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Plumper Cove Marine Provincial Park

1960 establishments in British ColumbiaIUCN Category IIMarine parks of CanadaProtected areas established in 1960Provincial parks of British Columbia
Sunshine Coast Regional District
The Dock at Plumper Cove Marine Park
The Dock at Plumper Cove Marine Park

Plumper Cove Marine Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada. The park is located on Keats Island in Howe Sound, northwest of Vancouver, British Columbia. It is one of the oldest marine parks on the BC coast, and a popular anchorage in the summer months. The 57-hectare park is located on the northwest shore of Keats Island. The park has a well maintained hiking trail system, a grassy upland picnic area and forested walk-in campsites. The trail system consists of 'Keats Loop' which leads to the top of a bluff to a lookout, and then there is a 2 km (1 mi) trail which leads to Keats' Landing, the final segment of which can be travelled either by dirt road or trail. The 2 km (1 mi) trail is of intermediate level, easy to hike when not laden with camping gear, but somewhat arduous when hiking in with several days worth of camping supplies. It is roughly 1 km (1 mi) uphill and 1 km (1 mi) downhill either direction, and somewhat near the trail's middle it peaks near the lookout. There are only two ways for the public to access the park; by marine access or by hiking in. Travellers can take BC Ferries from Horseshoe Bay to Langdale, then board the Stornaway II which makes infrequent trips to Keats' Island and Gambier Island, then hike roughly 2 km (1 mi) to the campground. The trail from Keats Landing to Plumper Cove Marine Park is NOT bike friendly, and most trails on the island are similarly challenging - bicycles are not recommended but good walking shoes will get you where you need to go! Alternately, via marine access, one with their own boat can navigate and pay moorage fees at the park dock. Several water taxi services are available from Gibsons to Plumper Cove Marine Park, but these are somewhat erratic and do not operate on a regular schedule, sometimes requiring a charter. The park is known for its quiet and natural surroundings. Unlike many other provincial campgrounds which have vehicle access, traffic by locals there to drink and make loud noise is limited. Occasionally people from Gibsons, British Columbia or those who have cabins on Keats Island will park a barge or tie together a series of boats and have a private flotilla party, although this is rare and usually only occurs on peak long weekends. Due to the natural surroundings, lack of vehicle access, and dedication or investment in a marine vehicle to get to the park, the park is lovingly referred to by those who frequent it regularly as "the best campground in BC". Those from Vancouver, British Columbia who frequent the park tend to go back every year on the same weekends at the same time, and tend to not advertise to their fellow city dwellers about the park in order to keep it private and from it getting too busy. From September 24 to May 15, the park does not charge camping fees, but has limited services available. Normally, during peak summer months, the camping fee is $16 per night per party (party up to four). There are group campsites available which are double sites for larger parties. Group picknicking services are available by private reservation only. Moorage at a buoy costs $12 per night, and moorage at the dock costs $2.00 per metre per night. Docking and moorage fees only apply after 6pm. During the winter months most services are free of charge. Garbage service is very limited (if at all) and visitors should plan to pack out anything they may bring. The park has potable water available from a hand pump only from May 15th to Sep 15th and the pit toilets are open year around. Due to storm damage in the winter of 2006 the dock at the Park was destroyed, and replaced in 2007.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Plumper Cove Marine Provincial Park (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Plumper Cove Marine Provincial Park
Melody Point Private Trail, Area F (West Howe Sound)

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Wikipedia: Plumper Cove Marine Provincial ParkContinue reading on Wikipedia

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N 49.4045 ° E -123.4651 °
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Plumper Cove Marine Provincial Park

Melody Point Private Trail
V0N 1V0 Area F (West Howe Sound)
British Columbia, Canada
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The Dock at Plumper Cove Marine Park
The Dock at Plumper Cove Marine Park
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Molly's Reach
Molly's Reach

Molly's Reach was a fictional restaurant in the real community of Gibson's Landing, British Columbia, during the nineteen years the Canadian television series The Beachcombers was set there. The building is now a real restaurant. The show's fictional restaurant was named after the character who owned it, who served as a mother-figure for other characters. A reach is a geographical term for a section of a river. As the town cafe and natural meeting point, where Nick also rented a room as office space for his salvage company, much of the drama happened in and immediately around Molly's Reach. The original structure was built in 1931, and served a variety of purposes, including a second hand store, a general store, a hardware store and a liquor store, prior to serving as a set for the television show. After the show ended it was turned into an actual restaurant.The Beachcombers was the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's longest running series, one which was re-sold in fifty foreign markets, and fans of the show, both foreign and domestic, seek out the restaurant. The restaurant's walls bear many photos featuring the show's cast and crew. In 2016 the Vancouver Sun called the restaurant Gibsons' "most prominent landmark". It is located in the middle of town on the main highway, just up the street from the government dock. A made-for-TV movie, The New Beachcombers, to mark the thirtieth anniversary of the original series first episode, revolved around a fictional fight to prevent the restaurant being torn down and replaced by condominiums.The building was put up for sale on September 22, 2019.

Persephone (tugboat)
Persephone (tugboat)

Persephone is a steel logging tug used in the filming of the CBC Television series The Beachcombers. Built as a small tug named John Henry, it is today preserved as a museum ship in the town of Gibsons, British Columbia. The tug was built in 1965 for Harry "Smitty" Smith, of Smith's Marina in Gibsons, by local boat builder John F. Gooldrup. As John Henry, the tug was used as a small tug and work boat in the waters of the Sunshine Coast. In 1972, the vessel was chartered by CBC Television to portray a log salvage boat owned by the central character Nick Adonidas and his partner Jesse Jim in the series The Beachcombers. The tug's television name, taken from the Greek goddess Persephone, reflects Nick Adonidas' Greek heritage. The tug appeared in most episodes of the long-running series. Her battered, black hull became one of the show's iconic backdrops. Despite her small size and modest speed, her strength, seaworthiness and reliability made Persephone something of a character in her own right, often contrasted with the fast and aggressive jet boat piloted by Relic, Nick Adonidas' longtime rival.After the end of the series in 1990, the engine was removed, and Harry Smith donated the vessel to the Town of Gibsons in 1991. The tug was kept for several years at the town public works yard. In 2003 the Sunshine Coast Museum & Archives Society in Gibsons took ownership of the tug for restoration. John Henry was removed from the vessel registry on June 13, 2003, as a team of volunteers restored the tug to its appearance in the television series as Persephone. The tug was transferred back to the Town of Gibsons in 2007 after restoration was complete. It was agreed that the vessel would not be used in the water again but would be prominently displayed in the town. A location was chosen at an intersection of Gower Point Road, just down the road from the Sunshine Coast Museum & Archives which continues to maintain a display about the show's production, and just up the road from Molly's Reach, the cafe building which featured prominently in the series. Persephone was installed by crane on a special landscaped cradle in July 2007 during the town's annual Sea Cavalcade celebrations. In 2020 the vacant lot was slated for redevelopment, and a new home needed to be found. In December 2020 B.C. Ferries committed funding for restoration and a new building.