Mt. Cain Skiing Holiday Gallery - Getting to the Mountain.
Mt. Cain is a great destination to include in any skiing holiday. As you leave the valley bottom and progress up the 16 km dirt road you start to see some of the amazing vistas that dominate this ski resort. Even the parking lot that runs along the base of the skiing area has a marvelous view as shown in picture 4 of this gallery.
1. In the left of this picture you can see the gravel road that leads to Mt. Cain. This spot gives your first view of the many mountain vistas you can see on this skiing holiday.
2. This shot is taken further up the hill. We are so used to being able to see the ocean but that is really clouds behind the mountains.
3. We are getting close to the resort now. The road is a series of switch backs up near the top. As you can see it has been a very good snow year.
4. We visited Mt. Cain on the third last weekend of the season. The parking lot was busy. It was the end of Spring Break. Families bring their campers and stay for the weekend.
5. It is the end of the day and the bus driver is getting ready to make his daily run down the mountain. You can see from the chains on the rear wheels that the bus is ready for any weather condition.
Getting To Mt. Cain
Mt. Cain is located in Mt. Cain Regional Park on the northern half of Vancouver Island. The end of the access road is 124Km from Campbell River, 75Km north of Sawyard and only 11Km south of the Woss turnoff.
Look for the blue sign for both both Mt. Cain and Schoen Lake Provincial Park and turn left. Turn left again and follow the signs to Mt. Cain for your skiing holiday.
The Mt. Cain Alpine Park Society is a non-profit society that runs the ski facility. A bus (see picture 5) departs from the parking lot at the base of the hill at 8:30 each Saturday and Sunday that the hill is open.
It makes the return tip at 4:15 each day. Payment is by donation with five dollars being the suggest amount to give. The bus only holds 20 passengers so first come - first served.
The road to Mt. Cain is maintained by the Ski Society with the aid of the local logging companies.
It is a gravel road with more than a few potholes. You must have chains that fit your car if you plan to drive the road to the mountain. Driving a vehicle with 4-wheel drive is also recommended. Whatever you are driving make sure that you take in Mt. Cain as part of your skiing holiday on Vancouver Island.
Road Rules For Meeting Other Traffic
Because the road is narrow and slippery in adverse weather conditions traffic is restricted to one-way going up until 1:00 pm and one-way coming down until 6:00 pm. If you do meet oncoming traffic the downhill vehicle has the right of way. The uphill vehicle is required to pull off as much as possible and stop. I know that I was compelled to pull over and stop several times to take skiing holiday pictures as we drove up the mountain.
Another Skiing Holiday Gallery | Return To the Mt. Cain Trail Map
