this is one of the best marinas I've stayed at, such a good environment, staff are great, facility…read moreis outstanding, such a great experience all around. The docks are so new.

Best marina I've ever been to. The staff is incredible - Carter is the hardest worker out there!…read moreFish tables - SO clean. Docks are super new and also SO clean! The amenities are great, they have showers, laundry, gas, and even ice cream in the summer! Definitely add Fairwinds Marina to your next trip!

Nice easy hike that is safe for dogs. However, this hike does have some rocky sections. There's…read morelots of wide open spaces, bodies of water, and some wild life.

Beautiful waters here! Short hike, easy access, be prepared to swim…read more PARKING It's a small parking lot, maybe 10 spots, with overflow on the road around it. I've been here in the afternoon on a weekday in July and midday in a weekday in August. Both times we were lucky and one spot was open. Generally there's turnover since it's a short hike and you can get a spot. AMENITIES There is a bathroom at the trailhead, no water. There are tons of educational signage about the wildlife and plants in the area. DIFFICULTY & TIME Short hike, very little elevation change. You can get to the actual Smuggler Cove in about 30-40 minutes with a 4 and a 6 year old in tow (this is right before the loop starts). I've done the entire full lollipop loop in exactly one hour with only adults. SHADE The hike is 95% shaded. RECEPTION I had 5G reception for most of the hike (T-mobile). CROWDS It was busy but not too crowded both times I went. It was more empty when I went in the afternoon (July 2023). There were many more swimmers during my midday visit in August 2024, but still easy to get your own little private small cove to swim in. SWIMMING In August, we went swimming in the cove. It's not tropical, but it's not nearly as cold as other parts of the ocean. Lots of people were swimming, and a lot of people brought inflatable stand up paddleboards or kayaks.

Beware of Unscrupulous business practices! Anyone traveling to Powell River please be extremely…read morecautious if you stay at the Beach Gardens Resort and Marina. If you are thinking about booking this property, I would strongly advise you to reconsider. I stayed at the Beach Gardens Resort and Marina for one night, while traveling to the Sunshine Coast. At check in I was informed that a $200 damage deposit would be charged to my card in addition to the nightly charge for the room. I figured it was similar to the pre-authorizations for incidentals etc so I wasn't overly concerned at the time. My initial impression of the property and the check in attendant was that they both seemed a bit sketchy. I know myself well enough though to know that I should have listened to my intuition and that What happened next should have come as no surprise. There was a notice posted in the room with the check out instructions. The instructions were to leave the key cards in the room and invoices would be emailed the following day. I figured the reason for this was that they were short-staffed so I left my key cards on the dresser as instructed and left. A few days had passed and I hadn't received the refund or an email with my receipt. I contacted the hotel through Expedia and received a reply from Cheryl Ilott, the Rooms Division Manager, on Aug 15th, confirming that the charge for the deposit had been released. The message I received from Cheryl stated, "We released it the next day on our end and it is now up to your bank when they do it." Cheryl Ilott. The message was very straightforward. It was clear from her response that the property was confirming that they had released the $200 damage deposit and any further delay was due to my bank. Essentially they were removing themselves of any liability for the deposit not being returned to my card and transferred the blame to my bank. Another 5 days had passed and there was still no refund, so on Aug 20th I contacted my bank. My bank confirmed that the charge had not been refunded as I had suspected. The agent asked me to contact the hotel to confirm the transaction details in order to get proof that they had released the deposit. I reached out to Expedia to see if they could assist me as I had made the booking through their site. It was at that time I was informed by the Expedia agent who had contacted the property on my behalf, that the TV was broken and the deposit had not been released. Firstly this entire broken TV scenario is a complete and utter fabrication. I was never informed of any of this by the hotel nor did they ever email me a receipt of my stay as is their protocol. I am an experienced traveler and have never been accused of damaging a TV, a hotel room or any its contents. I'm at a loss for how I could be accused of this by these people. I was given no details of the damages to the TV, no explanation of the charges or proof to support this ridiculous accusation. Although I am unfamiliar with this situation I can't imagine that any reputable business would just withhold a damage deposit without the courtesy of informing their customers of the charges. It goes without saying that this is not a reputable establishment. The claim against me is untrue and the way in which the hotel staff handled this was extremely unprofessional. These people are not only dishonest but are desperate! How is it that on August 15th I was told by Miss Cheryl Ilott, their Rooms Manager, that the deposit had been refunded and then 5 days later on August 20th, the story changed completely and I'm being accused of breaking their TV? Overall, I feel really badly for the hotel employees and management. When people have to resort to such unethical business practices and wrongfully accuse their guests of damages to generate income due to their apparent lack of cash flow is just tragically pathetic. So many employees and businesses, especially those in the hospitality industry, have been hit hard by the pandemic. But that's certainly no excuse to lie and make these types of accusations. It's sad that there are people like this who lack integrity managing this hotel. It's unfortunate because the location is so beautiful. During my stay there I remember thinking about what a beautiful property it could have been if only it had been owned and operated by the right people. Maybe one day it could be amazing and all hope is Not lost. I hope that one day this will be a lovely place for travelers to stay and that these desperate people don't have to resort to lying and defrauding their guests for much longer. Hopefully my review will shed some light on this situation and I can make a positive impact by preventing other guests from being taken advantage of.

Pretty friendly. Providing a dog bed and dog bowl in the room…read more Seaside restaurant in the hotel was excellent.

We bought a Groupon for a 1-hr boat rental and ended up taking a boat for two hours. Regular…read morerates were $65/hr for two hours or $75 for a single hour, and weekend minimums are 2 hours, so the groupon doesn't save as much as one would think. Staff appear annoyed at the fact that we were using a groupon. $20 for insurance with $500 deductible. I booked two days before and got a morning 2-hr slot. When we arrived, there was nobody at the office itself so we had to scour the dock to find the staff to help us. There arn't any washrooms in the office either and the nearest one is a block away. We ended up getting a 60hp boat and noticed the prop was stripped of paint and slightly bent, but they said that they know about it being caused by the previous group and already charged them for it. So they keep on using a damaged prop and charged the other group anyways? Nice.... We got an escort out of the bay and immediately ran into an area filled with para-sailors blocking the entire area and had to stay slow and waste time waiting for the area to clear before proceeding. In our 2 hour tour, we managed to head just South of Anvil Island, where there are Seals swimming in the water and sunbathing on the rocks. There were a number of logs floating in the ocean so extra caution is advised. On our way back, we again had to wade through the mess of para-sailors and wait for some time for outbound traffic to clear before proceeding into the narrow channel. All in all, the experience was mediocre. If they don't like groupons, they should keep that fact to themselves, and perhaps take the the 5 minutes to change out a frigging prop if its been damaged before the rental. The traffic was high in the narrow channel, and navigation is poorly marked. There's a post with a white band they said to follow on the way in, but there's more than one post with white markings on it so keep an eye out for the one that's not rusted. Edit: Went back a second time to take a friend out to Squamish area. Once again, we got a boat with some paint stripped off the prop. Unfortunately, for some reason, 'more paint' came off the prop and they charged us $270 for a new prop, but apparently we could buy the prop from them for an extra $60 if we wanted. $270 is outrageously excessive for simply paint getting stripped off. Definitely take pictures of your boat before and after the boat ride if you're going with these guys. Definitely not coming back. In comparison, Sewell's in Horseshoe bay is much more convenient overall with better rates and accommodations. Also in comparison, asking about the staff regarding tri-blade prop damage, stripped paint is normal wear and tear, and they only charge $60 per blade if it's bent and $180 if the prop has to be replaced. Love the Squamish area!

Squamish Harbour Boat Rentals had a Living Social deal for $35 (HST extra) for a 1-hour boat…read morerental. I'm not sure what the regular rates are because their website links are broken, but I imagine they are much more expensive. I booked one week before and they said there was only a 9AM slot available. I checked with my group and called them back to confirm. You'll need a credit card to confirm your booking. They told us to be there 20 minutes early, so at 8:40. We arrived at 8:40 sharp and it was closed. We called their number and no answer. Just after 9, two workers showed up and asked if we had a reservation. They told us someone had told them the first reservation was at 10. I told them it was at 9. They didn't apologize and just started getting the boats ready. We didn't mind because we weren't on a tight schedule, but they should have either called to confirm or apologize for it. They just assumed we wouldn't mind being bumped later. Also, if they were so booked and wanted us in at 9, why did they show up late? I'm not sure I like their business practices. That being said, Dave was really friendly and we had a lot of fun. It's nice to be able to drive a boat without a boating license. We decided to decline the $20 damage waiver insurance ($500 deductible if something happens) because we were only going to be out there for an hour and the water was quite still. If you are going to be out for longer, I would recommend it. If you have a bunch of people on your boat, it's only $5 extra and it's worth it. If you've never driven a boat before, get it! The Living Social deal made it affordable for us and I would probably come back. I hope they get a bit more organized though. Oh, and I guess they get a free star because the weather was absolutely perfect the day we went.

Do not moor your boat here, ever!…read more Went down to the boat yesterday to find that another log had wedged itself between my boat and the pier within 12-hours from my last visit. No sooner had that one been pried free when another larger one was seen to be making its way towards our boat. Again, more evidence that drunken, long-weekend revellers had decided to spend a few midnight hours on our boat, as empty beer cans and cigarette butts littered the cockpit. The current and wind yesterday were such that trying to make any steerage way was a real challenge as we tried to leave the marina. As we were battling with steerage, we noted a transient motor boat pull-up into a long-term moorage slot, the owner of which had just left a little while earlier on a day sail. The boater approached us, and asked if it was alright for him to be in our neighbour's spot, as he was only going to be visiting for a half hour. As we have done on many occasions in the past, we reminded the transient that the slip was private, we aren't the caretakers, and the owner of the slip could return at any moment. Again, instead of apologizing, he was simply annoyed to have his lunch plans disrupted We no sooner had that issue been sorted, when another presented itself: kayakers. Three completely inexperienced kayakers were suddenly on our starboard bow. None of the kayakers were able to control their boats. To his credit, the owner of the kayak rental business quickly surveyed the situation, and was shouting to the kayakers to let us (the sailboat) pass. I, too, was shouting at them to stop paddling, but they clearly hadn't a clue how to manage the craft at all. The kayak struck our boat repeatedly, leaving a long yellow gash along the side of our boat. Instead of apologizing, the two numpties in the kayak told us, "...we didn't do it on purpose." and continued kayaking. Absolutely, one of the worst marinas on the coast!

Great marina with clean everything. Good mini grocery with some produce. Study docks and…read morewell-maintained ramps. We'll return for this beautiful harbor.

If you're not in the mood to anchor out or try to find a mooring ball in Montague Harbor, Montague…read moreHarbor Marina is a good alternative. THE ROSES: Well maintained physical plant in a wonderfully protected bay. Ample 30A and 15A power. Fuel dock with gasoline and diesel at reasonable prices. Marina staff is professional and very pleasant. Clean washrooms. The marina has a nice little store and a really nice pub/eatery (Crane and Robin) on premises. You can also rent kayaks and scooters here. They take reservations for dock space. Some nice restaurants (Pilgrimme, Hummingbird Pub) nearby. THE THORNS: Due to an acute water shortage on the island, there is no water for refilling boat tanks or showers. No Pumpout station (closest one is Ganges public dock, 5 miles away on Salt Spring Island). THE VERDICT: Well worth the visit and worth paying the premium for not having to dinghy in. Recommend.

ISO accomodation on live aboard boat or house…read more Will do maintenance work in exchange for rental fee. Contact me at 403.404.5306 James

I like to do most of my own boat repairs, but for major stuff I want to do it somewhere I can…read moretrust. A place where I can get a great exchange rate north of the border, have great value on parts and certified help when needed. Last time it was across from downtown Vancouver at the Creek's Boatyard. I needed some prop work, a weld done, tuning and major rigging work done. With no fuss or hassles they bounced right on it. They gave me a quote for the work and (no surprises) met their price and they did the work rather quickly. I keep my boat in La Conner, but when I have serious work to do, I will go up to Vancouver's Creek Marina & Boatyard. It's well worth the trip. Good people are found there.