How to Do Winter Right on a Parksville Qualicum Beach Getaway

Mainlanders tend to think of the Parksville Qualicum Beach region as a warm-weather getaway. But come winter, this 19-kilometre-long waterfront stretch on eastern Vancouver Island pleasantly cools down with no crowds while keeping things cozy inside. What’s more, it’s easy to get to: I and my family—husband Dan and 19-year-old son Thomas—recently hopped aboard BC Ferries for a 1.5-hour-plus mid-morning sailing followed by a 40-minute drive. Here’s how to do winter right in what is truly a year-round destination.

Milk, Moos and Monterey Jill Cheese

Celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, Little Qualicum Cheeseworks (LQC) makes for the perfect first stop. We meet up with owner Chelsea Enns for a tour of the small family-run Parksville farm, complete with some 100 cows and adorable calves, a vintage dairy parlour, robotic milker, artisan cheese plant and Farmgate Store stocked with mostly B.C. products.

The big news around here, though, is the arrival of a fully digital milk-on-tap dispenser. Replacing the former token-operated machine (Canada’s original milk-on-tap dispenser), the new double unit promises to boost efficiency.

“We had a lineup one time all the way to the calf barn,” says Enns. “On average, we sell two to three thousand litres of fluid milk a month. But last July we sold 10,000 litres… that is for sure our record.” On the way out, we fill up our own bottle of fresh whole milk—flavoured options like strawberry, chocolate and vanilla are still to come—and grab a to-go Graze Box packed with cheeses, charcuterie, olives, fruit, nuts and dips.

A Cabin to Call Home

Starting as a single tent 80 years ago, Tigh-Na-Mara Seaside Spa Resort & Conference Centre today is home to 192 log units spanning 17 different room types. Modern ocean-view suites, spa bungalows and rustic cabins now dot the 22-acre property perched above the Strait of Georgia in Parksville.

Our two-bedroom log cabin set among arbutus and cedar trees makes us feel like we’ve left the real world behind, if only for a few days. Here, accent lamps warmly glance off walls of fir and cedar, while wood-frame beds, skylights, a full kitchen and modern bathroom promise days of cozy comfort ahead. Checking in late afternoon, we’re soon savouring award-winning brie and other to-go box goodies from LQC in front of a crackling fire. Later, we’ll take a crisp walk along the resort’s now-empty stretch of sandy beach. For now, we’re content to simply absorb this homey fireside moment.

Al Fresco Dining with a Twist

Launched in 2021, winter dome dining at Parksville’s Beach Club Resort continues to be a gastronomical hit among locals and visitors alike. Tucking into one of three heated bubble-like structures on the resort’s waterfront patio that evening, we’re first smitten with the whimsical décor and table setting—tiny white lights, greenery and candles—and then with the three-course table d’hôte that follows. Dan and Thomas both love their braised lamb shank main, while I sink into a dreamy plate of gnocchi with white wine cream sauce, kale and walnuts. Winter dome dining continues until just after Valentine’s Day with a monthly dinner menu, wine pairing option, lunch menu and three-course brunch on weekends and holidays.

First We Dip…

The next morning finds us bobbing around the Grotto Spa’s warm mineral pool. The signature Tigh-Na-Mara amenity was recently renovated to include a cedar ceiling and handcrafted beams, reinforcing its connection with the forest surrounds. Also new is the 30-seat outdoor Garden Oasis with wooden decks, shelters and 100-plus types of local flora. We leisurely move from the main pool to the hot whirlpool, cool splash waterfall and back again. Outside, we bypass the Adirondack chairs and stone fire tables and instead pop into one of the four cedar barrel saunas.

… Then We Dine

Bundled up in white fluffy robes and sandals, we saunter upstairs to the Treetop Tapas & Grill for the second half of the spa’s Dip and Dine package. I giddily feel like I’m getting away with something, arriving so casually attired, and then being served an exquisite nine-course chef’s tasting menu with a wine pairing flight. Created by head chef Lukas Exelby, each Pacific Coast-inspired dish connects with nature. Walking us through this delightfully endless culinary journey is our entertaining server, Koko.

“This reminds the chef of the forest floor in early spring,” says Koko, as he places pretty plates of micro-watercress-topped mushroom toast on our table. “Snow is still on the ground, the flowers are coming out and everything is coming to life.”

On the way are scallops and brussels sprouts in a brown butter crumble (be still, my tastebuds!), a rich duck and leek tartlet, foie gras torchon with black truffle honey and juniper-brined elk striploin. Before a red-wine-infused chocolate cake appears for dessert, my meat-loving husband and son each reorder the kale salad with nooch vinaigrette—a solid testament to just how good it is. It’s late afternoon by the time we leave, and we all feel full well into the evening. Tip: arrive very hungry.

Between Rocks and a River on a Cave Tour

“We’re going in there?” I ask incredulously on a guided group tour of the Horne Lake Caves the next day. Sure, the 2.5-hour Multi Cave Experience begins easily enough with a 1-km switchback hike up to the Riverbend Cave. But now, faced with steep, narrow stairs disappearing into a gushing underground river, I and my vertigo do a double take. Maybe it’s group mentality or encouragement from our guide, Curtis, but I push on. Water splashes over me and fills my rubber boots as I pick my way through the dark limestone cave below. A popular tourist attraction in summer, the caves ironically are at their most spectacular in winter, with high rainwater levels amping up the excitement.

Headlamps bouncing off lustrous white, cream- and caramel-coloured calcite crystals, we marvel at these delicate formations that only grow one cubic centimetre in a century. “Over there, that’s a stalactite,” says Curtis, pointing to what looks like a chunky icicle hanging from above. “It’s about 65 thousand years old.”

Urged on by his calls to go “deeper and darker,” we also climb the Main Cave’s three-tier waterfall, scoot down Canada’s only cave slide and worm our way through a standing squeeze. I can honestly say I’ve earned the Cave Ambassador Card given out at the end of the tour.

Greenside Dining in Nanoose Bay

Craving comfort food after our underground adventure, we head to the Greenview Taphouse in Nanoose Bay for dinner. Not yet a year old, the 250-seat restaurant sits alongside the 10th hole of the Fairwinds Golf Course. Parquet floors, pops of greenery and floor-to-ceiling windows grace the casually chic space, also home to a games room and large outdoor patio. While we can’t see the fairway on this dark winter night, plates of loaded nachos, Papa’roni pizza and crispy chicken wings demand our full attention (the taphouse is also rolling out a new menu this month). I wash them down with a beer flight, chosen from the 20-plus rotating taps—all B.C. brewed except for the Guinness, a nod to co-owner Eli Brennan’s Irish heritage and father.

Local Love at the Farmers Market

Checking out of the resort the next morning, we squeeze in a visit to the Qualicum Beach Farmers Market. Open year-round on Saturdays, this bustling bazaar of 100-plus outdoor and indoor vendors is just as much about local products as it is about the colourful personalities and passion behind them. I meet Susan Boland of Mama Sue’s Granola Bars, whose long-time family snack was such a hit with her daughter’s volleyball team that she turned it into a business five years ago. I scoop up a few packs of her newest flavour, Nanaimo Bar. Then there’s Bibi Menge of BoMé Cheese, the father-son team behind Hellenic Harvest’s luscious Greek dips, Quinn Palmer and his Esquimalt Vermouth & Apéritifs and Bill Pukesh with his Grizzly Bear Toys (And Stuff)—not a toy in sight, but I do learn a lot about his hand-carved wood spurtles. Meanwhile, my husband sneaks off to buy a pair of finely cut silver tree earrings from Kiley Granberg Art Jewellery to surprise me with later.

Seaside Dining in Qualicum Beach

Steps from the waterfront, the Qualicum Beach Café serves up locally sourced West Coast fare and ocean views to match. A circular building with wraparound windows, the airy restaurant is nestled inside the Qualicum Beach Inn along Island Highway West. Midday, we slide onto a toffee-toned leather banquette for the last meal of our trip. Soon, Dan is diving into a bowl of West Coast seafood chowder, loaded with shrimp, smoked wild salmon, Tofino lingcod, clams and mussels. Thomas relishes his prime rib hash bowl with poached eggs, and my elegant crab cake benny makes me wish brunch were every day. Sending us off in style, though, is a slice of blood orange cheesecake, housed inside a delicate sugar dome and dramatically served with a vanilla and hazelnut flambé.