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The Discovery Cabin at SunLund By-the-Sea on BC’s Sunshine Coast
The Sunshine Coast Trail is Canada’s longest hut-to-hut trail, a 112-mile (180-kilometer) route through British Columbia’s coastal rainforest north of Vancouver. But when I decided to hike a few days of this trail with my daughter and her partner, I wanted to sleep indoors, not in a rustic trail hut — hiking during the day but coming back to a comfortable bed each evening. For our first days on the trail, we stayed at SunLund By-the-Sea in the tiny town of Lund, near the northernmost end of the Sunshine Coast.
Here’s the scoop:
The Camper’s Cabin at SunLund By-the-Sea
SunLund By-the-Sea
This forested property has both RV camping sites and three cabins. The smallest and least expensive of the cabins, the Camper’s Cabin, is primarily designed as a backpacker’s accommodation with bunk beds and basic facilities that include a cold-water outdoor sink, an adjacent outhouse, and a small covered deck. Wi-Fi is included. The showers, which are also available to campground guests, are a short walk away.
The other two cabins are quite well-appointed, nothing like what you might imagine when you picture a simple cabin in the woods. The Atrevida Cabin, with a queen bed, private bath, fireplace, and Wi-Fi, is designed for couples. There’s a barbecue on the covered deck, and the unit has a fridge, microwave, coffeemaker, and cooking utensils.
There’s nothing rustic about SunLund’s Discovery Cabin.
The largest unit, the Discovery Cabin, has two different rooms, each with a private bath, fridge, microwave, coffeemaker, and Wi-Fi. The larger has a queen bed, while the smaller has two twins, a good setup for families or for a group of friends traveling together.
Between the two rooms is an outdoor kitchen with a gas BBQ, as well as an individual lockable shower room that both rooms share. Yes, you have to step outside your sleeping space to go into the shower, but rooms come with robes and slippers to keep you cozy. Both the cabins and the shower room are heated in case you’re visiting in cooler weather.
The twin room is convenient for families.
From the cabins you can follow a short walking path through the woods to the waterfront and to Lund’s tiny commercial area, where there are a couple of restaurants and a bakery along a scenic ocean boardwalk. Lund is about a half-hour drive north of the town of Powell River, the largest community in the area, which has a greater selection of restaurants, stores, and other services.
Tip for electric vehicle drivers: you can plug in your EV outside your SunLund cabin. It’s not fast, but it will charge your vehicle. There are public chargers in Powell River as well.
Getting To The Sunshine Coast
BC Ferries can take you to the Sunshine Coast from Vancouver, the nearest metropolitan area. Catch the 40-minute ferry from Horseshoe Bay (north of Vancouver) to Langdale, which is at the south end of the Sunshine Coast. If you’re going on to Lund, drive north from Langdale about 75 minutes to Earl’s Cove where a second ferry, this one 50 minutes’ long, brings you to Saltery Bay on the northern Sunshine Coast. From Saltery Bay, it’s about an hour’s drive to Lund.
Terracentric Coastal Adventures, which manages SunLund, offers kayak tours and rentals, and they operate a boat shuttle to the start of the Sunshine Coast Trail at Sarah Point. It’s possible to drive to the Sarah Point trailhead, but you need a high-clearance four-wheel-drive vehicle to navigate the rough and narrow logging road.
Based in Powell River, Sunshine Coast Shuttle can also provide transportation to or from the trail, and owner Jesse Newman has a wealth of trail knowledge that he’s happy to share. Jesse dropped us at the trailhead in the morning, and we hiked from Sarah Point back to SunLund, about 10.5 miles (17km) on the main trail and another three miles (5km) on an access trail that comes out almost directly opposite the SunLund property.
Even if you’re not planning to hike, SunLund By-The-Sea is a scenic location for a quiet getaway or for exploring this peaceful section of the coast. And if, like me, you’re happy to spend your days in the forest but prefer a real bed and a hot shower, SunLund makes a good base for a hiking adventure.
On the boardwalk in the town of Lund on BC’s Sunshine Coast
Rates
At SunLund By-The-Sea, the budget Camper’s Cabin, which is open seasonally, mid-April through September, rents for CAD$85/night.
The other two cabins range from CAD$225-325 from May through September, when a three-night minimum stay is normally required. From October through April, when these larger cabins have a two-night minimum, rates are CAD$169-275. Pets are allowed for a $10 fee.
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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