Totem Pole, Port Alberni, Vancouver Island

Unique historic sites, attractions and activities bring to life the Alberni Valley's First Nations tradition and proud heritage in Canadian forestry.

Location: The Alberni Valley is located in south central Vancouver Island. The economic centre of the valley is Port Alberni, situated on Highway 4 between Parksville and Tofino.

• Port Alberni
  Port Alberni is nestled in the Alberni Valley at the head of Alberni Inlet, the longest inlet on Vancouver Island, which connects Port Alberni with Barkley Sound and the Pacific Ocean. Port Alberni is well-known for its breathtaking scenery and signals the Start of the Pacific Rim Experience.

• Alberni Inlet
  The Alberni Inlet on Vancouver Island is a long, narrow flute that leads 25 miles (40 km) inland from the open ocean of Barkley Sound and the Pacific Ocean. In general, the Alberni Inlet and Barkley Sound offer year-round fishing. One of the chief staging areas for fishing the Alberni Inlet is China Creek south of Port Alberni on the road to Bamfield.

• Highway 4
  Highway 4 is the Pacific Rim Highway, which winds across the spine of the Vancouver Island Mountains from Parksville on the east coast to Port Alberni and the open Pacific Ocean at Ucluelet and Tofino. This is the route to the Pacific Rim National Park.

• Sproat Lake
  With over 200 miles of forested lakeshore, and fresh water so clean and clear you can see thirty feet down, Sproat Lake is a popular vacation destination on Vancouver Island, known for its warm water. Vacation homes and holiday cottages dot the shoreline, but the majority of the foreshore is uninhabited and lined by beaches and Douglas fir forest.

• Barkley Sound
  Barkley Sound and the Broken Group Islands comprise one of the three main recreational components in Pacific Rim National Park, covering an area of approximately 800 square kilometres that includes hundreds of islands, none of which is larger than 2 kilometres across. The popularity of these islands with paddlers and boaters has soared over the past decade.

• Parks: Major parks in the area include:
  Stamp River Provincial Park
  Sproat Lake Provincial Park
  Taylor Arm Provincial Park
  Fossli Provincial Park
  MacMillan Provincial Park (Cathedral Grove)
  Mount Arrowsmith Regional Park

• East of the Alberni Valley is Parksville, an enchanting seaside village on the east coast of Vancouver Island. With its long sandy beaches and eastern exposure, Parksville is an ideal spot to spend a few days, or the whole summer, basking in the sun and swimming in warm waters.

• West of the Alberni Valley is the Pacific Rim on the West Coast of Vancouver Island, incorporating magnificent Long Beach, the communities of Tofino and Ucluelet, and Pacific Rim National Park.

• Southwest of the Alberni Valley is Bamfield, nestled quietly in a protected inlet on the south shore of Barkley Sound. This tiny fishing and harbour village, heavily populated by marine biologists, is a quiet, unassuming village where the love of the land and sea prevails.

• More Photographs of Alberni Valley