Sechelt is the central hub of the Sunshine Coast. It houses the highest population in the region, has the most shops and restaurants, and is basically unavoidable as one travels through. We’ve spent considerable time in Sechelt on our previous trips, including camping at Porpoise Bay Provincial Park, and doing an expedition paddle trip up in Sechelt Inlet.

Roberts Creek

Roberts Creek is a neighboring community east of Sechelt. Its close proximity to Sechelt and the fact that we haven’t spent enough time here made us decide to park this in the Sechelt post for now.

The most famous parts of Roberts Creek are all concentrated around Roberts Creek Pier:

The pier itself is pretty boring. It’s more of a rocky breakwater which is not conducive to fishing or crabbing.

Gumboot Cafe served up some very nice lunch in their garden, which was a very welcomed shady and breezy respite from the heat.

Davis Bay

Davis Bay is the first ‘wow’ factor as one drives off the ferry into the town of Sechelt. The highway is as close as it can get to the white sandy beach, and the expansive views always make a big impact.

Davis Bay Wharf is a popular fishing and crabbing location. Apparently were some issues with illegal fishing activities here, and some conflicts with other users who want to use the wharf for walking and swimming, so there was a call to ban crabbing here. As of time of writing, there hasn’t been a formal ban. But the wharf is divided into a fishing area and a non fishing area to reduce further conflicts.

When we visited, the wharf was packed with people, and there weren’t enough space to comfortably cast a crab trap so we moved on.

Friendship Park

Friendship Park is a small park in Sechelt with a public pier. Being so close to population, this pier gets very busy too, with high schoolers showing off and one-upping each other in their dives.

A quarry terminal features very prominently in the background. I looked it up, and was somewhat surprised to learn that Sechelt is home to one of the largest open pit quarry in North America, supplying millions of tonnes of sand per year to the Pacific North West. Their operations are easily visible on Google Satellite views, but driving around Sechelt we barely notice them.

The beach at Friendship Park is pebbly. There’s a small playground and beach volleyball court.

The brothers had some fun collecting pebbles. Knowing that they would want to bring the pebbles home, I devised a new game where they make a big pebble train with as many pebbles as possible. It worked like a charm as they happily left all of their pebbles and then some.

Porpoise Bay Provincial Park

Even as a day use area, Porpoise Bay Provincial Park is worth a visit. Its sandy beach is always exciting for the kids, and the grassy lawn is a great place for a picnic. It faces Sechelt Inlet, which is a welcoming place to paddle. The wind does pick up in the afternoon though.

This is a part of our 2022 BC Coastal Circle Tour. Read on!