The seaside community of Comox has an amazing view of the Vancouver Island Rangers, a mountain range that extends along the length of the island. The Comox Glacier, located about 30km southwest of Courtenay and to the west of Comox Lake, is a prime featured attraction of this range that bears the name of its dominant feature. This glacier lies just within the southeastern boundary of Strathcona Provincial Park but access to the well know local feature is via private forest company roads that are not always open to the public. Mount Washington is located about 20 km to the north and the Mount Washington Alpine Resort (ski hill and summer biking and hiking recreation area) is fully accessible via Strathcona Parkway from highway 19.
Comox is located on the western side of the Comox peninsula which also is host to Canadian Forces Base Comox and the adjacent regional civilian airport terminal. The regional airport terminal is located at 1250 Knight Road and it is serviced by Air Canada, WestJet and Pacific Coastal Airlines. Also located on the peninsula is Goose Spit Park, Filberg Park, the Comox Air Force Museum and the BC Ferry Terminal at Little River with sailings to Powell River. The seaside village of Royston is located across the bay from the Town of Comox. The Royston Shipwrecks are a historical landmark in the area. Point Holmes is also a well-known area of the peninsula where one can walk the recently created boardwalk along the ocean and take in the impressive coastal vista south to Vancouver and East to the snow-capped Coast Mountain range.
During the mid-2000 timeframe, Comox real estate investment and relocation was the focus of many people from Alberta. After the peak of this real estate market in 2007 and Alberta’s oil price crash of 2014, this extra-provincial interest was replaced by interest from mainland BC. People who became tired of the hustle and bustle of large city life and the crazy real estate prices realized that the Comox-Courtenay area represented great value and that it offered a quality of life and more relaxed pace of life than what they were living each and every day. Soon this interest translated into relocations to the local area. Many of the relocations were combined with retirement or retirement planning. Today the Comox Valley real estate market remains the focus of many of these “mainlanders” in British Columbia.
CBC wrote an article on the Comox Valley in the fall of 2018 entitled “48 hours in the Comox Valley: From farm to fork and everything in between.” As the article states “Take a drive up the island to the Comox Valley, where you could very likely stumble across a pop-up farmers market, mountain bike adventure racers, skiers, golf enthusiasts or a live musical festival — all in the same day. It’s a snow-meets-surf-meets-slow food kind of vibe that will have you wondering why you waited so long to get there.” As the title suggests and the article states, there is lots to do in the local area. Websites like Inspirock list more than 90 things to do in the outdoor, relaxing, cultural and romantic attractions categories along with wildlife areas and tours. There is, of course, much more to do in the social, cultural, and recreational categories. Comox remains a quaint seaside town while the nearby City of Courtenay continues to attract real estate and other business investment while it continues to grow in many different ways. As the Crown Isle real estate marketing states “Why not come for a tee time and stay for a lifetime?” There is much to do here and much to love about the Comox Valley with Comox and Courtenay at the heart of this region of Vancouver Island. Why not drop by and see what this area has to offer for yourself?