Errington Volunteer Fire Department

Now home to an eclectic assortment of farmers, artists and craftspeople, Errington is also the gateway to the Englishman River Falls in the magnificent Englishman River Falls Provincial Park.

Location: Errington is located in the foothills of Arrowsmith Mountain on Errington Road, off Highway 4, just south of Parksville and Qualicum Beach on the east coast of central Vancouver Island.

• Stop by the Errington Farmers Market at the Errington Hall on Errington Road, a community based market specializing in agricultural products, arts, crafts and live entertainment. Saturday mornings from 10 am to 1 pm, mid-May to mid-September.

• Visit the North Island Wildlife Recovery Association, located on an 8-acre plot of land in Errington, where injured birds and mammals are nursed back to health and visitors are educated on wildlife issues. The centre is open from the March Spring break through to December, offering a beautiful park and non-releasable animals and birds such as eagles, owls, turkey vulture, falcons, hawks, and black bears. Adopt a heron, a fawn, an otter or an eagle!

• Meet the animals at Tiger Lily Farm, a children's farm featuring a hands-on experience with typical BC farm animals, pony rides, birthday parties and more. Hug the little lambs, learn how to milk a goat, count the chickens, or bottle-feed a calf!

• Golf: There are no fewer than 6 world-class golf courses in the nearby Parksville and Qualicum Bay area, and the pleasant, sunny climate means play continues year-round. Select from the Morningstar Golf Club in Parksville, or Arrowsmith Golf & Country Club, Eaglecrest Golf Club, Glengarry Golf Links, and Qualicum Beach Memorial Golf Course in Qualicum Beach. Golf Vacations on Vancouver Island.

• Errington War Memorial Hall

  The Little Qualicum Spawning Channel on the Little Qualicum River is accessed via Melrose Road. Turn north off Highway 4, 3.5 miles (6 km) west of Coombs, and follow the signs to the hatchery. Over 4 million chinook salmon are raised annually, with the best visiting times being February to June and October to November. This hatchery is not to be confused with the big Qualicum Falls Hatchery, located on the Qualicum River north of Horne Lake.

• Englishman River Falls Provincial Park was named around 1883 after local natives found the skeleton of a European on the banks of the river. The otherwise forgotten Englishman is believed to have drowned while trying to cross the river.

• Fishing: There's excellent bank casting for rainbow and cutthroat trout on the Englishman River, either near the river mouth on the Strait of Georgia near Parksville or in Englishman River Falls Provincial Park. There's a steelhead run as well in the river. Unfortunately, a decline in salmon stocks in British Columbia has forced closures on fishing for a number of species, so be sure to check in advance. Over the past century, brown trout have been successfully introduced to a number of Vancouver Island rivers, such as the Little Qualicum. The best access to the river for bank casting is at Little Qualicum Falls Provincial Park. You'll also find good trolling and boat casting in Cameron Lake, part of which also lies within the park. There's a boat launch at the picnic grounds on Cameron Lake.

• Hiking: Both Englishman River Falls and Little Qualicum Falls Provincial Parks have rambling trails that lead beside the clear waters of these pristine rivers. A walk to the falls is a big part of a visit to either park.

• Englishman River Falls Provincial Park, situated along the Englishman River, features a spectacular canyon between two beautiful waterfalls cascading along the descending riverbed. This 97-hectare park offers several walking trails that meander through lush old-growth forests of cedar, arbutus, fir, maple and hemlock along the Englishman River. Gaze up among the tall timbers where fingers of sunlight slant down to the ferns below. You'll find vehicle/tent sites and there's great picnicking, summer swimming and a 2-mile walking trail that passes through a stand of maple trees to an impressive waterfall and gorge. One hiking trial in the park leads to centuries-old petroglyphs depicting a bear and two whales. Located 3.5 miles (6 km) south of Errington.

• MacMillan Provincial Park is famous for Cathedral Grove, one of the most accessible stands of giant Douglas-fir trees in British Columbia. Some of these trees are 800 years old, and walking the trails through this virgin coastal forest can be quite an inspirational experience. Loop trails on either side of the highway lead awe-struck visitors through the mighty forest stands. The south loop showcases the largest Douglas-fir trees, with the biggest one measuring over 9 metres in circumference. The trail on the northern side of the road winds through groves of ancient Western Red Cedar to the shores of Cameron Lake. The 136-hectare park is located on Highway 4 on the shores of Cameron Lake, 11 miles (18 km) west of Errington.

• Spend an afternoon lazing on the beach at the Cameron Lake Recreation Site, surrounded by mountains and forests in the Little Qualicum Falls Provincial Park on Highway 4, 11 miles (18 km) west of Errington. Facilities at the lake include picnic sites, a boat Launch (private), and campsites (private and provincial). Cameron Lake is stocked with rainbow and cutthroat trout, and offers good fishing through summer. Anglers can test their fly fishing skills on the lake's brown trout, often the most difficult of trout to catch in B.C. Strong winds blow here in the afternoon, which attracts windsurfers but definitely deters those in small boats. Boaters and paddlers should take note of the strong and sudden gusts of wind often experienced on Cameron Lake.

• At the west end of Cameron Lake is the Beaufort Picnic Site, another fine location for picnicking and swimming adjacent to the campground in the Little Qualicum Falls Provincial Park. Picnic tables are arranged beside the beach. Cameron Lake is bordered by steep mountains: Mt. Wesley to the north and Mt. Arrowsmith to the south.

• Little Qualicum Falls Provincial Park straddles the scenic Little Qualicum River, where impressive waterfalls cascade and plummet down a rocky gorge in a beautiful forest setting. This magnificent 440-hectare park is a popular family recreation area, and is perhaps the most magnificent park on Vancouver Island, Little Qualicum Falls incorporates the entire southern shore of Cameron Lake, adjacent to MacMillan Provincial Park and the awesome Cathedral Grove Rainforest.

• Directly north of Errington is the seaside resort town of Parksville. Bordered by ocean and sheltered by mountains, Parksville boasts some of the finest beaches in Canada, including those at Rathtrevor Beach Provincial Park. When the tide goes out in Parksville, it leaves hundreds of metres of firm golden sand - internationally acclaimed as the best building material for sandcastles!

• To the northwest of Errington is another B.C. seaside pleasureland. Steeped in a quaint British heritage, modern day Qualicum Beach offers visitors the same gentle countryside and golden, seemingly endless sandy beaches as Parksville, plus 4 top golf courses.