Parksville is likely far more commercial and developed than you recall.

But the beaches remain.

Here are some suggestions with a kids lens:

Vancouver Island

• get mid Island then over to the west coast

• Parksville - large sandy beaches to dig in

• ferry to Denman Island and then to Hornsby Island - fossils! https://hornbynaturalhistory.com/category/fossils/

• Qualicum Beach - gravelly and lots of seniors, but a great place to see bald eagles picking up clams and oysters, dropping them to break them open and diving to eat.

• Cathedral grove on Hwy to Port Alberni, accessible old growth forest

• Alberni - old forestry interpretation site with a logging train in the Cherry Creek area

• Drive to Tofino - an adventure in itself

• Long Beach

• whale watching

If you go to Vancouver, many of the classic stops are worth it

• the Aquarium
• Whale watching
• Grouse mountain gondola and mountain top
• Capilano suspension bridge and the fish hatchery and environs
• Seabus
• UBC museum of anthropology

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Mapping and confirming the existence of a system larger than the world renowned Castleguard Cave system is the story here.