Quiet relaxing vacation to Gabriola Island, BC

What do locals do on a long weekend in the summer?  Take a short vacation!   We took 4 days and 3 nights to relax and discover Gabriola Island.  It was a last minute trip, so really no advance planning.  We booked AirBnBs and were hoping to visit some artist studios and hang out on the beaches and parks.

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One thing about not having a tour guide, and not doing any research is that you might miss a huge attraction and not even know it!  We asked Tourist Info where we should go, and the lady said, Malaspina Galleries Community Park and Drumbeg Provincial Park.  We didn't look at photos of these places, so had no idea what to expect.

real life

Although we went to the end of Descano Bay at the west end of the island where Malaspina Galleries (where the surf like sandstone formation) was, we didn't see it.  It was only after talking to the 2nd BnB owner and seeing photos at the museum, did we know that we missed something big!

The island is quite small, but the town center is at the north end of the island and that's where all the restaurants are.  You will not find food at the south end, and restaurants close early, probably because they're family run.  We were on holiday time and strolling into restaurants at 8pm and they close at 9.  We had to be careful or else we'd be starving for the night!

Sandwell

There are weekend markets on Saturday at Agi Hall and Sunday at Silva Bay and focus on local artisans and growers.  With an island full or artists, they have a yellow flag system.  If there is a yellow flag in the front of their property, it means that the studio is open!  We didn't talk to any artists in their own studios, although we did at the markets.  I guess some were away for the long weekend too.  We did however, get to see 2 self serve artist shops on their property where there were prices on the goods, and a cash box for your money.  It's a good system for a small island like this.

We had a lazy beach day at Sandwell Provincial Park at the north end of the island.  It was quite rocky but we lay down to soak in some sun.

Drumbeg

We moved on to the east end of the island to Drumbeg Provincial Park.  I found this to be a much more scenic park and had lots more places to lay down.

We listened to a live blues band at Skol Pub and probably ate at every restaurant on the island, the Kitchen, Woodfire Pizza, Robert's Grill.

We saw Elder Cedar Nature Reserve.  It was so lush and green in there, it was so relaxing. I felt like I breathed in so much more oxygen.






We tried to access the beach on the south end of the island and ended up at Degnen Bay and marina because we couldn't find any access points. They have yellow stones marked 'public access' if there is a small trail.  We found the Gabriola Passage Viewpoint where all the boats go through.




Another place that was recommended to us was the beaches along the north end of the island.  We settled in at Joyce Lockwood Community Park to do some art and soak in some sun.

Our final stop was Ravenskill Orchard to sample some of Gabbie's award winning cider!  We took some ginger for the road.

I feel so relaxed...