Ladysmith is a historic town on Vancouver Island famous for a wide variety of monuments, battlefields, and memorials commemorating. It is excellent for exploring all year round with spectacular attractions like waterfalls, hiking trails, and parks.
The Ladysmith area was initially known as Oyster Harbour when it was a coaling port for the Dunsmuir-owned mine. The founder of the town James Dunsmuir, who ground in Ladysmith in 1898, built transportation wharves for loading coal at Oyster Harbour. He needed somewhere to house the families of his miners. He made a community that was south of his extension mines. In 1900, the town was renamed Ladysmith in honour of the British lifting the siege of Ladysmith in South Africa, which happened during the Second Boer War.
The local economy of the town encompasses forestry, tourism, and agriculture. Tourism in Ladysmith is based on natural beauties like waterfall, great parks like Roberts Memorial Provincial Park, and scenic hiking trails like Holland Creek Hiking Trails, and many other attractions.
Ladysmith has comfortable, dry, and partly cloudy summers and very cold, wet, and mostly cloudy winters. Ladysmith average temperature goes from 0°C (32°F) to 24°C (75.2°F) and too rarely below -5°C (22°F) or above 30°C (86°F).
The best time to visit Ladysmith is from mid-July to mid-August, when warm-weather activities are available.
Ladysmith can easily be accessed by car, ferry, plane or bus. Ladysmith Airport is close to the Nanaimo Airport, which has daily flights to Vancouver and Calgary. Victoria International Airport could be your choice, with a bus service.
You can use Harbour Air Seaplanes, which fly from Vancouver to Nanaimo and Victoria, and take a taxi or bus or drive about 20 km (12.4 miles) to Ladysmith.
It takes about 25 min of driving from The Duke Point and BC Ferries Departure Bay Terminal in Nanaimo to Ladysmith. Victoria (Swartz Bay) Ferry Terminal is about an hour and a half away from Ladysmith, and it has a bus service.
The beauties in Ladysmith can make people go speechless. Among them are Harbourview Park, a cozy and comfortable park and Transfer Beach Park, with sandy beaches. Also, have the joy of excellent hiking trails like Estuary Trail that will keep you coming back. For entertainment, Ladysmith offers Ladysmith Little Theatre and Ladysmith Amphitheater. Then maybe you can go to Ladysmith Parks, Recreation & Culture for recreational activities and fun-filled events suitable for all ages. Enjoy many good restaurants and pubs where you can have a drink or a nice meal.
Ladysmith's public transportation includes trolleys, buses (there are four local routes), taxis, and ferries.
Accommodations in Ladysmith come in all kinds of shapes and prices, from rather luxury lodgings to simple guesthouses; for every amount of budget. You can choose what's best for you.
Hotels:
Holiday House Seaview Motel and Kiwi Cove Lodge
Castle Cove Inn
Best Western PlusChemainus Inn
Hostels:
Microtel Inn & Suites by Wyndham Oyster Bay
Croftinn Motel (조개, 개 , 낚시)
Fuller Lake Motel
Guesthouse:
Crofton by the Sea Bed & Breakfast
Ladysmith shops are unique; most of the stores are in original historic buildings on First Avenue, the heart of downtown. Among them are Antique Addict, Nancy's Fashion And Furnishings, Purple Pigeon Treasures, Left Coast Fashions, and Coronation Mall.
After exploring the city, what can give more energy to continue your trip is good food. Here, we introduce some of Ladysmith's best cafes and restaurants. Most of them are concentrated downtown.
Wigwam Restaurant, Roberts Street Pizza, Wild Poppy Market, take out, Spice Hut Indian Cuisine, Kaede Sushi, Mr. Teriyaki & Miss Sushi, Dragon City Restaurant Inc, Barnacle Barney's Fish n Chips, Coffee Shack, Ma Maison, Nic's Café, Maple Lane Café, Willow Street Café.
There is one wine cellar downtown, Art of Brewing Ltd, and one brewing company, Riot Brewing Co, in the southeast.