrey for the 40-minute crossing. Built in 1981, she has a capacity of 311 cars and 1,494 passengers and crew.
The Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal was built in 1951, and my family started visiting the tiny community soon after. It’s sure a different place now. I think the busyness would get old in a hurry if you lived there now, though.
The Queen of Capilano, built in 1991, has a capacity of 100 cars and 457 passengers and crew. She makes the short hop between Horseshoe Bay and Snug Cove on Bowen Island.
This part of the coast is incredibly beautiful, but quiet places get harder and harder to find.
The flags of BC Ferries and the Province of British Columbia proudly flying in the sunshine.
The ferries aren’t luxurious but they are very comfortable, with plenty of seating and tables.
And there are other places to take in the fresh air 🙂
I wonder how many other people dream of an island life, far from the madding crowd. Well, I don’t anymore, but I sure did for the first few decades of my life. I suppose my cabin in Carcross was an equivalent for a few years when I was just the right age to make it work.
From the Langdale ferry terminal to the one at Earl’s Cove is 80.4 km. The road winds in and out around the coast and mountains, with a lot of homes but only two communities of note, Gibsons and Sechelt. We didn’t make reservations for the Earl’s Cove ferry, as it’s not necessary.
A few minutes after arriving at Earl’s Cove, we were driving onto the Malaspina Sky for the 50-minute crossing.
Built in 2008, the 102-meter-long Malaspina Sky has a capacity of 112 cars and 462 passengers and crew.
It was only 36 km from the ferry terminal to our hotel. Just before 7:00 pm, we arrived at The Old Courthouse Inn, located high on the slope of the historic Townsite of Powell River.
With the first look inside I knew this had been a great choice 🙂
Our room, with a view across the Strait of Georgia, was perfect.
Edie Rae’s Cafe in the hotel a few feet from our room. We would be having breakfast there the next morning.
I went for a short wander around the hotel area, but I must not have been feeling well, because I didn’t go very far. My first stop was the Veteran’s Memorial Park.
The view past the Rodmay Hotel to the pulp mill, now permanently shut down.
The last photo of the day shows Townsite Brewing, right across the road from our hotel. I had really been looking forward to a return visit but didn’t even make it there. We did, though, find an excellent pizza a block away (Granada) for a late dinner.
The next day we would go north to Lund to meet friends for lunch, then return south to Sechelt for a 2-night stay.
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