With a two-hour drive for them, I wanted to launch from somewhere nearby. Also, it was January 2nd and weather conditions could change quickly. We settled on Evening Cove, a regional park located between Ladysmith and Yellow Point. This is my favourite and most often used launch site. It has a nice beach, warm water for swimming in the summer and is seldom crowded.
Access is good, but a gate means the boats and gear have to be carried a ways.
Fortunately, there's little elevation change down to the beach and the trail is easy. Usually one of us will grab two bows and the other two sterns. In this fashion we can carry two boats full of gear down to the beach at once. The sterns are heaviest so bows are the favourite of many. For day trips, I load my food and extras in the front hatch to try and balance the load for carrying.