Cumberland

Cumberland brings together an extensive network of trails, forest landscapes and historic places. This makes it an interesting destination for a trip where outdoor activity and exploration can play different roles. When choosing a vacation rental, you can first consider whether you’re travelling to Cumberland mainly for the trails, natural areas or historic sites.

A Trail Network for Different Activities

The Cumberland Trail Network is an extensive, non-motorized, multi-use trail network. It is used by mountain bikers, hikers and trail runners of different ages and abilities. The mix of activities gives the trail network its character: it isn’t focused solely on mountain biking. If you’re travelling with people who have different interests, you can take this range of activities into account when deciding whether Cumberland is the right holiday destination.

United Riders of Cumberland (UROC) holds several races and other events related to the trail network each year. These include the Coaltown Throwdown Women's Enduro, 12 Hours of Cumberland and Dodge City Enduro. These examples show that racing is also part of the town’s trail scene. Each event has its own name and, alongside everyday use of the trail network, offers another aspect that may matter to cycling enthusiasts planning a trip.

Forest Landscapes and Traces of Mining

Southwest of the town centre is Cumberland Community Forest Park, a 203-hectare forest park. It is a temperate rainforest ecosystem with natural trails, salmon-bearing streams, wetlands and riparian areas. The park is located in the traditional territory of the K’ómoks Nation. Nature enthusiasts will find several different landscape features within this forest park: its character includes not only trails, but also streams, wetlands and riparian areas.

The historic sites of Mine No. 2 and Mine No. 3, also known as Union Colliery Mine, are also located within the park. Here, forest landscapes meet mining history in Cumberland Community Forest Park. This offers a different perspective on Cumberland for trip planning than one focused exclusively on the trail network.

Historic Sites and a Disc Golf Course

Coal Creek Historic Park includes the historic sites of Chinatown and No. 1 Japanese Town. Both are part of the park’s history. For travellers who want to include places with a story alongside outdoor activities in their holiday plans, these sites are another point of interest in Cumberland.

Coal Creek Historic Park is also home to an 18-hole disc golf course. It is located 250 m south of the Chinatown Historic Site. This specific distance places the course near the historic site, but the two are not the same activity: disc golf and visiting historic sites appeal to different interests and complement the park’s offerings in different ways.

About 1 km east of Cumberland, the Nikkei No Haka Japanese Cemetery is located on Union Road. It borders the Chinese Cemetery and is one of the Village’s three cemeteries designated as protected Heritage Cemeteries in 2007. At the same time, it remains an active cemetery. This continuing use is as much a part of its context as its heritage status; it should not be understood only as a historic name.

A Place on Comox Lake, Too

Cumberland Lake Park on Comox Lake has a boat launch and a dock. This adds a place with waterfront facilities to Cumberland’s forest, trail and history themes. When weighing up your travel interests, you can consider these different attractions as reasons to visit Cumberland without reducing them to a single activity.

When looking for a vacation rental, it helps to start by deciding what you want to focus on during your trip: will the trail network be the deciding factor, are you more interested in forests and nature, or would you like to include historic sites? Cumberland offers different themes that you can weigh in different ways when choosing a holiday destination.

More Destinations

If you’d like to discover more places: Gold River, Comox, Courtenay, Quathiaski Cove, Zeballos, Campbell River, Hornby Island and Denman Island.

Return to the main travel overview: Comox-Strathcona.