Sunshine Coast Seasons

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FALL, COAST STYLE

The Sunshine Coast is a great destination for visitors from Vancouver & Vancouver Island looking for an accessible getaway and something a little different for their Autumn jaunts... but it's also excellent for those hailing from colder climates (Calgary, northern BC, northwest Washington/Cascades) who fight the coming of early winter. While the Coast is known more for its evergreen rainforests than the riots of color found in eastern Canada and the US, our wild alders, dogwood, and red leaf maple don't shirk their duties, bowing to winter in a blaze of autumn color that dots the mountainsides like bursts of flame.

Many people take to the woods in the fall, by foot for wild mushrooms, or by mountain bicycle to take advantage of trails suffering from mild bouts of popularity or heat in the peak summer months.

Fall is also a wonderful time for sea kayaking - the bulk of the pleasure boaters are gone by the Labour Day weekend in early September, leaving kayakers free to explore Desolation Sound's magnificent wilderness in comparative solitude.

Fishing is particularly good in fall months in lakes, streams and tidal estuaries near the Lang Creek and Sliammon hatcheries (saltwater is best late August to mid-October). The eagles are also more obvious at this time of year, too, following the spawning salmon from the towering firs above rocky streams.

So leave the crowds and ferry rushes to the summer lovers and plan your getaway for fall, you'll be glad you did!

Fall Events & Activities:

• Annual Sunshine Folk Music Festival at Palm Beach Regional Park on the Labour Day weekend (okay, so technically it's summer but it's starting to feel fall-ish),
• Annual Fall Fair, held in the third week of September to showcase the rural and agricultural side of the Upper Sunshine Coast

WARM UP TO WINTER

If you're used to snow up to your elbows or sun from dawn til dusk in winter months, then let the Beacon show you winter our way. Spectacular fall storms usher in winter in late November, when winds whistle and moan through the evergreens outside your room and waves break on the shore close by. December's frosts and rare snow are fleeting; the rain is more companionable whether it drizzles or lashes against the windows while you snuggle up to a roaring fire after a leisurely breakfast. Don your wet & warm weather gear, and take a storm walk on the beach, or head into the hills to feel winter's woodlands work its magic on weary city dwellers.

Diving is also exceptional in the winter months, with excellent visibility and rich and varied underwater life awaiting discovery.

Take a trip into town to visit one of the many galleries or collectibles shops, or take tea at the one of the local cafes and watch the world go by on Marine Avenue. Head out to the Patricia Theatre, a heritage building, and catch a first-run movie or a film fest classic. The Almost Broadway theatre group and local musicians and choral groups are active through the winter months, and local pubs in Powell River & Lund make great evening destinations.

Wind the day up with a massage from your hostess, read or relax by the fire and dream of the morning's breakfast.

Winter events include:

• Fine Arts Christmas Sale
• RCMP Regimental Ball
• Powell River Chorus Christmas Concert
• Parade of Lights
• Winter Wonderland
• Polar Bear Swim
• Robbie Burns Dinner
• Heritage Festival
• Paper Kings Hockey at the recreation complex

SPRING IS SPRUNG

Spring can come early on the Coast, and can be fickle about staying put the first and second time it comes around. Some years finds locals out and about in t-shirts and shorts in February, but true to fairytales March can come in like a lion and send you back to your luggage for an extra sweater and wool socks. Those who slog away in slushy mud until the end of May in their home locales can't understand the fuss over a spring shower and delight in the early gardens and crisp ocean breezes that freshen the breakfast air around the Beacon.

By mid-April most years spring is here to stay and the flowering plums are profuse with blooms, winter's branches are budding and opening to the sun and all of the birds are returning from their southern sojourns. Bears ramble the backwoods, much of the summer gardens are in and bedding plants spill over nursery shelves, and visitors are afforded breathtaking views of Vancouver Island's Strathcona Park mountain range and Desolation Sound.

Spring fishing is at its best in the local lakes, diving is still excellent, and the woods beckon cyclists and hikers shaking off the winter closeness.

Spring events to watch for:

• Annual Festival of the Performing Arts
• Powell River Jazz Festival
• Powell River "Choirs in Concert"
• Start of the Open Air Market
• Earth Day Celebrations
• Womens Spring Festival
• Garden Tours
• Powell River / Comox Sailing Race
• Oceans Day

SUMMER

Nothing beats summer on the Sunshine Coast, except maybe for late spring and early fall if you're partial to peace & quiet and a leisurely arrival.

While you'll certainly break a sweat out on the water or raging along mountain bike trails, most Sunshine Coast summers are delightfully easy to take, with only a week or two of truly baking hot and breezeless weather to speak of. Most days, while the sun might be shining down from a cloudless azure sky there's usually an ocean breeze to go along with it, and the sea and lakes are the perfect place to shed your cares with an invigorating swim. Or, visit Powell River's excellent recreation complex for water fun for the whole family in a safe indoor setting to beat the heat.

Head over to Texada or Savary Island for the day for some epic sandcastle building, or take in one of the many summer festivals.

Summer is festival season:

• Please check out http://www.discoverpowellriver.com for the exact dates of all our yearly festivals
• Texada Island Sandcastle Competition in August
• Summer Curling Bonspiel
• Sea Fair Festival, celebrating Powell River's marine community lifestyle, late July or early August
• Blackberry Festival, with everything blackberry and a Friday night street party to wind it all up, late August