We’ve heard rave reviews of Rathtrevor Beach from friends of ours for the past several years. On Friday, we finally had the chance to drive up there and visit because my sister-in-law and her girls were camping there for the week. We sat on the beach playing with the crabs, building sandcastles, and watching the mountains on the other side of the strait.
I thought about how much our beach experiences have changed since we first moved out here. I grew up in Alberta, where sandy beaches are generally imported and not very big. My brothers and I built some very big sandcastles and swam out to rafts to dive off or push each other in, but there were no shells to collect or crabs to find, no cool barnacle-covered rocks to investigate, no tide slowly flowing out to reveal more treasures.
A few years ago when we arrived here on Vancouver Island, I knew very little about beaches. One of Sunshine’s little friends showed her how to catch crabs. Back then, even I was terrified of being pinched by the tiny crabs. Now, Sunshine was fearlessly catching crabs and carrying a handful carefully around the beach with her. Even Lily wanted to help catching crabs, and Jade held out her hand to hold a crab but promptly shrieked and dropped it when she felt its poky feet.
We spent the afternoon just relaxing at Rathtrevor Beach. I chatted with my sister-in-law and helped the girls catch crabs and took pictures and built a sandcastle for them. The girls played with their cousins and flew a kite that a passing stranger gave them and tried to fill the moat around their castle with water and splashed in and out of the water.
It was one of those afternoons that I wanted to capture and hold forever. The girls were so happy exploring—and there was so much for them to explore and see and do. Everything seemed perfect—the sand was just right for building castles, the weather was neither too hot nor too cold, and everyone was happy.
This is what beaches teach us: to slow down and enjoy life.
To see what fun we had at Rathtrevor Beach, check out my YouTube video (and please subscribe to my YouTube channel for more videos like this!):
Getting to Rathtrevor Beach Provincial Park
Rathtrevor Beach is about two hours drive north of Victoria or half an hour drive north of Nanaimo (if you are catching the ferry across from Vancouver). It is a provincial park with a year-round campground. During the summer months, camping here is very popular and reservations are required.
5 Comments
I’m horrible at being Canadian. I haven’t been farther west than Windsor, ON or farther east than Montreal, QC, so it’s cool to read things about the West Coast — I’m hoping to go sometime in the next few years and help my son experience more of Canada at an early age than I ever did!
Thanks for sharing 🙂
Isn’t it amazing how being at a beach can do that to you? It’s like a magical place on earth. I’m a total beach bum myself so i totally get it. Looks like you had a great time. Hopefully one day I’ll make the trip out west and check out this beach.
We live near the beach here in ONtario. However the beaches in BC hold a special place in my heart. The smell of the ocean air, the wildlife and the friendly people. I miss it
Love being at the beach and beach combing for all the rocks, shells and critters you can find on a beach. Looks like you had a great time. Always love to see kids at the beach! So cute!
DEfinitely! LOVE beach life! I haven’t heard of that beach before, but if we’re in that area, we’ll have to check it out. We’re a bunch of beach bums! We live on an island with beaches just minutes from us in every direction. Lovely photos, Bonnie!