Route: Powell River
Area: Sunshine Coast, British Columbia, Canada
Date of walk: 19th August 2025
Walkers: Andrew and Gilly
Distance: 6.5 miles
Ascent: 400 feet
Weather: Dull with some light rain but blue skies and sun later on
We arrived on the Sunshine Coast yesterday, having caught the ferry from Comox on Vancouver Island to Powell River. The city of Powell River (’tiskʷat’) is the largest community on the Sunshine Coast with a resident population of approximately 14,000 people. It is located on the traditional territory of the Tla’amin Nation and overlooks the Salish Sea. We arrived here yesterday, having taken the ferry from Vancouver Island
There are numerous walking trails in and around Powell River and today’s walk would take in sections of three of them. We parked at Westview Viewpoint along Marine Avenue which is an access point for the Seawalk. We descended to the easy path, keeping the sea on our left. At the end of the Seawalk we passed by South Harbour and North Harbour. A 10 minute walk through the suburbs brought us to the next section of the walk, the Willingdon Beach Trail. Another easy track took us through ancient woodland, with the sea close by on our left. Along the way we paused to check some of the historical artifacts dating back to the time when Powell River was a booming logging town, including the old Steam Donkey and the Sidewinder. This was a fascinating part of the walk
We left the Willingdon Beach Trail at the Steam Donkey exhibit and climbed gently up into Millennium Park. The park is home to many magnificent specimens of Douglas Fir, Western Red Cedar and Sitka Spruce. This is a wildlife area with the possibility of a bear encounter, so we’d brought the bear spray just in case. After crossing Marine Avenue we continued through Millennium Park, joining up with the McFall Trail which we followed through the woodland back to Willingdon Beach
The weather had been indifferent up to this point but as we arrived at the beach sun and blue sky appeared. We retraced our steps, stopping several times to scour the sea with our binoculars in the hope of a whale sighting, but with no success. It had been a wonderful walk, full of variety and interest
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The start of the Seawalk Trail from Westview Viewpoint, marked by a pair of totem poles
Looking across the Salish Sea to Texada Island on the left and Vancouver Island in the far distance
We arrive at South Harbour
We follow the boardwalk towards North Harbour
Westview Ferry Terminal, where we'd disembarked yesterday
We pass by North Harbour to end the Seawalk Trail and head through the streets of Powell River
A few minutes later we arrive at Willingdon Beach and set off along the Willingdon Beach Trail
The trail runs beside the beach along an avenue of old trees
Along the way there are various reminders of the logging industry which once thrived here. This is a boomboat which was used to sort logs into booms, or rafts, which could then be towed to the sawmill
An old caterpillar
Douglas fir and western red cedar in the ancient woodland
A few more of the interesting objects displayed along the trail...
The steam donkey, used to load large logs to the railway. We left the trail at this point and turned right into the woodland
We follow a loop in Millennium Park
A few photos of the atmospheric woodland in Millenium Park...
We cross the bridge below to exit the woodland and return to Willingdon Beach
We arrive back at Willingdon Beach in better weather than when we'd left it earlier
Looking out over the Salish Sea...
Looking back to Willingdon Beach
We retrace our steps along the Seawalk, passing by the harbour again
We'd kept our eyes peeled but saw none of the above
Back to the boardwalk
We arrive back at Westpoint Viewpoint to end a varied and very enjoyable walk
Powell River is known for its sunsets, so we returned to Willingdon Beach later that day to watch the sun go down...
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