Getting around Qualicum Beach: walking, cycling and transit times
à portée’s map shows the trip on foot, by bike and by transit from every populated block in Qualicum Beach to the nearest grocery store, pharmacy, school, park and other everyday places. It is free, with no account.
- residents in 2021
- 9,303
- within a 15-minute walk of a grocery store
- 18%
- typical walk to a grocery store
- 37 min
- of 1,000 communities for groceries on foot
- 622nd
Travel times across Qualicum Beach
Each block is coloured by the trip from it to the nearest place of the kind you pick, on foot, by bike or by transit. Move the map, or open it in à portée for any address and all 29 kinds of place.
Transit times are for a weekday at peak hours. A free plus account adds a mode and a time limit for each place, and transit at night on weekdays and at midday on Saturday and Sunday.
Getting around Qualicum Beach
The share of Qualicum Beach residents within a trip of each place, and the typical trip, by each way of getting there the free map offers.
| Place | On foot | By bike | By transit, weekday morning peak |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grocery store | 9%typical 37 min | 35%typical 15 min | 9%typical 31 min |
| Pharmacy | 17%typical 33 min | 42%typical 13 min | 17%typical 27 min |
| Park | 58%typical 9 min | 98%typical 3 min | 58%typical 9 min |
| Elementary school | 14%typical 26 min | 37%typical 12 min | 14%typical 23 min |
| Place | On foot | By bike | By transit, weekday morning peak |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grocery store | 18%typical 37 min | 53%typical 15 min | 18%typical 31 min |
| Pharmacy | 23%typical 33 min | 62%typical 13 min | 23%typical 27 min |
| Park | 82%typical 9 min | 99%typical 3 min | 83%typical 9 min |
| Elementary school | 21%typical 26 min | 66%typical 12 min | 21%typical 23 min |
| Place | On foot | By bike | By transit, weekday morning peak |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grocery store | 26%typical 37 min | 69%typical 15 min | 26%typical 31 min |
| Pharmacy | 30%typical 33 min | 71%typical 13 min | 30%typical 27 min |
| Park | 95%typical 9 min | 100%typical 3 min | 96%typical 9 min |
| Elementary school | 33%typical 26 min | 97%typical 12 min | 34%typical 23 min |
| Place | On foot | By bike | By transit, weekday morning peak |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grocery store | 38%typical 37 min | 87%typical 15 min | 48%typical 31 min |
| Pharmacy | 46%typical 33 min | 98%typical 13 min | 63%typical 27 min |
| Park | >99%typical 9 min | 100%typical 3 min | >99%typical 9 min |
| Elementary school | 58%typical 26 min | 100%typical 12 min | 70%typical 23 min |
Cycling and transit follow the street network, hills included. A transit trip includes the walk to and from the stops, at the median departure of a weekday morning peak, and is never slower than walking the whole way. Within 15 minutes means under 16: times are rounded down to the whole minute.
Qualicum Beach in numbers
18% of Qualicum Beach residents live within a 15-minute walk of a grocery store, compared with 48% across British Columbia and 45% across Canada.
Residents within a walk of each place
| Place | 10 min | 15 min | 20 min | 30 min | Typical walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grocery store | 9% | 18% | 26% | 38% | 37 min |
| Pharmacy | 17% | 23% | 30% | 46% | 33 min |
| Park | 58% | 82% | 95% | >99% | 9 min |
| Elementary school | 14% | 21% | 33% | 58% | 26 min |
Within a 15-minute walk, beside British Columbia and Canada
| Place | Qualicum Beach | British Columbia | Canada | Rank among the 1,000 communities with a page |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grocery store | 18% | 48% | 45% | 622nd of 1,00087th of 155 in British Columbia |
| Pharmacy | 23% | 48% | 51% | 582nd of 1,00079th of 155 in British Columbia |
| Park | 82% | 86% | 82% | 340th of 1,00063rd of 155 in British Columbia |
| Elementary school | 21% | 58% | 55% | 600th of 1,00091st of 155 in British Columbia |
Qualicum Beach British Columbia
Communities of a similar size
The communities closest to Qualicum Beach in population, and the share of their residents within a 15-minute walk of a grocery store. Communities are 2021 census subdivisions (cities, towns, counties and other municipalities), compared within their municipal boundaries.
| Community | Residents | Grocery within 15 min |
|---|---|---|
| The Blue Mountains | 9,390 | 14% |
| Malahide | 9,308 | 1% |
| Qualicum Beach | 9,303 | 18% |
| Smiths Falls | 9,254 | 41% |
| Olds | 9,209 | 51% |
More places across the Nanaimo Regional District census division
The Nanaimo Regional District census division has 170,367 residents, 5% of them in Qualicum Beach. The share of them within a 15-minute walk of more kinds of place:
- Convenience store32%
- Café35%
- Bakery17%
- Library8%
- Playground48%
- Childcare32%
- Community centre18%
- Clinic19%
Other communities in the Nanaimo Regional District area
Beside each community is the share of its residents who can reach a grocery store within a 15-minute walk.
Shares of 2021 residents of populated census blocks, on foot along the street network. How the walking times are computed
Travel times are our best estimates from open data published October 8, 2026 and can contain errors. Walking and cycling times are rounded down, so “within 15 minutes” means under 16. Check before an important decision, and tell us if something looks wrong.
Questions
Is Qualicum Beach walkable?
One measure is the share of residents within a 15-minute walk of everyday places. In Qualicum Beach, 18% of residents live within a 15-minute walk of a grocery store, compared with 48% across British Columbia and 45% across Canada. On this measure, Qualicum Beach ranks 622nd of 1,000 communities.
Can you get around Qualicum Beach by bike?
By bike, 53% of Qualicum Beach residents reach a grocery store within 15 minutes, 62% a pharmacy, 99% a park and 66% an elementary school. On foot, 18% are within 15 minutes of a grocery store. The typical trip to a grocery store takes 15 min by bike and 37 min on foot. Cycling times follow the street network, hills included; they don’t say whether a street is safe or comfortable to ride.
Does transit help you reach everyday places in Qualicum Beach?
By transit at the weekday morning peak, 18% of Qualicum Beach residents reach a grocery store within 15 minutes, against 18% on foot and 53% by bike. These times include the walk to and from the stops and the wait. The typical trip takes 31 min by transit and 37 min on foot. Where transit would be slower than walking, the time shown is the walk.
Is Qualicum Beach a 15-minute city?
It depends on which everyday places you count. Within a 15-minute walk, 18% of residents reach a grocery store, 23% a pharmacy, 82% a park and 21% an elementary school. These figures count each place separately; open the map to see how many residents have all four within 15 minutes, for the places you choose.
How does Qualicum Beach compare with communities of a similar size?
In Qualicum Beach, 18% of residents live within a 15-minute walk of a grocery store; in the communities closest to it in population, the share is 14% in The Blue Mountains, 1% in Malahide, 41% in Smiths Falls and 51% in Olds.
Where does this data come from?
Walking, cycling and transit times follow the street network, hills included, from each populated 2021 census block to the nearest place of each kind. Transit uses the operators’ published timetables at the weekday morning peak. Places come from OpenStreetMap and Overture Maps, with health care and schools checked against Statistics Canada’s open databases. Shares are weighted by 2021 population. Data published 8 October 2026. How the times are computed
Qualicum Beach in brief
- Province
- British Columbia
- Census division
- Nanaimo Regional District
- Census subdivision code
- 5921023
- Residents in 2021
- 9,303
- Data published
- 8 October 2026
Sources: places from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL) and the Overture Maps Foundation; census blocks, 2021 populations and municipal boundaries adapted from Statistics Canada under the Open Government Licence – Canada; transit times from the operators’ published timetables; elevation from Natural Resources Canada; province outlines from Natural Earth; links from Wikidata (CC0), Wikipedia and Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA). Figures derived from OpenStreetMap are under the ODbL. Data sources and licences