Short Hikes with Scenic Views in Cumberland, BC

Granted, Cumberland is most famous for its incredible mountain bike trails in Cumberland Forest, and you'll find swarms of riders flocking from the parking areas into the forest on every day of the week. While that might seem daunting as a hiker, there are still plenty of excellent hikes to be found... and even some trails that are clear of bike traffic. In this guidebook, you'll find three short, scenic hikes near Cumberland that serve up incredible natural beauty!

The most well-known hike from downtown Cumberland is the route to the China Pots, and it's deserving of its local fame. The China Pots are hollowed-out holes in slabs of rock that Perseverance Creek flows over and through. The water swirls in the pots before cascading down to the next ledge and the next set of pots, making for a visually surreal experience. While this hike does take place in Cumberland Forest, it mostly traverses trails that are little used by the local mountain bikers.

Next, head up to nearby Comox Lake Park for a beautiful hike to a hidden waterfall and an overlook of the lake. As an added bonus, the park provides a fantastic place to camp, swim, paddle, rock climb, and more. Note that while this hike is short, it's quite steep and rocky in places, making it more strenuous than the other two.

Just north of Cumberland, you'll find the final hike in this guidebook in Nymph Falls Provincial Park. This is by far the easiest hike mentioned here, but it leads to the incredible Nymph Falls: a lengthy series of small cascades where the Puntledge River flows over undulating rock slabs. These wide rock slabs create stunning veils of falling water, and manmade fish ladders cut into the rock also create a series of much more rugged, tumultuous falls.

These three hikes will get you started, but they're by no means the only trails in the region! The deeper you head into the mountains, the more adventure you'll undoubtedly discover!