BC Cycle Tourism Society
Photo: Danika McDowellComox, BC

4 Ferry Odyssey

A ride described at Cross Canada Cycle Tour Society

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 4 Ferry Odyssey links Campbell River, Quadra Island, Cortes Island, Lund, and Powell River in a 165 km island-hopping tour with four water crossings, three ferries and a water taxi. The riding is nearly all paved but deceptively hilly, and the crossings set an unforgiving rhythm, which is why the club recommends it for strong riders. Few routes pack in more Salish Sea per kilometre.

Get the route on Cross Canada Cycle Tour Society →

Where this ride goes#

Map key & layers
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 18 km of Sunshine Coast Highway · near Larsons Landing
  • about 13 km of North Island Highway · near Merville
  • about 11 km of South Island Highway · near Stories Beach
  • about 6 km of Whaletown Road · near Mansons Landing
  • about 4 km of Coleman Road · near Grantham
  • about 3 km of Bates Road · near Grantham
  • about 2 km of Waveland Road · near Little River
  • about 2 km of Marine Avenue · near Cranberry
  • short stretches on other roads · 2 km total

and 2 more

☕Stops worth stopping for127 along this route

Campbell River Whale Watching: Carbon-neutral whale and bear tours from Campbell River's harbour. · Campbell River

Homalco Wildlife & Cultural Tours: Homalco Nation-owned grizzly and whale tours from Campbell River into Bute Inlet. · Campbell River

Knight Inlet Lodge: Indigenous-owned remote floating resort in the Great Bear Rainforest, owned by five partner First Nations, grizzly bear viewing in one of the last intact temperate rainforests on earth. · Black Creek

Maritime Heritage Centre: Maritime museum housing BCP45, the fishing boat from the old five-dollar bill. · Campbell River

Powell River Townsite Historic District: National Historic Site mill-town district of 400 heritage buildings. · Powell River

Communities along this route#

Campbell River 59Powell River 28Quathiaski Cove 9Black Creek 6Heriot Bay 4Mansons Landing 4Oyster River 4Lund 3Little River 2Comox 1Cortes Bay 1Courtenay 1Merville 1Oyster Bay 1Shelter Point 1Stories Beach 1Whaletown 1

Campbell River (59)

Campbell River Whale WatchingInfo· Visitor Centre · $$$$
Homalco Wildlife & Cultural ToursInfo· Activity / Experience · $$$$
Maritime Heritage CentreInfo· Museum / Gallery · $$
Wild Waterways AdventuresInfo· Activity / Experience · $$$$
Beach Fire BreweryWelcoming· Brewery / Pub · $$ · Casual
Anchor InnInfo· Hotel / Motel · $$ · Budget
Campbell River Art Gallery & Gift ShopInfo· Museum / Gallery · Free
Campbell River Community CentreInfo· Community Centre · Free
Centennial Outdoor PoolInfo· Community Centre · $
MattoneInfo· Restaurant · $$ · Casual

Plus the fast-food chains — Panago, Pita Pit, Boston Pizza +6 more

+40 more in Campbell River →

Powell River (28)

Powell River Townsite Historic DistrictInfo· Museum / Gallery · $$
Old Courthouse InnAccredited· Hotel / Motel · $$$ · Mid-range
Costa del SolInfo· Restaurant · $$ · Casual
qathet Museum and Archives SocietyInfo· Museum / Gallery · Free
River City CoffeeInfo· Café / Coffee · $ · Cheap eats
Willingdon Beach Park and CampsiteInfo· Private Campground
Powell River Harbour GuesthouseAccredited· Hostel · $ · Rock-bottom
32 Lakes Cafe and BakeryInfo· Bakery / Donuts · $ · Cheap eats
Coastal CookeryInfo· Restaurant · $$ · Casual
Forest Bistro & LoungeInfo· Restaurant · $$$ · Upscale

Plus the fast-food chains — The Beach Hut, Domino's

+16 more in Powell River →

Quathiaski Cove (9)

Wildcoast AdventuresInfo· Activity / Experience · $$$$
Island Farm To TableInfo· Restaurant · $$ · Casual
Quadra Island Community CentreInfo· Community Centre · Free
Quadra Island Farmers Market & BazaarInfo· Farmers' Market
Quadra Island Library BranchInfo· Library · Free
The CloveInfo· Restaurant · $ · Cheap eats
The High Point ResortInfo· Hotel / Motel · $$$ · Mid-range
Tru Value FoodsInfo· Grocery Store
Cafe AromaInfo· Café / Coffee · $ · Cheap eats

Black Creek (6)

Knight Inlet LodgeInfo· Resort · $$$$ · Luxury
Black Creek Community CentreInfo· Community Centre · Free
Brian Scott Fine ArtsInfo· Museum / Gallery
Double Deckker Breakfast and Burger BusInfo· Restaurant · $ · Cheap eats
Pattison FarmsInfo· Farmers' Market
Black Creek Country MarketInfo· Convenience Store

Heriot Bay (4)

Heriot Bay InnInfo· Brewery / Pub · $$ · Casual
Heriot Bay InnInfo· Hotel / Motel · $$$$ · Luxury
Heriot Bay StoreInfo· Grocery Store
BC Liquor StoreInfo· Liquor Store

Mansons Landing (4)

Cortes Island Museum & ArchivesInfo· Museum / Gallery · Free
Cortes Natural Food CoopInfo· Grocery Store
Cortes Island Library BranchInfo· Library · Free
MarketInfo· Grocery Store

Oyster River (4)

Ocean Resort Hotel & Event CentreInfo· Hotel / Motel · $$ · Budget
Discovery Foods Oyster RiverInfo· Grocery Store
Oyster River Liquor StoreInfo· Liquor Store

Plus the fast-food chains — Forbidden Zone Pizza

Lund (3)

The Lund Resort at Klah Ah MenInfo· Hotel / Motel
Nancy's BakeryInfo· Bakery / Donuts · $ · Cheap eats
SunLund RV Park & CabinsInfo· Private Campground

Little River (2)

Copes' Islander Bed & BreakfastInfo· B&B / Inn · $$$ · Mid-range
Little River Regional Nature ParkInfo· Park / Nature · Free

Comox (1)

40 Knots Vineyard and Estate WineryInfo· Winery / Cidery · $$ · Casual

Cortes Bay (1)

Wild CortesInfo· Museum / Gallery · Free

Courtenay (1)

Bates Beach FarmInfo· Farmers' Market
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 allCampbell River

Getting to this ride, bike and all#

Campbell River is the handiest transit doorway for this ride. Ferries, rental cars, and buses will carry you and your bike there:

Also on the bike-transit map: Powell River · Lund · Comox · Courtenay

Or pick any two places on To & Fro →

🪶Traditional territories

This route travels through the traditional territories of the Homalco, Hul’qumi’num Treaty Group, K’ómoks, Liǧʷiłdax̌ʷ, ɬaʔamɩn gɩǰɛ (Tla’amin), ƛohos giǰi (Klahoose), 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 →Got the GPX? Add BC Bike Stops to it →
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