When I was younger, my family used to refer to Larson Bay Park as "our beach". Despite my long history with this park, I've never actually been in the main entrance before. The main entrance looks like this:
For those of you wondering what that little shack is, it's a toilet. Not an outhouse, a real toilet...
What the heck is plumbing doing out here? It's surprisingly clean, too.
Another surprise at the main entrance is this tennis court that isn't marked on the map.
Unfortunately, it's got a big crack in the middle of it. That makes sense, though. This ground in this whole area is downright soggy half the year. Another thing that this tennis court would like to remind you about this area:
I don't know why, but the "positively" makes me laugh.
The way down to the beach from this entrance is incredibly steep. Not just "gee, I sure am out of shape" steep, but "ow, my ankles are not meant to bend like this" steep.
Slopes are always hard to capture on camera. They never look as steep as they actually are. The other entrance is not nearly as ridiculous. I'm going to keep on taking that one (It's a trail off of Orchill Rd.)
And now... finally... Larson Bay:
Basically, this place is gorgeous and it has a gorgeous view.
From left to right, that's Passage Island, Bowen Island and Kettle Point in the very edge of the foreground. On clear days like this one, you can also see Vancouver Island way in the background. And don't worry, of course there are logs to sit on and look at this from.
This beach is also a beach glass jackpot.
That's because it's a great place to drink beer and smash the bottles. Get excited if that's your thing, but don't let it scare you off if it's not. This is a perfectly acceptable place without any drunken teenagers until after dark. During the day, it's just a treasure chest of pretty coloured glass.
Finally, one thing that Larson Bay has that's always really cool is a fort. It's been a work in progress for longer than I've been visiting and a combined effort of probably dozens of children who never see each other collecting scraps of wood and making an old root ball into a home.
I love how a beach like this can bring people together without them even knowing it. This isn't a very popular beach, but it's not completely empty either. People visit it for solitude, but they leave with friends that they've never spoken to. A smile from a stranger in a place like this means something special.
PPR
Good: view, plumbing, fort, beach glass, generally really pretty
Bad: so much ground water, too many barnacles for swimming, cracked tennis court
7/10
What a beautiful review :)
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