Downtown Campbell River

Stand at the end of the Discovery Fishing Pier on a summer evening and you'll see what made this town. Rods lean over the rail, a seiner idles past toward the open water, and the current in Discovery Passage moves faster than most rivers. The pier opened in 1987 as Canada's first purpose-built saltwater fishing pier, and it's still free, open around the clock, and busy with locals who'd rather cast here than anywhere else.

Back on land, Shoppers Row is the city's original main street. Long-running family businesses, outfitters and a bakery that's been feeding the town for years sit next to newer arrivals: a coffee roaster, a sandwich counter with a line out the door at noon, sushi and taprooms. The Campbell River Art Gallery and the Tidemark Theatre, a 1940s movie house, sit a block apart, and on summer nights Spirit Square fills up for free outdoor concerts.

History here is close to the surface. The Maritime Heritage Centre houses the BCP45, the seine boat that appeared on the back of the Canadian five-dollar bill, and carved poles stand along the waterfront walk between the hotels and the marina. A short walk south, the Museum at Campbell River tells the longer story of the Laichwiltach peoples, the canneries and the logging camps.

It's the easiest base on the North Island if you don't want to drive. The Quadra Island ferry leaves every hour from the foot of the downtown core, the Discovery Harbour marina is a stroll north, and the Rotary Seawalk starts right here and runs south along the water toward Willow Point.