Gibsons Beach (Powell River)

BEACH INFO:
Gibsons Beach is located off highway 101, just north of the Wildwood section of the community of Powell River, B.C. Gibsons Beach is a day use beach that is generally relatively deserted. The beach itself offers trees for shade, picnic tables, a grassy bluff, and both sandy and rocky shorelines.

Gibsons Beach is a great spot for picnics and beach combing. This beach is located on the highway approximately 12 km from the centre of town and kilometre on the dirt road to the beach brings you to a grassy picnic area situated above the beach overlooking Malaspina Strait. Below you can enjoy a quiet, uncrowded beach with some sandy and rocky areas. Great for beachcombing and looking for sea creatures. There is also a boat launch at Gibsons Beach.

AMENITIES:
Gibsons beach is close to the city centre where there are plenty of amenities.

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COVID-19

Keep your distance from other people.

Practicing social distancing is still essential. Only go to the beach if you are able to keep 6 feet or 2 meters away from others. Follow the instructions provided by your local health authorities. If your community has asked that you remain indoors and away from others, do so. Spending a day in any crowded place is the worst thing we can do for our most vulnerable right now and will counter our efforts to curb the virus’s spread.

Water Quality

Passed water quality tests at least 95% of the time
Historical Status
This status is based on the latest sample, taken on July 18th, 2022. Swim Guide - Main updates the status of this beach as soon as test results become available. These results were posted to Swim Guide on July 27th, 2022 at 12:23 PM.

For water quality icon legend, click:

Current Weather

19°C

A mix of sun and clouds

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Monitoring Frequency

Source Information

Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) monitors the water quality at 50 Coast Garibaldi beaches. Sampling is conducted during the height of swim season (May – September).

VCH follows the Canadian Recreational Water Guidelines. Recreational water is considered safe if the geometric mean result is under 200 E.coli/100mL. Should the geometric mean exceed 200 E.coli/100 mL, or in the event of a known hazard or spill, the Medical Health Officer will make an assessment of the risk to human health. If there is a risk to human health, a warning sign will be posted at the beach stating “This Water is Contaminated and Unsafe for Swimming.” Results are communicated on the Vancouver Coastal Health website (http://www.healthspace.ca/vch). Fraser Riverkeeper updates Swim Guide according to these results, as soon as they become available.

Sampling for this region is dependent on available resources and assistance from local government and other agencies. The VCH employs a ‘risk management approach’ to water quality monitoring of this region, based on the knowledge that the majority of beaches have good to excellent historic water quality in the past.

Local governments or community organizations are encouraged to contact VCH if they would like to collect samples from public beaches in their community. VCH will offer assistance with training, lab services, and the posting of results.

Test results are not consistently posted – we will continue to work with VCH to ensure public safety. Recreational water quality for a beach is determined by E. coli counts from a laboratory approved by the BC Provincial Health Officer for Provincial Drinking Water and Microbiology Testing.

A beach is marked Green when single sample results are under 200 E.coli / 100 ML water.

A beach is marked Red when the results are equal to or above 200 E.coli / 100 ML water.

A beach is marked Grey when there are no current results or there is no available information.

Water Quality Graph