Photo: The Number CreativeNanaimo, BC

Sunshine Coast Tour Day 5

A ride described at Cross Canada Cycle Tour Society

How we describe routes →

Ambitious A real undertaking. Demanding on a couple of fronts, like rough surfaces plus steady climbing, or a long stretch on busier roads.

Difficulty Our overall read of how demanding a route is. We score surface roughness, climbing, singletrack, and how far it runs from services. The route publisher's own rating, a lot of busy road riding, or sheer scale can push the tier up, never down.

Derived from OpenStreetMap. Good data, not perfect. Spot something wrong? Tell us.

How we describe routes →

The fifth day of a Cross Canada Cycle Tour Society multi-day tour, riding 110 km in the Nanaimo area with about 1,100 m of rolling climbing, nearly all paved. Club-style road touring: steady pace, shared roads, coffee halfway.

Get the route on Cross Canada Cycle Tour Society →Free route map on Ride with GPS ↗

Where this ride goes#

Approximate lineGet the real route ↗

Map key & layers

Show stops Mute other bike trails

Food & DrinkAttractionsSuppliesCampingAccommodationBike Services

Riding near fast trafficFastest stretches

Dashed line = our rough sketch of where the ride goes. The rideable route lives at get the route from Cross Canada Cycle Tour Society.

Fast-road stretches#

We believe these are the fast, unprotected roads on this route. We can tell you which roads and roughly how far, but not the order you will ride them. If you see an error, tell us and we'll fix it.

about 25 km of West Island Highway · near Dashwood
about 12 km of South Island Highway · near Fanny Bay
about 8 km of Northwest Bay Road · near Bryn
about 6 km of East Island Highway · near Nanoose Bay
short stretches on other roads · 3 km total

☕Stops worth stopping for149 along this route

Milner Gardens and Woodland: 70-acre heritage garden estate with old-growth forest and a tea room. · Qualicum Beach

Communities along this route#

Parksville 54 Nanaimo 27 Qualicum Beach 21 Hornby Island 8 Nanoose Bay 8 Qualicum Bay 8 Denman Island 7 Bowser 5 Fanny Bay 3 Jayem 3 Dashwood 2 French Creek 1 Mud Bay 1 Wellington 1

Parksville (54)

Choices MarketWelcoming· Grocery Store

Black Goose InnInfo· Restaurant · $$ · Casual

Cedars Restaurant & LoungeInfo· Restaurant · $$$ · Upscale

KavalasInfo· Restaurant · $$$ · Upscale

Madrona Beach ResortInfo· Hotel / Motel · $$ · Budget

Mount Arrowsmith BreweryInfo· Brewery / Pub · $$ · Casual

Ocean Trails ResortInfo· Hotel / Motel · $$$$ · Luxury

Parksville & District Chamber of CommerceInfo· Visitor Centre · Free

Parksville MuseumInfo· Museum / Gallery · Free

Pentlatch GalleryInfo· Museum / Gallery

Plus the fast-food chains — A&W, Boston Pizza, McDonald's +7 more

+34 more in Parksville →

Nanaimo (27)

Pomme Natural MarketInfo· Grocery Store

Delicado'sWelcoming· Restaurant · $ · Cheap eats

Milano'sWelcoming· Restaurant · $$ · Casual

Pizzeria La StellaWelcoming· Restaurant · $$ · Casual

Regard Coffee RoastersWelcoming· Café / Coffee · $ · Cheap eats

Black Bear PubInfo· Brewery / Pub · $$ · Casual

Country RestaurantInfo· Restaurant · $$ · Casual

Hudson's BayInfo· Grocery Store

Dairy Queen/Orange JuliusInfo· Ice Cream · $ · Cheap eats

Pho 11 Noodle BarInfo· Restaurant · $ · Cheap eats

Plus the fast-food chains — A&W, Chachi's, Edo Japan +10 more

+4 more in Nanaimo →

Qualicum Beach (21)

Milner Gardens and WoodlandInfo· Park / Nature · $$$

Black Bird Schnitzel HausInfo· Restaurant · $$ · Casual

Crown Mansion Boutique Hotel & VillasInfo· Hotel / Motel · $$$$ · Upscale

Qualicum Beach MuseumInfo· Museum / Gallery · $$

Qualicum Beach Visitor Information and Chamber of CommerceInfo· Visitor Centre

The Shady Rest RestaurantInfo· Restaurant · $$ · Casual

Wild Culture Artisan BakeryInfo· Bakery / Donuts · $ · Cheap eats

Buena Vista by the Sea MotelInfo· Hotel / Motel · $$ · Budget

Casa Grande InnInfo· Hotel / Motel · $$ · Budget

Ocean Crest MotelInfo· Hotel / Motel · $$ · Budget

+11 more in Qualicum Beach →

Hornby Island (8)

Hornby Island Co-OpWelcoming· Convenience Store

CorLan Vineyard & FarmInfo· Winery / Cidery · $$ · Casual

Free StoreInfo· Grocery Store

Forage Farm and KitchenWelcoming· Restaurant · $$ · Casual

SizzleWelcoming· Restaurant · $$ · Casual

Hornby Island Library BranchInfo· Library · Free

LIX CafeInfo· Ice Cream · $ · Cheap eats

Bradsdadsland CampgroundInfo· Private Campground

Nanoose Bay (8)

Pacific Shores Resort & SpaInfo· Hotel / Motel · $$$$ · Upscale

Rusted Rake BrewingInfo· Brewery / Pub · $$ · Casual

Arlington Inn Motel & PubInfo· Brewery / Pub · $$ · Casual

Nanoose Place Community CentreInfo· Community Centre · Free

Art and Sould Bed & BreakfastInfo· B&B / Inn

Cascadia LiquorInfo· Liquor Store

Petro CanadaInfo· Convenience Store

Quality FoodsInfo· Grocery Store

Qualicum Bay (8)

Qualicum First Nation CampgroundInfo· Private Campground

Lighthouse Community CentreInfo

Lighthouse MotelInfo· Hotel / Motel · $$ · Budget

Roam Beach ResortInfo· Hotel / Motel · $$$ · Mid-range

Sea Flame Beach ResortInfo· Hotel / Motel · $$ · Budget

Crown & Anchor RoadhouseInfo· Brewery / Pub · $$ · Casual

Qualicum Bay ResortInfo· Private Campground

Tam's TakeoutInfo· Restaurant · $ · Cheap eats

Denman Island (7)

Denman Island GuesthouseInfo· Hostel · $ · Rock-bottom

Denman Island Museum & ArchivesInfo· Museum / Gallery · Free

Guesthouse bistro @ earthclubfactoryInfo· Café / Coffee · $ · Cheap eats

Lilac Sun PotteryInfo· Museum / Gallery · Free

Summer Art GalleryInfo· Museum / Gallery · Free

Denman Island General StoreInfo· Convenience Store

Dora Drinkwater Community LibraryInfo· Library · Free

Bowser (5)

Bowser Library BranchInfo· Library · Free

Qualicum Breeze Beach ResortInfo· Hotel / Motel · $$$$ · Upscale

Tomm's Food VillageInfo· Grocery Store

Georgia Park StoreInfo· Convenience Store

Plus the fast-food chains — Nickolini's Pizza

Fanny Bay (3)

Fanny Bay InnInfo· Brewery / Pub · $$ · Casual

Weinberg's Good FoodInfo· Café / Coffee · $ · Cheap eats

Plus the fast-food chains — Subway

Jayem (3)

Snaw Naw As CampgroundInfo· Private Campground

Snaw-Naw-As StoreInfo· Convenience Store

Plus the fast-food chains — Tim Hortons

Dashwood (2)

Cedar Grove RV Park & CampgroundInfo· Private Campground

Riverside ResortInfo· Hotel / Motel · $$$ · Mid-range

French Creek (1)

French Creek BistroInfo· Restaurant · $$ · Casual

Slice and dice these stops in the directory →

These stops come from our directory of welcoming places across BC. Spot something wrong, missing, or closed? Tell us and we'll fix it.

⛴Getting here, bike and allParksville

Getting to this ride, bike and all#

Parksville is the handiest transit doorway for this ride. Buses and ferries will carry you and your bike there:

Qualicum Beachbest: bus
Nanaimobest: bus
Vancouverbest: ferry + bus
Victoriabest: bus

Also on the bike-transit map: Nanaimo · Qualicum Beach · Hornby Island · Denman Island

Or pick any two places on To & Fro →

🪶Traditional territories

This route travels through the traditional territories of the Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla, Homalco, Hul’qumi’num Treaty Group, K’ómoks, Liǧʷiłdax̌ʷ, ɬaʔamɩn gɩǰɛ (Tla’amin), Snaw-naw-as, Snuneymuxw, Te’mexw Treaty Association, We Wai Kai, and Wei Wai Kum.

Territory data from Native Land Digital, for educational purposes only.

Ready to ride it?

Get the route on Cross Canada Cycle Tour Society →Free route map on Ride with GPS ↗Got the GPX? Add BC Bike Stops to it →