About the hike:
Cable Bay Trail is a 2 km (1.2 mile) trail that winds through dense coastal Douglas fir forests, leading to a scenic oceanfront. The pathway descends 90 meters (295 feet) towards the shoreline, offering stunning views of Gabriola Island. This trail is known for its biodiversity of wildlife, such as otters, sea lions, and eagles.
Good news for us, dog-loving pet owners: this is a leash-free trail, so don't forget to bring along your furry friend.
A tunnel was created by the canopy of paper birch trees lining the trail, drawing us into our hike. A few paces past the tunnel of trees, we came to a metal gate that we moved through to continue our adventure.
To my surprise and admiration, I discovered a sculpture of an old man in the rock face on the right side of the trail.
The trail was an easy hike across the hard-packed earth. The pathway widened the farther we hiked into the woods towards the shoreline. Beautiful ferns grew on both sides of the path and further spread out across the forest floor.
Along the right side of the trail, I could hear a small creek trickling downward toward the ocean.
Suddenly, beautiful views of the shore line came into view.
At the point where the path divided at the shoreline, we heard the barking of sea lions. We decided to head left towards the sound. We followed the path closely along the shoreline.
To our surprise, there was a bald eagle close by those noisy sea lions.
The playful sea lions where lounging all over logs that had drifted away from the saw mills.
After spending time filming the sea lions, we continued our journey. A little bit up the trail, we came to Joan Point Waterfront Park overlooking Dodds Narrows.
The path meandered through a cluster of boulders draped in a veil of vibrant green moss.
Joan Point is a 23-acre waterfront park providing a great vantage point overlooking Dodd Narrows. As the ocean waters rush through the channel, impressive rapids are created. I'm told that seals can often be seen playing in the currents, but unfortunately not today.
Once we had taken in the scenery, we retraced our steps, walking through Joan's Point Waterpark and then linking up with Cable Bay Trail.
The sun cast shadows on the forest floor as it filtered through the thick tree canopy.
Comments