A Weekend in Port Alberni: Stamp Falls, the Harbour and Cathedral Grove

Plan my Port Alberni weekend · What's on this weekend

Find a place to stay in Port Alberni

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Two days in Port Alberni fit a river full of salmon, a museum, a working waterfront, two breweries, rock carvings on a lake and a stand of giant Douglas firs. Day 1 starts at Stamp Falls and ends on the harbour. Day 2 goes out to Sproat Lake and finishes in Cathedral Grove. It suits a couple or a small group who want half the weekend outdoors and half at the table.

Start at Stamp River Provincial Park. Follow Highway 4 past Port Alberni, turn onto Beaver Creek Road and follow the park signs. A 0.5 km trail runs from the day-use parking lot to the fish ladder and the waterfall, and a viewpoint above the ladder looks over the river and the salmon. Salmon climb the falls from summer into December: sockeye first, then coho and chinook. Another 2 km of linked trails carry on past the falls. Our salmon run viewing guide covers the island's other rivers and when each one runs.

Brunch is at Wildflower Café on Argyle Street, a bakeshop and café that bakes in house and buys from local farmers, brewers and roasters.

From there, the Alberni Valley Museum on Wallace Street covers First Nations culture, the valley's industrial history and folk art.

Finish the afternoon at the Alberni Harbour Quay, the foot of Argyle Street, where shops and places to eat face the Alberni Inlet. Beside it, Lady Rose Marine Services sails the MV Frances Barkley down the inlet to Bamfield all year. Save a sailing for a longer stay and watch the harbour instead.

Dinner is at Alberni Brewing Company on Adelaide Street, which brews its beer on site and runs a full kitchen of burgers, wings and flatbreads.

Find a place to stay in Port Alberni

To sleep near the river, Stamp Falls Bed and Breakfast is on Beaver Creek Road, the same road as the park, and serves breakfast with the room.

Drive out to Sproat Lake Provincial Park, 13 km northwest of Port Alberni on the north shore of the lake. A 0.5 km trail leads from the main parking lot to a pier at the east end of the lake. From the pier you can see K'ak'awin, a panel of petroglyphs carved into the rock at the water's edge.

For a night on the lake, Sproat Lake Landing Resort on Lakeshore Road in Kleecoot has nine rooms and its own Drinkwaters Lounge.

Back in town, lunch is at Dog Mountain Brewing on 3rd Avenue. It pours its own IPAs, lagers, stouts and porters, and the kitchen makes a West Coast donair, big sandwiches and nachos, with vegan and gluten-free choices.

Leave by Highway 4 east and stop at Cathedral Grove in MacMillan Provincial Park, 16 km from Port Alberni. Trails run on both sides of the highway. The south side has the largest Douglas firs, one of them more than 9 metres around, and a raised platform to take them in. The north side has old western red cedar above Cameron Lake. Some of these trees are more than 800 years old.

• Salmon run at Stamp Falls from summer into December. The falls and the river trails are a good walk in any month.
• Nobody swims or boats at Stamp Falls. The river above the waterfall is off limits.
• Highway 4 runs through the middle of Cathedral Grove. Park and cross with care, and stay off the trails in high wind, when branches come down.

Got another weekend? Highway 4 carries on to the coast for three days in Tofino, or head up the east side for a weekend in the Comox Valley.

Start from this plan, set your dates and swap any stop you like.

Make this my trip