What to do and see in Courtenay, Canada: The Best Places and Tips

Whether you are in the planning stages of your vacation or have arrived in the area and don't know where to begin, the Comox Valley's Vancouver Island Visitor Centre is your first stop to create an unforgettable vacation! The Centre also offers a fun and interactive introduction to Vancouver Island from ocean to alpine! Touch a live oyster, identify local trees or explore the region through a touch table of Vancouver Island images. Take a few fun photos of your own and enjoy free WI-Fi so you can catch up on the news at home. There are outdoor picnic tables, pet walking area and a children's play structure. There is even an e-vehicle charge point.

A gem of Vancouver Island Heritage; Filberg Park is nine acres of breathtakingly landscaped waterfront green space, Gardens and heritage buildings, in Comox, British Columbia. The park features 130 varieties of trees, seasonal Gardens, and hundreds of rhododendrons.At the heart of the site is the 1930’s heritage lodge, the former home of local pioneers Robert and Florence Filberg. Filberg Heritage Lodge and Park have become a popular venue for picnics, weddings, art shows and special events including the popular Filberg Festival held each year on BC Day long weekend in August. Amenities include the Filberg Gift Shop* and Filberg Tea House. Both are open seasonally May to September.Entry to the Lodge is by donation and the park is free of charge except during special events. *Lodge and Gift Shop are open subject to volunteer availability.

Miracle Beach Provincial Park is a popular oceanside family campground with a popular day-use and beach, conveniently located 22 km north of Courtenay and 22 km south of Campbell River off Hwy 19a. It makes a great home-base while visiting the popular Comox Valley, Campbell River, or for those looking to ferry to nearby Islands. Visitors can also find horseback riding, golf, fishing and many other recreational activities in the area. The large family campground is world-renowned and offers 201 non-serviced campsites located under a dense forest canopy. Campers have three flush washroom buildings in the campground as well as a large shower building. Water taps and pit toilets are located throughout the campground. There is also an RV sani-station available to empty waste tanks and to refill water tanks. Campsite Reservations are accepted and some first-come first-serve sites are also available.

In the heart of the Comox Valley, on a slope facing the Georgia Strait, 40 Knots Vineyard & Estate Winery crafts wines distinctly shaped by a windswept, sun-soaked microclimate. Named for the gale force winds that often strike the coast, 40 Knots embraces its unique microclimate, adorning its label with swallows that frequent the vineyard and depict home to a sailor. With wines like Whitecaps, Sea Haven, and Spindrift, the connection to the wind and sea is undeniable. 40 Knots was first established in 2005, by a retired Tug Boat Captain who hand planted over 50,000 vines on glacier till soil in a micro-climate hotter than its surrounding area and facing the Salish Sea. Root stock was brought in from the Champagne and Cote D'Beaune regions of France of Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Gamay Noir. Additionally hybrids such as the French Pinot Auxerrois and German Siegerrebe and Schoenberger were planted. Owners Brenda Hetman-Craig, and Layne Robert Craig continue to nurture this terroir with environmentally ethical farming practices. 40 Knots employs the creative, innovative and esteemed Chief Wine Maker Matt Dumayne of Okanagan Crush pad. 40 Knots welcomes visitors to come and taste their wines in their cellar tasting lounge, tour the vineyard and cellar and picnic in the beautiful vineyard Terrace.

I-Hos Gallery presents a collection of traditional and contemporary northwest coast artwork and crafts. Masks, prints, gold and silver jewelry and wood carvings, textiles and clothing produced by First Nations artists are displayed in a distinctive building on the K'omoks First Nation Band lands (located between Courtenay and Comox) on Vancouver Island. There is truly something for everyone and every price range in the gallery.