[Sangwan]

San Josef Bay: World's 36th most beautiful beach.

Living in the lower mainland has its benefits, there are beautiful places to visit in every direction and I will try to post more about these places in the future, but today we will talk about “San Josef Bay” beach. As mentioned in the title, it is the world’s 36th most beautiful beach and I feel privileged that I can visit this place. This beach is part of Cape Scott Provincial Park. It is an easy trail (2.7 KMs each way) to the beach from the parking area. The following was the itinerary for the trip:

Day 1(August 5):

• Catch the 5:15 AM ferry to Duke Point, Nanaimo
  
• See Haslam Creek Suspension Bridge, Nanaimo
  
• Elk lake falls and suspension bridge, Campbell River
  
• Roam around in Port Hardy (if time permits)

Day 2(August 6):

• Visit San Josef Bay beach
  
• Roam around in Port Hardy

Day 3(August 7):

• Visit Malahat Skywalk
  
• Visit Sheringham Light House
  
• Catch the evening ferry towards Home

Note: Although I have taken pics of many places, I am not a Camera person as I believe in watching the views instead of using the Camera, so there might seem some interesting bit but there is a probability that I won't be having a picture of it.

San Josef Bay is located approx. 70 Kms away from Port Hardy, which is where we stayed for two nights. This is the closest town to the beach and the place where I stayed was “Pioneer Inn” which is a motel and was $330 for two nights (including taxes). There is not much to write about this place, it had two beds, clean washrooms, and running hot water, like a basic but clean place to stay. As the time to visit this place was around the long weekend, I made sure that the ferry and hotel booking were done well ahead of time.

[Sangwan]

Day 1:

We went to bed at around midnight and then woke up again at 2:30 AM, suffice it to say that we were not happy, but we had to catch the ferry, so everyone got ready, went through the checklist again to make sure that nothing is being missed and at 4:30 AM, I was at Tsawwassen (I know, what a name right!) Ferry Terminal. Our ferry was sailing to Duke Point in Nanaimo, it was a 2-hour journey (5:15 AM to 7:15 AM), and the plan was to see the ocean, the sunrise and what not, but, what happened was I slept on co-driver's seat and my family slept on the back seat, at 7:00 AM I woke up, and came back to the driver's seat. After reaching Duke Point, we headed towards Haslam Creek Suspension bridge, it was around 21 KMs and after crossing almost half of the distance, the road turned to a gravel road and we saw the sign that the road is closed and we can’t go ahead, but the positive thing was we saw a wild Black bear, a first for us, just roaming around on the streets of Nanaimo. Well, with the bridge being closed, we went to eat something and the started towards Campbell River, it was around 170 KMs and the plan was to see Elk Lake falls and the suspension bridge. The roads are excellent, we maintained good speed and in 2:45 hours we were there, walking towards the falls.

Elk Lake falls was the second highlight of the trip. The pics will not do justice, and you must be there to see it, it is not super high, but it is majestic, the water falls with a force and the wind on your face is very soothing. When you move to the suspension bridge, which is near to the fall, you get a nice side view of the water falling into the gorge. We had to move forward, otherwise we would have loved to stay there for hours. Proceeded to lunch, and at around 2 PM, proceeded towards Port Hardy, our stay for next two days. It is around 230 Kms from Campbell River to Port Hardy, and it is a two-lane highway but mostly empty and the maximum speed limit is 100 Km/hr, so I was at the hotel already at around 4:40 PM.

Port Hardy was such a small town especially compared to cities in the lower mainland Vancouver, there are no traffic lights there only 4-Way stops!, there are only 3,902 people as of 2021, it is the northernmost town on the Vancouver Island, and even though the population is 3,902, we saw only a handful of people. All the things are at 5 min drive, the downtown is couple of streets, and everything is just slow there, the houses look old, the place is empty but there is warmth amongst the people, and everyone greeted with smile. We just roamed around and went to bed around 9 as it had been a long day for us.

Towards the Ferry Terminal.



Waiting in the Queue.



Finally parked in the Ferry.



At a gas station in Nanaimo






Towards our first destination in Nanaimo.







Road leading to it is closed.





En route to Campbell River.



Blue resting, somewhere on the way.





Comox, my organization sends here shipments everyday.



A Ranch.







Finally reached the Elk Falls Provincial Park



Information board



Trees along the trail







The suspension bridge.



First glimpse of the Falls.



Views from the suspension bridge.





The other side view from the bridge.



Another shot.

[Sangwan]

Day 1 continued:

En route to Port Hardy












Empty stretches and cruising at 100 KM/Hr





Beautiful Port Hardy









Empty sidewalks.



A house in Port Hardy.

[Sangwan]

Day 2:

On this day, we were going to see the beach, for which we came all the way to Port Hardy. So, there are parts of beach which get submerged if it is a high tide. There is a website where you can see the tide timings and I saw that from 11:30 AM onwards until 5:15 PM we will have time to see all of it as the tide will be low. Cape Scott is huge and there are numerous trails, you will need to camp there and stay at least 2-3 days I guess to cover all the trails, but lucky for us, the San Josef Bay was closest to the parking lot, and we felt that it will be an easy drive, but it was not. As soon as you take a left towards Cape Scott from Port Hardy, in 1 or 2 KMs the road vanishes and what's left is a dusty gravel road. It was okay, but everything was shaking inside the car and as the surface was rough and uneven, we made it to the parking lot at 11:00 AM. There was so much dust on the car, a wash was needed as soon as I reached back home.

On the notice board, it said that we are in “Wolf Country” and need to walk in a group, make noises and scare away the wolf/bear if we see any. I will be honest; it is a bit unsettling because the probability of it happening was low as there were people around but still there is a fear of “what if we encounter one.” We started the trail which was of 2.7 KMs and it was beautiful, it was easy, the only downers were the bees and mosquitoes constantly buzzing around, in around 40 mins, we saw the San Josef Bay beach and already while were moving on the trail, people returning were just saying that this is magnificent and indeed it was!

You know how, in so many travelogues, we read the line “the pics don’t do justice, you have to see it with your own eyes,” it was one of those sights. There was this big beach full of white sand which we do not see much in Canada, at least the places where I have been, and then there is this small beach on the left and a bit larger on the right, which are only accessible when the tide is low. It was windy but the wind was not that strong, and it was very relaxing as we just came out of the hike and then there were these mountains on both sides, which had these dark clouds flowing through them, overall, very pleasing scene to the eyes. The sand near the hike area was getting hot due to the sun but the more you went towards the water, the better it got and when the water comes up, it is cold but when it recedes, it is warm, and it feels fabulous. We spent 3-4 hours at the beach before the high tide started coming back and this time, I took my son in my arms and we were off and did the hike in 30 mins, it was tiring but it was quick and saved us time.

Remember, the gravel road I mentioned earlier, well as I had driven on it now for once, I was quick this time and it was fun because I was able to push the car a little and there was this RAM 1500 truck which followed me all the way, he never tried to overtake me and we had this bond formed, we were together till the very end and then parted ways as soon as the roads got better. We reached the hotel and returned to yet another beach! it was Storey’s beach in Fort Rupert, around 10 Kms away from the hotel and as expected, in less than 10 mins, we were sitting on a wooden log, kid throwing rocks in water and relaxing views again.

Towards San Josef Bay







Road ends and gravel road starts.

















Blue parked at Cape Scott Parking lot, look at the dust it gathered.







Information board.



San Josef Bay trail





















First glimpse of the beach.

[Sangwan]

Day 2 continued:

Random pics of beach































Last pic, until next time.



Trail pics again.









Storey's beach

[Sangwan]

Day 3:

Today, we were returning to Surrey, the ferry this time was from Victoria, so a long ride was ahead of us. Port Hardy to Campbell River is a two-lane highway, the speed limit is 100 and the roads are beautiful. You know when we were kids( when phones had keys and downloading a mobile wallpaper was a thing), I sometimes used to put wallpaper of winding roads with forest on both sides and not a soul in sight, well these roads were one of those wallpaper worthy roads. We started at around 8:30 AM and around noon we were in Campbell River, went to McD, grabbed quick bike, and moved onwards. My first target was Malahat Skywalk, this is a tower which gives you a bird’s eye view from the top. We reached there around 3 PM and the tickets cost us $77 for two of us and the kid’s ticket was free. It went great, the tower is awesome, you get to see outside on every level, and on top you get to see the Beautiful British Columbia (which is also imprinted on every BC vehicle plate) in its natural beauty. It was around 5:30 PM already by the time we were done and as the ferry was supposed to leave at 8 PM, so we had to be there at least an hour or 30 mins earlier before the departure but we were hungry, hence, we decided to skip the Lighthouse, it will be done next time whenever we are back. After having an early dinner, we decided to just go to the ferry terminal as it had been a long day with all the moving and driving but luckily we were bumped to 7 PM ferry (as we reached there at 6:45 PM and there was space available for cars) and so were home by 9:30 PM. This time on the ferry, we stayed out the whole time on the deck and saw the numerous cloud formations and a blurry rainbow.

Breathtakingly beautiful roads.









Towards the Malahat Tower



Bird's eye view from the top













Structure of Tower viewed from top.





View from the ferry.









Blue all cleaned, inside out.

[Sangwan]

Some stats:

Amount spent on fuel: $249 or approx. INR 15,200

Amount spent on food: $193 or approx. INR 11,800

Amount spent on accommodation: $328 or approx. INR 20,000

Amount spent on ferry: $167 or approx. INR 10,200

Amount spent on miscellaneous items: $89 or approx. INR 5,400

Total: $1026 or approx. INR 62,600

Car Used: Blue Santa Fe

Phones Used: Iphone 12 Pro Max and 14 Pro

Total distance driven: 1248 Kms.

Average: 9.97 KM/L

Places unable to visit: Haslam Creek Suspension Bridge in Nanaimo and Sheringham Lighthouse in Victoria

Thank you so much for reading.

Cheers,

Sangwan

[graaja]

Moving thread from Assembly Line to Travelogues. Thank you so much for sharing this awesome report!

[Toni]

Beautiful photos of breathtaking scenery. I couldn't help but feel the entire journey being taken by me. Gorgeous sights, attractive and charming, very serene – peaceful and calm. Probably, one of the most beautiful place in the world.

The roads too looks fantastic would love to drive on them. The beach looks stunning with those pine trees in the background.

Thanks Sangwan for sharing.

[Tgo]

That’s an amazing share Sangwan.

I can relate to these trips in a new country, all the planning and anticipation before one begins.

This summer was the first time we started venturing out too, exploring some back country roads and the landscape around Calgary.

Hopefully I have some time to pen things down soon.

[Sangwan]

Originally Posted by Tgo

That’s an amazing share Sangwan.

exploring some back country roads and the landscape around Calgary.

You are near the Rockies! and country roads are awesome. There is this rural areal near Surrey, Aldergrove and its all farm ranches, empty single lane roads and also 0 Ave, where US and Canada borders are running together just divided by a ditch between the roads. Beautiful. I will try to take pic next time I go there.

P.S. If time and bank balance permits I have already prepared an Itinerary for Northern BC. Hope it materializes and I share that with everyone.

[Samfromindia]

On a different topic, India's only beach to get featured in top 50 is: RADHANGAR

https://www.worlds50beaches.com/radhanagar-beach/