Of course we have to start with the beaches.  At Qualicum Beach our picnic place of choice is the grassy area next to the parking lot on the left side of the Beach Hut.  While no picnic spot along there is more than a stone’s throw from the beach, being a stone’s throw from great take out food and ice cream is a great bonus, plus there’s good shade if things get too not (we should be so lucky!).  With smaller kids, you just need to be careful at Qualicum Beach because you’re close to the traffic.  On the other hand, if the tide is right, you can  just move the picnic out onto the sand.

Parksville’s community beach has a lot of picnic options, but our favourite is to find a good tree by the playground.  George has a couple of trees staked out because they’re equidistant to the playground and the concession stand.  Lineups might be long sometimes, but those fries are worth the wait and the kids love the soft ice cream with coloured edges.  We dare you to stay less than an hour at this spot on a beautiful sunny day…

Spider Lake, just off the Horne Lake exit of the Island Highway, is another favourite picnic spot by the water.  If it’s looking like a nice day, we recommend getting out there as early as possible (for George and Ella that would be 7am!) because the park fills up fast close to noon.  There are two main picnic areas facing each other across one arm of the lake, joined by a trail – we call them the forest side and the sandy side.  We’ve never been sand people, but they always eem to having a good time too.  For us, it’s the forest side all the way.  There’s also a little island that Grace is anxious to paddle over to this year – or perhaps just sit in the boat while George paddles.  By the way, part of the attraction of Spider Lake is that there are nothing motorized on the water to disturb the tranquility – that’s the jog of the kids screaming while catching tadpoles and frogs.

A new spot we discovered this year is at Morningstar Farm and Little Qualicum Cheeseworks.  Aside from the fun of visiting the farm animals (watch for goats on an overhead walkway!), there’s a lovely picnic area with a fabulous view of Mount Arrowsmith.  There’s also a little trail to walk off the picnic.