Halfmoon Bay Community Tour

Halfmoon Bay Harbour
Photo courtesy of PhotographyTips.com

We'll start from the south end.

SARGEANT BAY:
Not far from where you turn off Highway 101 onto Redrooffs Road, you'll come to Sargeant Bay Provincial Park, noted for its abundance of intertidal and marine wildlife. A not-too-strenuous hike through a beautiful cedar forest will take you to one of the prettiest little coves on the Coast with sand and pebble beaches and fascinating tidal pools. Or take the Triangle Lake trail. The name is a bit misleading, as it's not really a lake but a swamp area with lily pad ponds, waterfowl and other marshy delights.

WELCOME WOODS:
A bit farther along Redrooffs Road you enter Welcome Woods, a mostly residential housing area. It includes a small neighbourhood park on Lohn Road as well as Connor Park, a small regional district park with softball fields, hiking trails, a picnic area and play equipment. Connor Park is close to the Halfmoon Bay Elementary School which offers neighbourhood recreational facilities and a strong community school program.

Continue your winding way along the shoreline to Welcome Beach Wilderness Reserve, an undeveloped wilderness area of walking and hiking trails. Welcome Beach itself is down a steep trail and appears to be private property, lined as it is with summer cottages. It is, however, a fine public beach. Farther along is the Welcome Beach Community Hall which offers a community-use room, kitchens and an outdoor patio area.

The "A Frame" in Halfmoon Bay - popular fishing area
Photo courtesy of PhotographyTips.com

COOPERS GREEN:
Farther along Redrooffs Road is Coopers Green, a small regional waterfront park with a free boat launch and the most accessible diving in the area. Watch out for those giant Pacific octopus - the biggest species in the world - this is where they hang out. The water temperature below 30 feet stays at a comfortable 7 degrees centigrade (45 degrees Fahrenheit). Dive sites are protected, which means no collecting of specimens and no hunting, but there's lots of great looking, even from shore in the tidepools.

Coopers Green is also the site of the annual Halfmoon Bay Country Fair. The park has picnic and washroom facilities, a community hall, a horseshoe pitch, volleyball and badminton courts and a boat ramp. It's a great place for a picnic and swim or a huge family reunion. Bring the aunts and uncles and a soccer ball.

HALFMOON BAY VILLAGE:
Halfmoon Bay Heritage General Store is a community gathering spot with a post office, liquor sales outlet and great ice cream. It's located on the waterfront in Halfmoon Bay near the government wharf (from which you can see Anchor Rock, Whale Island and Coopers Green). There are two art galleries in the village displaying local work. Like the rest of the Sunshine Coast, the Halfmoon Bay area is famous for its artists, crafters and otherwise talented folk, many of whom open their home studios to the public.

From Halfmoon Bay General Store at Mintie Road, you can access Redrooffs Trail, a gently sloping forested walkway with rest benches and signage for historical significance and nature interpretation. An easy 1 km walk, this stretch of trail is all that remains of a once-extensive system running all the way to Sechelt.

TROUT LAKE:
Just beyond the General Store, Redrooffs Road joins Highway 101 again. Across the highway at this junction is the Falling Star Gallery which displays local artists' work and sells art supplies. A right (south) turn here and then a quick left onto Trout Lake Road will take you to the Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre. They have a committed staff of volunteers dedicated to nursing injured or orphaned animals back to health and a return to their natural habitat. Just down the highway is Trout Lake - good fresh water fishing, swimming, boating, picnicking, camping and ice skating. The Trout Lake hiking and biking trail and the Trout Lake Forest Service Road are great places to explore.

Halfmoon Creek Loop Cycling Trail

CAREN RANGE:
You can access the Caren Range of mountains from Trout Lake too, where there's excellent hiking among 1800-year-old trees, some of the most ancient in Canada. These first-growth cedars date back to before the white man's arrival on the Coast. Several rare species of birds make the Caren their home (marbled murrulet, Vaux swift, Barrow's goldeneye) as does the extremely rare Bay lynx, a large wildcat found only in the Caren and the Tetrahedron areas.

NORTH OF HALFMOON BAY:
North of the waters of Halfmoon Bay and Smuggler Cove, as you travel farther up Highway 101, are Secret Cove and Wood Bay. Secret Cove is an area of residential housing with some retail and commercial development focused mainly on recreation. There are marinas, restaurants and several galleries in the small village core. Wood Bay is a gorgeous window out into Malaspina Strait, and is a pristine location much valued by locals and visitors alike.

Rockwater Resort (formerly Lord Jim' s Resort) is just south of Wood Bay, nestled in a little cove. Exploring the shoreline is a kayakers delight.

Thormanby Island
Thormandby Island from the Air
Photo courtesy of PhotographyTips.com

Along the highway just north of Sutherland Road (between trout Lake and Secret Cove) watch for the trail to Homesite Creek. You'll find a camping area, a small waterfall and limestone caves to explore.

WATERWAYS:
Of course, the best way to really appreciate the Sunshine Coast is to travel by water. The intricate waterways and scattered islands in the Halfmoon Bay area are made to explore by kayak or canoe. Kayak rentals are available, or if you own your own boat, there are several marinas and marine parks in the area. Smuggler Cove Provincial Marine Park is a large waterfront park offering attractions for both land and sea explorers. There are glorious hiking trails, camping facilities, picnicking and an all-weather boat launch and anchorage.

Across Welcome Pass, between North and South Thormanby Islands is Buccaneer Bay, a low sandy spit with a fantastic swimming beach. Simson Marine Park on South Thormanby is bigger than Vancouver's Stanley Park, with abundant distractions for boaters - a seal rookery at Bertha Rock, granite grottos at the south end and a heritage homesite and farm where you can stop for a picnic. Merry Island is another small jaunt across the water southeast from Thormanby and the site of the Sunshine Coast's only lighthouse, still manned with a real live person.

This brief tour is just to whet your appetite for more. For details, maps, brochures or more information:

Check out the book Sunshine and Salt Air: The Sunshine Coast Visitor's Guide, an indispensable guide to recreation on the Sunshine Coast.
Explore the Sunshine Coast Regional District's list of 101 Things To Do on the Sunshine Coast.
See the suggestions for rainy day activities.
Visit one of the Info Centres:

SUNSHINE COAST TRAVEL INFO CENTRES:
Gibsons ~ 886-2325
Sechelt ~ 885-1036
Pender Harbour ~ 883-2561

Enjoy your visit to the Sunshine Coast, and tell them bigpacific.com sent you!

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Halfmoon Bay Community Tour

ABOUT HALFMOON BAY

COMMUNITY INFO

WHERE TO STAY

WHAT TO DO

DINING

ABOUT THE COAST

TRAVEL EXTRAS

CONVENTIONS/ GROUP TRAVEL

CONTACT US

SEARCH/HELP

ADVERTISE ON THIS SITE

Halfmoon Bay Community Tour

ABOUT
HALFMOON BAY

CONVENTIONS/
GROUP TRAVEL