What’s Still Ahead This Fall
Fall events in Port Alberni pick up right where the Alberni District Fall Fair leaves off. The fairgrounds on Hollywood St just wrapped up another year of logger sports and midway rides, but the Alberni Valley’s fall calendar is really just getting started. Here’s everything still ahead if you’re planning a stay at Chims Cabins this season.
Port Alberni Toy Run – September 19-20
The 42nd annual Toy Run – one of the biggest fall events in Port Alberni each year – rolls into Glenwood Centre this weekend. Saturday: registration at Little Qualicum Falls from 10am (free bike registration, coffee and doughnuts by donation), ride departs at noon, and the party kicks off at Glenwood Centre at 1pm with a Show & Shine, vendors, a beer garden, and a pig roast. Adult bike games start at 2pm, and the 21+ dance runs 7pm-1am.
Sunday brings a pancake breakfast (8-11am) and a poker run (9:30am-noon), followed by a beer garden, raffles, and live auction from 1-4pm. Daytime festivities are family-friendly; the evening dance is 21+ only. Full weekend details and dance tickets are on the official Toy Run site.
Equinox Garlic Festival – September 21
A brand-new addition to the fall events in Port Alberni lineup this year. It’s the first-ever Equinox Garlic Festival, so details are still coming together, but it’s worth keeping an eye on if you’re in town that weekend for a taste of something new.
Arrowvale Pumpkin Patch
Every Saturday and Sunday in October, 10:30am-3:30pm, at Arrowvale Campground & Farm (5955 Hector Rd). Admission is $2.50 (free under 18 months), with $2.50 tractor-pulled wagon rides through the fields – a 20-minute tour past cows and horses. Last wagon departs 3pm. Cash, debit, and credit accepted, and it’s an easy half-day outing for families staying with us.
Farmers Markets
Two Saturday markets run year-round: the Port Alberni Farmers’ Market at Cherry Creek (6211 Cherry Creek Rd, 9am-1pm) and Spirit Square Farmers’ Market at Harbour Quay (5440 Argyle St, 9am-noon). There’s also a seasonal Wednesday Night Market (3033 3rd Ave, 5:30-7:30pm) and Naesgaard’s Farm & Market open daily (5681 River Rd, 9:30am-5:30pm) for fall produce – good places to pick up something for the fire pit before you head back to the cabin.
Stamp River Salmon Run & Bear Watching
If you’ve read our season-by-season guide, you already know fall means salmon. Sockeye start running at the Stamp River fishway in August, and coho and chinook keep the run going right into December, which makes October one of the best windows to see it. A 0.5 km trail from the parking area at Stamp River Provincial Park leads to the fish ladder and waterfall, with interpretive signage along the way and a viewpoint above the ladder for watching spawning salmon in the current. The ladder itself is managed by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and maintained by the Hupacasath First Nation.
Where there’s a salmon run, there are black bears. They follow the fish into the valley through October, and Stamp River’s quieter trails are one place to spot them, though the most reliable and accessible viewing is actually in town, along the boardwalk at Victoria Quay on the Somass River, especially in early morning or calm evening light. Wherever you’re watching from: stay on the viewing side of the water, keep your distance (binoculars or a zoom lens beat getting closer), never feed or call out to wildlife, and make noise on the trails so you’re not surprising anything around a bend. Port Alberni is a Bear Smart community, and a little caution keeps it that way.
Fall Colours Drive
The valley’s maple trees turn first. Stamp River Provincial Park doubles as a fall color destination in its own right, with over 2 km of trails running through maples that go gold alongside the salmon run. In town, the Maplehurst Trail is a 3 km loop through maple and alder that puts on its own show. And if you’re heading out toward the coast, our Port Alberni to Tofino drive guide is worth a re-read this time of year – the colour starts around Sproat Lake and builds through Sutton Pass, where the highway follows the Kennedy River down toward Kennedy Lake in some of the best roadside scenery on the route.
Thanksgiving Long Weekend – October 12
Canadian Thanksgiving falls on Monday, October 12 this year, and it’s one of the last long weekends before the valley quiets down for winter, a good excuse to combine a cabin stay with the pumpkin patch, a farmers market run, and a walk along the Stamp River while the leaves and the salmon are both still going. If you’re weighing your options, our complete guide to where to stay in Port Alberni breaks down the town’s accommodations, but long weekends book up fast, so it’s worth locking in a cabin sooner rather than later.
Make It a Fall Getaway
Between the Toy Run, the pumpkin patch, the markets, and the salmon run at Stamp River, fall events in Port Alberni fill more than one weekend this season. Chims Cabins is a short drive from all of it – see our cabins or book directly, or call us at (250) 724-4746 if you’d rather talk it through.
