A Weekend on the Sunshine Coast, British Columbia

Photo: Genevieve Paiement

It starts with a 40-minute ferry ride from Vancouver’s Horseshoe Bay through the blue waters of Howe Sound (actually a fjord), past mountainous Bowen and Gambier islands. Then, as soon as you hit land, things get very green, very fast. The drive along the Sunshine Coast Highway winds through mossy forests of Douglas fir and western red cedar and skirts grey-pebble beaches dotted with driftwood. The towns along it have poetic names like Halfmoon Bay and Secret Cove. No wonder artists flock to the area (Joni Mitchell’s had a place here since the 1970s); inspiration is everywhere. We found ours in a cliffside massage and a decadent spread of impossibly fresh local seafood.  

The Painted Boat Resort Spa & Marina feels like it was designed just for guests to soak up the atmosphere, first in the hot tub and infinity pool, then from a villa balcony, watching the multicoloured sky as the sun sets. Dinner is a few steps away at the on-site restaurant where renowned chef David Cox (formerly of Calgary’s Divino Wine & Cheese Bistro) works his magic with regional products in such dishes as earthy wild-mushroom soup and B.C. sockeye salmon with spiced apple risotto.

At Fibre Works Studio & Gallery, housed in a collection of yurts, artist and co-owner Yvonne Stowell explained the difference between tussah silk and cultivated silk. (The latter is smoother and more lustrous.) In the workshop space, packed with colourful wools and a loom, we couldn’t stop pawing the fluffy merchandise. “Oh yes, it’s a very touchy-feely experience in here,” Stowell quipped. The gallery is part of the Purple Banner arts route; just look for the purple flags along the highway.  

Just south of Secret Cove in Smuggler Cove Marine Provincial Park, you’re likely to meet locals walking their dogs along the trails that cut through lush forest. The sheltered cove is rumoured to have been the setting of people-smuggling in the 19th century and rum-running in the 20th, but we took in a more wholesome scene: two bald eagles soaring through a clear sky.

Photo: Jonathan Hayes (Smuggler Cove Marine Provincial Park)

Flanking a wooden platform that leads to the luxe canvas cabins at Rockwater Secret Cove Resort, towering pine and twisting arbutus trees give way to cliffs and the sea beyond. “Not a bad place to work, right?” asked Laurel, who happily administered our Rockwater signature massages to the sounds of the waves crashing below.  

While owner Stafford Lumley shucked oysters, his wife, Jade, folded napkins behind the bar as their two young daughters zipped between tables. Clearly, Smitty’s Oyster House is a family affair. In this former marine repair shop in Gibsons (the town where The Beachcombers was shot), we feasted on Salt Spring Island mussels, seared Ahi tuna with ponzu sauce and a bottle of 2007 Noble Blend white from the buzz-worthy Okanagan winery Joie Farm.