Horne Lake Caves

Crystal clear water and Vancouver Island’s coolest outdoor adventures makes Horne Lake an outdoor-lovers dream. Two parks offer a wide range of activities for all ages and abilities including camping, canoeing, rock climbing and cave tours.

Spring NeighbourWood Walks Registration…x2

I am so excited to say that the Our Big Earth NeighbourWood Walks program is officially one year old. We’ve completed four seasons of walking in the woods, on the trails and at the shoreline, exploring nature kid-style. (By the way, this is double-post Tuesday. I’ll have some crafts for you this afternoon)
And, with that [...]

Family Fitness – Safety Keeps You Fit on the Trails

Editor’s Note: Good Morning. Today we’re hanging out with Equilibrium Lifestyle Management owner Sarah Seads as she gets us geared up for long Spring days out on the trails or at the beach.

After this crazy Winter, I know I’m totally excited to get back out there and spend some quality time working out and [...]

Seal Bay Nature Park Beach Trail

There are a few special spots in our collection of adventures that spark imagination and make the tiny person buzz uncontrollably at the mere mention of a potential day spent.

Seal Bay Nature Park and its winding, lush, bit of a butt-kicker wander down the Main Beach (Don Apps) Trail to one of the most beautiful [...]

Summer NeighbourWood Walk No. 4 – Fanny Bay

Note to self: wine with the girlfriends after a long day on the trail is excellent fun at 9 p.m., not so excellent fun at 6 a.m.:)

A small group of super intrepid walkers made it out to our fourth NeighbourWood Walk yesterday, which took us to the far south end of the Valley and a [...]

Paradise Meadows

With the wet, cold, L-O-N-G Winters we’ve had the last couple of years, we can only hope that Summer lingers a bit longer than usual.
Personally, I hope the sunshine puts in some overtime this year so we can spend some long days wandering the forest of Strathcona Provincial Park taking in the absolute magic that [...]

A Home Museum with Shadow Boxes

Zoology, Botany and Forestry aren’t exactly in the vocabulary of the under-5 set.
Yet, every time we hit the beach, the garden or the trail, science is following us around.
Each pine cone or shell tucked in a tiny pocket reveals something significant about a place we’ve explored. (Yes, OK, I am total science nerd.)
And I’m pretty [...]

Surf & Turf, Comox Valley Style

Of course right about the time I am back to full steam after a super busy weekend what happens? The rain kicks in. I could complain, but am entirely grateful that – for the most part – the rain skipped all of the fun events over the last few days.

We haven’t done a comment challenge [...]

The 8-Step Plan to Make Family Fitness Stick

Editor’s Note: I feel moderately guilty posting this today. We’ve done plenty of hiking, beach-walking and generally outdoors loving the last week. But, you can bet that has also included plenty of sleeping in, snacking and lounging around blissfully in need of doing absolutely nothing.
But, upon return, I will be hitting the pool hard, the [...]

Lake Helen McKenzie Loop

My husband and I have declared Saturdays around our house the official day of the hiking boots.
Once a week we break from all of our regular around-town and beach action, fill up the backpacks and hit the trails up in Strathcona Provincial Park to suck up the mountain air, enjoy the quiet and take in [...]

Miracle Beach Provincial Park

There’s a reason this beach got its name.
If you drive up and down the east coast of Vancouver Island, a beach of this ilk is hard to find.
From the facilities right down to the seemingly endless stretch of barefoot-loving sand, Miracle Beach Provincial Park lives up to its moniker.
Right off the Old Island Highway, in [...]

Kitty Coleman Provincial Park

When my daughter and I headed out this morning, I thought for sure I’d come back with a beach review to share.
I’d heard that Kitty Coleman Provincial Park was full of great beach action, excellent views and is just a really great place for families. And, while the last two are definitely true, we were [...]

One-Spot Trail

To know the history of the Comox Valley you must know the life of a logger.
No other industry has had such a dynamic impact on the growth and prosperity of this region (mining and fishing aside) than the lumber industry.
Now families can fill up the backpack, bust out the hiking boots and hit the trail [...]