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British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast lies along the Pacific Ocean, north of Vancouver. This stretch of coastal rainforest has quiet beaches, secluded fjords and coves, and Canada’s longest hut-to-hut hiking trail, the 112-mile (180-km) Sunshine Coast Trail. If you read my recent post, SunLund by the Sea: A Hiker’s Haven on Canada’s Sunshine Coast, you may recall that when I hiked several sections of this trail with my daughter and her partner, I wanted to hike during the day but sleep indoors at night. In addition to our stay at SunLund, we spent two nights at the Old Courthouse Inn in the town of Powell River.
Here’s the scoop on this heritage property:
The Old Courthouse Inn, Powell River
The eight-room Old Courthouse Inn is located on Powell River’s north side in the area known as the Historic Townsite. Built in 1939, the Old Courthouse takes inspiration from the region’s past, its hallways full of antiques, old toys, and silver-clad dishware.
The rooms have a mix of heritage furnishings and more modern appointments, including bedside outlets and reading lamps, Keurig coffeemakers, a small fridge, and decent Wi-Fi. Bathrooms have been updated as well.
Our unit, Room #9, or the Jurors’ Chambers, was a two-room space, with two bedrooms divided by a wall with a door. The bathroom was connected to one bedroom (so you needed to walk through this room from other bedroom), but the sleeping spaces were separate, a good arrangement for families like ours traveling together. Our windows faced behind the inn toward the town’s now-closed paper mill with glimpses of the ocean beyond.
The inn’s guest rooms are located on two floors — best if you’re comfortable with stairs. On the lower level, Edie Rae’s Cafe serves full breakfasts, included in the room rates for guests and also open to the public. In mild weather, you can eat outdoors on the patio.
Also on the lower level is a guest kitchen with a microwave. The fridge is stocked with light breakfast items — yogurt, granola bars, fruit — if you need to leave before the cafe opens.
What’s Nearby
Powell River has restaurants, cafes, and shops within walking distance of the inn and in the town center, a few minute’s drive away, including the excellent Supercharger Pizza, where the three of us hungrily devoured a large salad and two pies after our day on the trail and still had room for the delicious salted caramel pretzel cookies.
You can reach the Sunshine Coast Trail within a 0.6-mile (1-km) walk from the Old Courthouse Inn. We arranged with Sunshine Coast Shuttles to take us to two other trailheads where we could hike back to the inn at the end of the day.
And where we slept comfortably indoors after our adventures in the rainforest.
Rates
Double room rates at the Old Courthouse Inn start at CAD$165/night. Rates include breakfast, Wi-Fi, and parking in the adjacent lot. You can compare rates at Expedia or your favorite hotel booking site to see if you can find a better deal.
Hotel feature by Vancouver-based travel, food, and feature writer Carolyn B. Heller. Photos © Carolyn B. Heller. Destination British Columbia and Sunshine Coast Tourism provided support for my Sunshine Coast adventures.
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