Port Alberni Attractions
Alberni Valley Museum
4255 Wallace St (Echo Recreation Centre)
(from Redford Street, turn right onto 10th for 3 blocks and then right on Wallace St)
250-732-2181
Website
Explore this excellent community museum and discover fascinating collections related to First Nations culture, local and industrial history and folk art. Clothing, all manner of textiles and handwork, kitchen and laundry implements and woodworking tools tell of early life in the Valley. Agricultural equipment, and equipment from mining, fishing and logging inform us about our industrial past. Open Monday to Saturday – 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, Thursdays to 8:00 pm. Admission by donation
Coulson Flying Tankers visitor centre
9593 Bomber Base Rd, Port Alberni, BC V9Y 8Z3
Cherry Creek Road, off Tofino Highway 4.
250-723-6225
Website
In the summer, you can participate in a guided tour of the gigantic red and white Philippine Mars water bomber. Access and tours may be restricted during active forest fire season.
McLean Mill Historical Site
5633 Smith Road
Port Alberni, BC
250-723-1376
The McLean Mill is the only steam-operated sawmill in Canada, where you can see the sawmill cut wood for demonstration and sale. The mill was operated by R.B. McLean and his three sons from 1926 to 1965. You’ll see the old original buildings and lots of restored logging equipment around the site including a steam donkey, logging trucks, graders and lumber carrier. The “Tin Pants Theatre” troupe will entertain you with stage shows at the Nikkei Theatre and show you around the site as if you were just starting work at the mill. Open end-June early September, daily 10:30 am to 4:30 pm. Steam logging demonstrations at 12 noon and 3:45 pm. Admission: Adults $8.50, Youth and Seniors $4.50, Children under 6 free.. Note: Tuesday and Wednesday, the site is open but not operational, all purchases at the Steam Pot Cafe are 50% off regular price. There are restricted fall hours during September.
Driving directions: 8 kilometres northwest of Port Alberni. Coming into the City stay on Johnston Road. Turn right at the Victoria Quay intersection towards Sproat Lake/ Highway #4. Shortly after the intersection, take a right onto Beaver Creek Road. Follow Beaver Creek Road for approximately 6 kilometres. Turn right at Smith Road and follow the road past the train tracks. You will come to the parking lot on the left.
The Maritime Discovery Centre
2750 Harbour Road, Port Alberni, BC
(just south of Harbour Quay which is at the foot of Argyle Street.)
250-723-6164
Website
Port Alberni’s Maritime Discovery Centre is a unique maritime museum, located on the waterfront of the city’s deep-sea harbour, and constructed from an actual coastal lighthouse. The museum is dedicated to exhibiting and interpreting our fascinating cultural, environmental and industrial maritime history. See the historic Banfield Lifeboat, based at the Canadian Coast Guard Station at Bamfield where it answered marine distress calls from 1951 until 1969. Open late June to Labour Day, daily 10:00am – 5:00 pm. Admission is by donation.
The Alberni Pacific Railway
on Kingsway Avenue at Argyle Street near Harbour Quay.
250-723-4285
Website
You can board the train pulled by our completely restored 1929 Baldwin ex-logging locomotive at the 1912 CPR Station and ride out to the McLean Mill National Historic Site. The track winds through the City of Port Alberni and then the surrounding forests for 35 minutes each way, though the Beaufort Gang has been seen in the area and has been known to rob the train. The coaches on the McLean Mill run are five rebuilt CN transfer cabooses that have been refitted with seats, three open and two covered. Trains run June 26 to September 6 (daily, except Tuesdays and Wednesdays) with departures at 10 am and 1:45 pm. Fares/Admission are charged for train, mill and theatre. In September train runs on weekends only.
Cathedral Grove Provincial Park (MacMillan Park)
452 Alberni Hwy, Nanaimo, BC
16 km east of Port Alberni on Hwy #4
250-474-1336
Website
This day park is located at the top end of Cameron Lake, and has a a grove of 800 year old giant Douglas firs, which can be seen from the interpretive trail system, which lets visitors see blown-down trees to count the tree rings for themselves. Free Admission.
Harbour Quay
5440 Argyle St, Port Alberni, BC V9Y 1T6
Website
The Alberni Harbour Quay features a colourful collection of waterfront shops, galleries, and eateries, and is also where you’ll find the clock tower, which grants panoramic views of the Alberni Inlet. Year round farmers market each Saturday from 9 am to noon.
MacMillan Bloedel Mills
250-724-7438
Alberni Pulp & Paper Division, 4000 Stamp Ave
Somass Division, 3500 Harbor Rd,
Alberni Pacific Sawmill, 2500 1st Ave
Website
All three mills offer 1.5 hour mill tours. Proper footwear and slacks are advised on tours, which are offered on days the mills are operating.
Port Alberni Mill, Catalyst Paper
4000 Stamp Avenue, Port Alberni BC V9Y 5J7
250-723-2161
Website
Learn about how paper is made from trees. Tours from June to August. Monday to Friday. Reservations required, children must be at least 8 years old and accompanies by an adult. No sandals, clogs or heels. Free admission.
Port Alberni is in the middle of Vancouver Island, but accessible to the Pacific Ocean via the Alberni Inlet. Port Alberni is 127 km east of Tofino, 48 km west of Parksville, and 85 km NW of Nanaimo,
