Golf

Golf here comes with a backdrop few places can match: tall cedar and Douglas fir lining the fairways, mountain views on the drive in, and the ocean never more than a few minutes away. Bring your clubs and you can play championship golf in the morning and be out on the water by afternoon.

Start with Storey Creek Golf Club, just south of town. Les Furber designed it and it opened in 1991. It's the area's championship test: 18 holes, par 72, about 6,700 yards from the back tees, with a slope of 133. Every hole is carved through the forest, with tall trees framing each shot and rewarding players who find the fairway.

Back in town, Campbell River Golf Club on Petersen Road keeps you guessing. Graham Cooke rebuilt the course in 2017, and his layout mixes seven par 3s and six par 5s across 18 holes, par 71, about 6,300 yards. It's part of the Naturally Pacific Resort, so the lounge is close by when you finish, and on a wet day the virtual driving range keeps your swing sharp.

Then there's the round that starts with a ferry ride. The BC Ferries crossing from downtown to Quathiaski Cove takes about ten minutes, and Quadra Island Golf, a nine-hole course that opened in 2012, is a short drive up Heriot Bay Road. Nine holes, lunch on the island and an afternoon sailing home make a relaxed half-day.

However you plan it, book ahead for summer weekends, and check each club for current rates, tee-time rules and seasonal hours before you go.