Parksville Beach and Rathtrevor
The sandy beaches are one of many reasons people live in Parksville. The most well-known ones are Parksville Beach and Rathtrevor Beach Provincial Park. Both are excellent choices for different reasons. Due to their location and geography, both beaches offer surprisingly warm waters for swimming.
Parksville Beach is the easier of the two to find. It is a stone’s throw away from downtown Parksville. The Parksville Community Park sits along the shoreline and is the place to be for children and families. This massive park contains a boardwalk, picnic areas, volleyball courts, outdoor gym, and a huge playground. There’s also a spray park! Kids love the variety of structures to play on, as well as the wide open spaces to run around. Once a year, the Parksville Beach Festival (aka “Beachfest”) takes place adjacent to the playground for the annual sand sculpting competition. Skilled artists compete for the best sand sculpture and the results are astonishing. Despite its small size, the community is a strong component of Parksville. Events like these demonstrate why so many people are drawn to relocating to Parksville.
Rathtrevor Beach Provincial Park contains another fantastic beach paired with a large campground. Day visitors walk through a shaded, lightly forested area before reaching the sandy beach. The shaded areas contain several picnic tables, making it a great place to stop for lunch. The campground contains 174 vehicle-accessible sites and 25 walk-in sites, making it quite large. Comfortable amenities such as hot showers and an outdoor theatre make this campground a popular choice.