Powell River Mill and townsite area of Powell River. The river runs from Powell Lake (background) to the mill.

Tucked away on the upper Sunshine Coast, Powell River is a city of 13,000 people (2016). It's not on many travel itineraries. Long dominated by the pulp and paper and forestry industries, it has started to become a centre for ecotourism with its abundance of outdoor recreation opportunities.

Understand

History

Prior to European settlement in the area, the area was inhabited by Coast Salish peoples, and was used as a landing spot for gold prospectors coming from Vancouver Island who were treading their way to the Fraser River to find quick fortune prior to the creation of the Cariboo Road.

The Powell River was named for Israel Wood Powell, who was at that time superintendent of Indian Affairs for BC. He was travelling up the coast of BC in the 1880s and the river and lake were named after him.

Old Court House, Powell River Town Site

The pulp mill was started in 1908, with a corresponding townsite company town commenced in 1910: the first roll of paper was produced at Powell River Mill in 1912. Similarly, large logging companies had earlier moved in to take advantage of the huge timber. The Historic Townsite was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1995, recognizing the exceptionally well preserved early 20th-century planned community, rooted firmly in the Garden City Design Movement and the Arts and Crafts philosophy.

The mill in Powell River was at one time the largest pulp and paper mill in the world. In its prime, one in every 25 newspapers in the world was printed on paper from the Powell River mill. However, since then it has significantly cut back on production and now produces newsprint and specialty papers. The mill has down-sizing, and laid off hundreds of employees. The diversification of the local economy led to an increased focus on ecotourism and the arts, in addition to more traditional resources like mining, fishing, and general forestry. In recognition of its strong arts and cultural programs, Powell River was named a "Cultural Capital of Canada" in 2004.

The Powell River area is the traditional home to the Tla A'min Nation of the Mainland Comox branch of the Coast Salish peoples, who still reside there to this day, although having been forced to relocate from their original village site at the mouth of Powell River to make way for the construction of a power dam and paper mill. Their village is commonly referred to as Sliammon (the usual English adaptation of Tla'Amin).

• 1 Powell River Visitor Information Centre, 4760 Joyce Avenue, ☏ +1 604-485-4701. Here you will find helpful staff ready to provide maps and directions, offer local services, help source and book local adventures and tours as well as secure accommodation. The staff are happy to answer questions and offer local insider knowledge. (updated Jul 2020)

Get in

By car

Powell River is on Highway 101, about 4-5 hours north-west of Vancouver. Although the city is on the mainland and there are roads in the area, it will require a couple of ferry rides (Horseshoe Bay to Langdale and Earl's Cove to Saltery Bay) to get to it because it is not directly linked with the rest of the provincial road network.

By boat

BC Ferries, toll-free: +1-888-223-3779. Operates ferries connecting coastal communities in British Columbia. (updated Jun 2022) There are two ferry terminals in the Powell River area.

• 1 Powell River (Westview) ferry terminal, 4465 Willingdon Ave. (updated Oct 2023)
  • Service from Comox (Little River) ferry terminal on Vancouver Island. 1 hours 25 minutes crossing. Vehicle ferry makes four round trips daily. Cost is $11 per person and $34 for a normal passenger vehicle. Public transit is available daily to the Powell River (Westview) and is available Monday to Saturday to Comox (Little River) side.
  • Service from Texada Island (Blubbery Bay) ferry terminal. 40 minutes crossing. Vehicle ferry makes 8 round trips daily.
• 2 Powell River (Saltery Bay) ferry terminal, 15070 Highway 101. (updated Oct 2023)
  • Service from Sunshine Coast (Earls Cove) ferry terminal near Egmont. 50 minutes crossing. The ferry runs eight times daily. Cost is free from Earls Cove to Powell River (Saltery Bay) and is paid going the reverse direction. BC Transit bus route 12 operates four days per week to Powell River (Saltery Bay). On the same four days per week on the Earls Cove side, the Sunshine Coast Connector travels between Earls Cove and the Sunshine Coast (Langdale) ferry terminal with stops in Sechelt and Gibsons.

By plane

Airport

• 3 Powell River Airport (YPW  ^IATA), ☏ +1 604-414-3401, info@powellriver.ca. A small airfield which has regular scheduled flights to and from Vancouver (35 minutes). Private chartered flights are also available. (updated Nov 2019)

Airline

• Pacific Coastal Airlines, ☏ +1-604-273-8666, toll-free: +1-800-663-2872, reserve@pacificcoastal.com. Operates flights primarily in the south coast area of British Columbia with its hub in Vancouver. (updated Apr 2022)

Seaplanes

• Harbour Air, ☏ +1-604-274-1277, toll-free: +1-800-665-0212. Operates seaplane flights mostly to coastal communities in southwestern British Columbia. (updated Apr 2022) Flights to Powell River from downtown Vancouver (40 minutes).

Get around

A car is the best way to get around. The city sprawls out along Highway 101 and the local bus transit is fairly limited and taxis aren't cheap. Or, you could walk or hitchhike to get around.

By public transit

• BC Transit (Powell River Regional Transit System), ☏ +1-604-485-4287. Operates bus several routes multiple times daily in Powell River. (updated Apr 2022)
  • Bus routes 3 operates daily to Powell River (Westview) ferry terminal
  • Bus route 12 operates multiple days per week between Powell River and Powell River (Saltery Bay) ferry terminal
  • Bus route 14 operates multiple days per week between Powell River and Lund.

By taxi

• Coast Taxi, ☏ +1 604-483-3666. (updated Jul 2022)
• Powell River Taxi, ☏ +1 604-483-3666. (updated Jul 2022)

By ride hailing

• Coastal Rides, toll-free: +1-855-921-2226, info@coastalrides.ca. (updated Jul 2022)

See

• 1 SS Peralta. The last ship of the World War I fleet still afloat, is in Powell River. Its part of a breakwater made up of a semi-circle of concrete war ships known as The Hulks. The ships making up the breakwater are retired resupply barges that saw action in the Pacific War. (updated Feb 2023)
• 2 Patricia Theatre, 5848 Ash Ave, ☏ +1 604-483-9345. Is Canada's oldest continuously operating theatre. The theatre was built in 1913 and then rebuilt in 1928. The theatre was built in a Spanish renaissance-style which gave it good acoustics. (updated Feb 2023)
• 3 qathet Museum and Archives, 4790 Marine Ave, ☏ +1 604-485-2222. W-Sa 10AM-3PM, closed on statutory holidays. Depicts the interactions between the pioneers and First Nations as well as showing the tools and items that would have been used by those groups. By donation. (updated Feb 2023)
• 4 Townsite Heritage Society, 6211 Walnut St, ☏ +1 604-483-3901. Has a self-guided walking tour of Powell River's historic townsite on its website, which takes about an hour. From June to August, guided tours are offered. $10/person, Wednesdays at 2PM and Saturdays at 10:30AM. (updated Feb 2023)
• The mountains of Vancouver Island towering over Georgia Strait.

Do

• Powell River is a nature lovers paradise with a variety of hiking, scuba, snowshoeing and swimming opportunities.
  • The Powell Forest Canoe Route links at least 8 lakes in succession with portages up to 2.3 km.
  • Rock climbing can be found up the Eldred Valley behind Powell River, overlooking the ocean at Stillwater Bluffs or a variety of other locations.
• Festivals: Powell River hosts a number of festivals that highlights local interest and culture these festivals include the Blackberry festival, PRISMA, Kathaumixw and the Sunshine Music Festival.
• 1 Powell River Bike and Skate Park, 5001 Joyce Ave. Maintained by the Powell River Community Forest Foundation and the City of Powell River, has a beginner pump track (the first poured-in-place concrete pump track in North America), slope-style dirt jump trails, downhill flow trails, and a beginner flow line. It is open to the public year round and admission is free. (updated Feb 2023)

Hiking trails

• The Sunshine Coast Trail: Canada’s longest hut-to-hut hiking trail. A fully free-access, 180-km-long backcountry trail, which meanders through a wide variety of landscapes, including coastal shorelines, old-growth forest, panoramic mountaintops, pristine creeks and lakes and salmon streams.
• Willingdon Beach Trail: along the Salish sea, this trail is one of the more popular trail that acts as a trail and an educational platform. The trail is on an old rail bed which was used by the local pulp mill. along the trail are retired pieces of logging equip along with interpretive signs.
• Valentine Mountain Trail: behind the graveyard in cranberry, this short trail features a steady incline that meets with an immediate reward at the end with a vantage point that shows the surrounding areas.

Learn

• 2 Vancouver Island University (VIU) - tiwšɛmawtxʷ (Powell River) campus, 100-7085 Nootka Street, ☏ +1 604-485-2878. (updated Sep 2023)

Buy

Flower Rock earrings from Texada Island.

Eat

• 1 Costa del Sol, 4578 Marine Ave, ☏ +1 604-485-2227. (updated Feb 2023)
• 2 Garden Court Restaurant, 4660 Joyce Ave (at the Town Centre Hotel), ☏ +1 604-485-3000. (updated Feb 2023)
• 3 Gourmet Canton, 7-7030 Glacier St, ☏ +1 604-485-2885. Chinese food. (updated Feb 2023)
• 4 Minato Sushi Restaurant, 4801 Joyce Ave, ☏ +1 604-485-6118. Japanese food. (updated Feb 2023)
• 5 Thaidal Zone, C-4454 Willingdon Ave, ☏ +1 604-485-5171. Thai food. (updated Feb 2023)

Drink

• 1 TC's Pub, 4660 Joyce Ave (in the Town Centre Hotel), ☏ +1 604-485-3000. Popular bar for pre-drinks. (updated Feb 2023)
• 2 Forest Bistro & Lounge, 4463 Marine Ave, ☏ +1 604-489-1221. (updated Feb 2023)

Sleep

There are a limited number of small hotels in Powell River plus some bed and breakfasts.

• 1 Powell River Harbour Guesthouse, 4454 Willingdon Ave (at the Westview Ferry Terminal, just behind the Westview Pub), ☏ +1 604-485-9803. The only hostel in town. (updated Feb 2023)
• 2 Powell River Town Centre Hotel, 4660 Joyce Ave (corner Joyce and Barnett), ☏ +1 604-485-3000, toll-free: +1-866-485-3001, info@prtowncentrehotel.com. Upscale accommodation in the heart of Powell River. (updated Feb 2023)
• 3 The Old Courthouse Inn, 6243 Walnut St, ☏ +1 604-483-4000, toll-free: +1-877-483-4777, reservations@tochi.ca. Located in the historic townsite of Powell River, it was once the courthouse and police station. The inn has 8 rooms to stay the night and operates a restaurant on site. (updated Feb 2023)

Cope

• 3 qathet General Hospital, 5000 Joyce Ave, ☏ +1 604-485-3211. The only hospital on the upper Sunshine Coast. Has an emergency department. (updated Apr 2023)

Go next

• Lund, a thirty minute drive north of Powell River on Highway 101, is a sleepy harbour town and gateway to Desolation Sound (a popular kayaking destination).
• Camping on Powell Lake or Texada Island, or swimming at any lake in the region is good fun.

Routes through Powell River

END ← Lund ←

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→ → Pender Harbour and Egmont → Gibsons