Travel and Leisure
25 (Affordable) Beach Resorts
March 2007

Where’s the perfect perch for explorers of British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast, a dramatic hundred-mile stretch of shoreline that has everything from sandy beaches to tranquil lagoons to high, craggy peaks? In the trees, of course. Rockwater Secret Cove Resort (5356 Ole’s Cove Rd.; 877/296-4593; (www.rockwatersecretcoveresort.com), accessible via a short ferry or floatplane ride from Vancouver, has recently opened a 1,500-foot-long treetop walk among the property’s tall stands of arbutus trees. The walk connects a new series of luxury tent-house suites, all with heated slate floors, shoji screens, hydrotherapy tubs, and private verandas overlooking the Malaspina Strait. Soak up the sea air during an alfresco massage at the tented spa in the cove, or launch a kayak or scuba-diving trip right from the resort’s black-sand beach. And it’s only 15 minutes by water shuttle across the strait to the tiny Thormanby Islands and their glistening alabaster beaches. Time your arrival for low tide, when you can wade through tidal pools filled with starfish, sea urchins, and Dungeness crabs.