Parksville Beach

Overlooking Lasqueti Island and the Strait of Georgia, Parksville Beach is a pristine sandy beach on east coast Vancouver Island. Sweeping views look out across the expansive ocean to the Coast Mountains on mainland British Columbia.

The clean sand here is ideal for young families to play. Access is via the Parksville Community Park which has children’s play areas, water cannons, swings and slides as well as picnic areas right on the beachfront. There are beach volleyball courts, an outdoor fitness station and skateboard park nearby.

The beach is edged with a boardwalk which frequently hosts festivals and events. These include well-known Parksville Beach Festival which attracts around 100,000 visitors in July and August during the Quality Foods Canadian Open Sand Sculpting Competition and Exhibition. The extremely flat sandy beach has shallow waters and the tide goes out for almost a kilometre, leaving plenty of open space for building sandcastles, sunbathing and playing ball games.

This coast, including Parksville Beach boasts the warmest ocean waters in Canada for swimming. As the tide comes in it absorbs heat from the sand making it pleasantly warm.

Parksville Beach is ideal for long walks and sunset strolls. Look out for sand dollars, shells, starfish and stranded sea life in tidal pools when the tide is low. In spring the beach has thousands of migratory seabirds including Black Brant Geese that are attracted to the herring spawning - a veritable feast!