POWELL RIVER GETAWAY
Northern Sunshine Coast just 30 minutes away, thanks to new flights from downtown
For anyone who has spent six hours getting from Vancouver to the northern Sunshine Coast, your seaplane has come in.
Twice-daily, 30-minute direct flights between downtown Vancouver and Powell River launched March 7 on Harbour Air, knocking about five hours off the roadtrip-plus-two-ferries route from Horseshoe Bay.
Flights go from Coal Harbour to Powell Lake, about a three-minute drive from Powell River's historic Townsite (Pacific Coast Airlines also runs regular flights from YVR to Powell River Airport).
Seaplane service makes Powell River work as a weekend dart from downtown Vancouver, a gateway to outdoor activities like hiking, kayaking, fishing and the Powell River Canoe Route. Or you can do what I did on a recent two-day getaway and have a more urban experience that involved walking as well as a rental car.
SATURDAY
■ 9:30 a.m. Eggs Benedict with a side of visual cheesecake
Start in historic Townsite with eggs Benedict with cold-smoked salmon on a homemade biscuit at Edie Rae's Café in the amusingly kitschy, antiques-packed Old Courthouse Inn. Inn owner Kelly Belanger does the baking and works the stoves.
■ 11 a.m. Explore historic Townsite on foot
Powell River was born with Townsite, built in 1910 to house workers at the first pulp and paper mill on Canada's west coast.
Today, the shuttered mill employs a lone worker but Townsite remains, with more than 400 original arts and crafts-style homes and buildings. The low stone walls along the sidewalks are the work of Italian stone masons.
Stewart Alsgaard, the 86-yearold four-term mayor of Powell River, leads twice-weekly walking tours with L. Maynard Harry, former chief councillor of the Tla'amin Nation. The Tla'amin people lived here for thousands of years before settlers arrived.
We wound up at Dwight Hall, an impressively restored 1927 ballroom with a gleaming hardwood dance floor cushioned by horsehair. Alsgaard and Harry were in the arched-ceiling ballroom for the historic signing of the 2003 Powell River-tla'amin Nation community accord that established collaborative governance in the town.
Guided Townsite walks run June through August or on request. They start at the Henderson House Living Museum, the home and office of Townsite's first doctor.
■ 12 p.m. Buy local
The former Powell Stores company store, built by Chinese immigrant Sam Sing in 1913, is now home to Townsite Market, a variety of small shops run by local makers and artisans. Brenda Elder sells herbs, ephemera and funky jewelry at The Owl and Bear Herbs and Curiosities. The town's newest bakery, Hearth and Grain, sells heritage-grain breads and pastries, while Eunoia Fibre Arts studio is a three-designer co-operative that transforms vintage clothes and textiles into one-of-a-kind new garments.
■ 1 p.m. Fill up at Monks on Marine
Downtown Powell River is a seven-minute drive from Townsite. Stop for lunch in new restaurant Monks on Marine, located in a former garage. It has water views from the back and street-facing rolling doors that open on summer days. Owner Megan Steeves makes a rotating selection of daily cakes using her grandmother's recipes.
■ 4 p.m. Blissful stay
Check in for two nights at Beyond Bliss Spa & Suites, in the heart of Powell River's downtown. The street-facing suite was surprisingly quiet and came with a full kitchen. Owner-operator Sheona Scott also runs the spa on the main floor. Look for her chocolate bars and colourful artsy bonbons in the spa shop or local pop-ups.
■ 4:30 p.m. Cool brews
Drop in at 10-year-old Townsite Brewing, the only brewery on the north Sunshine Coast, for a flight of craft beers in the circa-1939 former federal building. The wild yeast barrel-fermented, slightly sour Bois Sauvage beer and zippy Zunga Golden Blonde were my favourites. Belgian-born co-owner and brewmaster Cédric Dauchot helms the brewery with wife Chloe Smith. A large tasting room fronts the micro-brewery, a family-friendly community hub where kids challenge their parents at old-school video game tables.
■ 5:30 p.m. Dinner …
Coastal Cookery on Marine Ave. has a wine-bar feel, solid cocktail list and a varied menu including burgers, beer-can chicken and savoury bowls. Sister restaurant Costa del Sol is across the street. The tiny dining room was once the police station and the kitchen gets Mexican right with mezcal cocktails, tacos (the carnitas are excellent) and a real-deal key lime pie.
■ 7 p.m. … and a movie
Townsite's jewel is the faded yet still-elegant Spanish revival gem, the Patricia Theatre. Opened in 1928 as a silent movie house, it made the jump to digital projection in 2012.
With plush red vintage theatre seats — designed more for looks than comfort — and peacock murals on the walls, you can't beat the atmosphere.
SUNDAY
■ 11 a.m. Brunch
The brunch crowd packs Magpie's Diner in nearby Cranberry, Powell River's first suburb. The 1920s-era former five-and-dime shows off its historic roots with a row of stools at the old soda-fountain counter. Everything on the menu is homemade. The walls serve as a local art gallery. Owner Maggie Thistle encourages Powell River creatives by hanging their pieces for sale — and she doesn't take commission.
■ 12:30 p.m. And then there were doughnuts
You have to move fast if you want to catch Southview Donuts, at the Powell River Farmers Market. They typically sell out by 1 p.m. Made by the Woolley family, Dad Martyn gets up at 4 a.m. to fry eight varieties of cake-style doughnuts, while mom Pieta does the dipping and decorating. Twelve-year-old Abi is company spokesperson.
They started out last July by selling doughnuts at the corner of their street and moved to the farmers market in September. At two bucks each, the doughnuts are the best deal going.
■ 2 p.m. Getting outside
The Sunshine Coast Trail is a beloved (and free) 180-km hutto-hut hiking trail that goes from Sarah Point in Desolation Sound to Saltery Bay. You don't need to commit to the whole thing and can easily choose a chunk of the rainforest trail to hike. Christine Hollman, owner of Terracentric Coastal Adventures led us along part of the Toquenatch Trail for a couple of kilometres to a short cedar bridge across a modest waterfall. The path was soft and springy underfoot. Patches of the forest, rocks and felled trees were covered in electric green moss.
The biggest thrill was running into Eagle Walz, president of the Powell River Parks and Wilderness Society. The former teacher started the Sunshine Coast Trail in 1992 to preserve imperilled old-growth forest.