Visit Alberni Valley Explorer Guide Now!

#1 FOSSLI PROVINCIAL PARK - Living in the Alberni Valley means being surrounded by nature. Drive in any direction for 10 minutes and you’ll find the water, a trail to explore, or a mountain to climb. Here at The Vibe, we love to showcase our beautiful backyard, and we’re excited to announce our new feature article: Take a Hike. The first adventure we’d like to take you on is the beautiful Fossli Provincial Park, which is located on Sproat Lake and features a beautiful waterfall, suspension bridge, creek, and lake access. Let’s get exploring!

Fossli Provincial Park is located on the south side of Stirling Arm on Sproat Lake. Access to the park is by active logging roads; be cautious and take extra care while driving along logging roads, remember that logging trucks always have the right of way. Fossli Trail is located about 25 minutes west of Port Alberni. Head towards Sproat Lake and make a left at McCoy Lake Road, just after the Orange Bridge. Carry on McCoy Lake Rd and make a left onto Stirling Arm Drive, before making another left onto Ash Main (this is where the logging road begins), turn right to get back on Stirling Arm Drive and stay right the rest of the way. The trailhead will be on your right just before a small bridge, parking is on the shoulder of the logging road, so ensure your vehicle is off the road. 

From here, we head downhill on large rocks, before leveling out and coming to a fork in the trail. Stay left at the fork and continue down towards the water, where you’ll find the suspension bridge to take you across the creek. The trail is surrounded by 130 acres of protected forest; ferns and moss covered trees hug the path, and at one point open up to a fern covered meadow which is sure to take your breath away. There are a couple different trails through the park, which provides the hiker the option to stay along the creek, walk through the dense forest, or experience both with a partial loop. 

The park provides beach access to Sproat Lake, complete with a picnic bench and outhouse. This is the perfect place to come for a quick swim, bite to eat, and rest before heading back up the trail. Be sure to bring your own water as drinkable water is not available in the park. The beach is protected by trees and feels secluded if you find yourself there alone. It’s a beautiful place to sit and think, or just enjoy the nature around you. 

Heading back up the trial gives you the option to walk along the creek if you took the other path on the way down. The creek flows calmly over algae covered rocks, surrounded by hanging branches covered in moss, often referred to as Beard lichens. If the moss is bright green that indicates that the air is clean, but if the moss turns grey it could be a sign that the air quality isn’t great. Luckily, the moss in Fossli park tends to stay a vibrant green, indicating a healthy environment. 

There is a specific spot on the trail that takes our breath away everytime we explore this beautiful trail, regardless of the time of year or weather conditions. The trail suddenly opens up to a breathtaking meadow littered with ferns. The sun filters beautifully through the trees on a sunny day and when it rains the green of the ferns comes to life. We encourage you to stop for a moment and take a couple deep breaths, while you take in the peaceful beauty around you. The sweet smells of the forest are almost intoxicating, giving us pause and a deep sense of calm. Let your hands graze the endless ferns as you make your way through the meadow before heading back into the forest, as the creek sings gently in the background. 

The journey back to the car can become a bit of a trek as we head uphill, but take your time and include lots of breaks if you need it. Prolonging your stay at Fossli is never a bad idea. 

Fossli Trail is a beautiful trail that anyone can enjoy. It is rated as easy on the AllTrails app, at 3.5km with about a 96m elevation gain. It takes an average of 55 minutes to complete, but we encourage you to spend as much time as you can here. We hope you enjoy Fossli Trail as much as we do!

#2 THE LOOK OUT - The lookout is probably Port Alberni’s most famous hike in our beautiful Alberni Valley. Once used as a firewatch location, the lookout is one of the most well known hikes in our community. Located behind Coombs Country Candy, the lookout’s trailhead meets up with the Log Train Trail, which is a perfect location to stop and enjoy locally made fudge, frozen yogurt and other treats as a nice reward after the hike. The trail is 3.5km long and depending on how leisurely you hike, the lookout tends to take an average of an hour to an hour and a half to complete. Hikers would consider this moderate difficulty, with several areas being a steady climb.

Along the way you will see various ferns, wildflowers, mushrooms as you hike through mossy forest. The trail mirrors a logging road, so it is very easy to follow from start to finish. Once at the top, you are able to see panoramic views of our Alberni Valley including the inlet, Sproat Lake, surrounding mountains and many locals can even spot their house from the top!

The lookout not only attracts hikers by foot, it is a very popular ATV and motorized vehicle trail. As you near the top, there are plenty of man-made mountain bike jumps by local adrenaline seekers. It’s not uncommon to reach the top only to find other outdoor enthusiasts taking in the breathtaking views and cleansing fresh air. A fun addition to hiking the lookout trail is to Geocache along the way! There are a ton of geocaches to be found along the trail leading up to the top. If you are planning on geocaching your way up the mountain, be sure to bring your own treasures to leave and a pen!

Local hiker and outdoorswoman Tamiko Corlazzoli loves the lookout hike so much she did it 33 days in a row! Here’s what she had to say about it, “We are so lucky to have such amazing mountains and forest area surrounding the Alberni Valley, the lookout only being a small part of it. I have done the lookout hike 4-5 times a week if not more for the past 2 years because the feeling when I reach the top is just too good.. even if the views may be a blanket of fog. I often get asked if I get bored of the hike but no I do not because it truly is different every time, especially as seasons are changing! I also get asked if it gets easier each time and to be honest, no it doesn’t.. you just get stronger physically and more than anything, stronger mentally to push yourself even more next time!”

Accessible by foot, ATV, truck and mountain bike, the lookout gives everyone the same charming views as you go up and of course once you’ve reached the top. If you are looking for a great viewpoint of our beautiful Valley, the lookout trail is a must-do.