The Old Country Market at Coombs is one of the more genuinely improbable attractions on Vancouver Island, and it has been drawing curious visitors since the early 1970s. The hook is obvious: goats grazing on a sod-covered rooftop above a busy market complex, visible from the parking lot and the approach road, impossible to mistake for anything else. But the market that operates beneath those goats has accumulated decades of character and a genuinely impressive selection of food and provisions. Most visitors come for the goats; most leave having spent far more time and money inside the building than they anticipated.
Getting to Coombs from Nanaimo
Coombs is roughly 35 to 40 minutes from downtown Nanaimo by car, with the drive straightforward and well-signed throughout. Take the Inland Island Highway (Highway 19) north to the Parksville interchange, then turn west onto Highway 4 — the road toward Port Alberni — and follow it inland. The Coombs market complex is signed off the highway before you reach the Cathedral Grove section of MacMillan Provincial Park. There is no useful public transit connection from Nanaimo, making this firmly a driving destination. If you are already heading west on Highway 4 toward Cathedral Grove, Port Alberni, or the west coast of the island, Coombs sits naturally at the beginning of that route and works well as an opening stop. On the return journey, it is an equally good place to stop for a late lunch before the drive back to Nanaimo.
A Norwegian Beginning: The Story Behind the Roof
The Old Country Market traces its origin to Kristian Graaten, a Norwegian immigrant who established a small market at the Coombs site in the early 1970s. The sod roof on the main market building was not originally conceived as a tourist feature or a marketing strategy. It was a practical construction technique that Graaten carried with him from Scandinavian tradition — in Norway and across much of northern Europe, turf roofs have been used for centuries as natural insulation, keeping buildings cool through summer heat and retaining warmth through cold winters. The technique uses the thermal mass of soil and the insulating properties of living vegetation to regulate interior temperature without mechanical systems.
The goats arrived as a natural extension of having a grass-covered roof. Goats are efficient grazers and will happily crop any accessible vegetation, including the sod on a low-profile building. In summer, when the turf is green and growing and the weather mild enough to be outdoors, the Coombs goats graze the roof exactly as they would any hillside pasture. What began as a functional and culturally rooted building detail became, over the years, the defining visual identity of the entire market. Very few businesses anywhere in Canada have a more immediately recognizable exterior.
Turf roofs have been documented in Scandinavia for more than a thousand years, used on everything from farmhouses to stave churches. Kristian Graaten brought that tradition to a small Vancouver Island community in the 1970s, and the goats that came with it turned a construction technique into one of BC's most photographed roadside attractions.
The Goats: What to Expect and When
The goats appear on the roof from late spring through early fall, when the sod is green and growing and the outdoor temperatures suit them. Through the warmer months, they graze calmly above the market entrance, visible from the main approach and the parking area below. They are not performing or responding to the cameras pointed at them from ground level. They are simply grazing, which is what makes the sight genuinely charming rather than contrived. Do not plan a winter visit specifically around seeing the goats on the roof — they are kept indoors during the colder months when the sod is not actively growing and outdoor conditions are too cold for comfortable grazing. If the goats are the primary reason for your trip, confirm the season before driving out.
In summer, the rooftop goats are visible from a significant distance as you approach the market, and the combination of a busy parking lot, a cheerful market complex, and ungulates grazing above the entrance creates a scene that takes a moment to fully process. Bring a camera. The angle from the parking lot looking up at the roof is the classic shot, but the view from slightly further back on the approach road shows the full scale of the sod roof and the surrounding landscape.
Inside the Market: International Food and Provisions
The Old Country Market has grown considerably from a small farm stand into a sprawling complex with multiple interior spaces and outdoor stall areas. The core of the operation is a large interior food hall that functions as part international import grocery, part deli counter, part artisan food shop, and part fresh produce market. The overall selection reflects decades of accumulated sourcing and a genuine commitment to range — you will find European charcuterie alongside BC-made condiments, imported specialty foods from across three or four continents alongside local island produce, wheels of aged imported cheese alongside fresh-baked pastries from the on-site bakery.
The Deli and Fresh Counter
The deli counter at Coombs is one of the better reasons to visit independent of the goats. It is a working operation rather than a display of pre-packaged goods, with a rotating range of prepared foods, cured meats, pates, and house-made items that shifts by season. The cheese selection is particularly strong for a rural setting, encompassing both local BC farmhouse cheeses and imports from France, Italy, Switzerland, and elsewhere. Picking up provisions from the deli — a selection of cheese, some charcuterie, fresh bread from the bakery section — and eating at one of the outdoor picnic tables with the goats visible overhead is a genuinely enjoyable way to spend a market lunch. It is the Coombs experience at its most complete.
Produce, Gelato, and the Outdoor Stalls
The exterior of the main market building is surrounded by smaller seasonal stalls selling fresh produce, plants, local honey, and other goods through the summer months. The selection at these outer stalls overlaps somewhat with what you would find at a farmers market, though the emphasis at Coombs tends toward display and abundance rather than the direct-from-farm sourcing that characterizes the best farmers market vendors. The gelato stand near the market entrance draws substantial lines on warm summer afternoons and is worth the wait. Flavours typically include locally inspired options alongside Italian standards, and eating a cone in the parking lot while watching the goats on the roof is a dependable summer pleasure.
The Import Bazaar and Gift Shops
Beyond the food hall and deli, the Coombs complex includes a substantial gift and import bazaar — a large, somewhat labyrinthine shop stocked with goods from across Europe, Asia, and further afield. It is the kind of store where you can spend twenty minutes wandering with no particular purchase in mind and emerge with a carved wooden something, a set of imported kitchen textiles, or a novelty food item you had never previously encountered. The browsing quality is high, and the stock reflects genuinely eclectic sourcing rather than the homogeneous selection of a typical souvenir shop. The gift shop element of Coombs provides a reason to linger well beyond the food shopping, and it is a useful destination for anyone looking for unusual provisions or gifts to bring home from the island.
Planning Your Visit: Timing and the Summer Crowds
Coombs is at its most vibrant and most crowded from late June through August. Summer weekends, particularly Saturdays on sunny days, bring large numbers of visitors and can push parking to its limits. The market is well-managed but not immune to the congestion that comes with being a genuinely popular destination on a major highway corridor through the central island. If you have scheduling flexibility, a weekday morning visit between late May and early June or through September gives you easier parking, shorter deli lines, and a more relaxed browse through the market interior.
- Aim to arrive before 11 am on summer weekends to find parking without circling.
- The goats graze the roof from roughly late spring through early fall — they are indoors in winter.
- The deli counter is well-stocked for picnic provisions; the outdoor tables on the grounds are a pleasant place to eat.
- Credit cards are accepted throughout the complex; some outer stall vendors may be cash-preferred.
- The grounds are dog-friendly outdoors; check signage at individual shop entrances regarding indoor access.
- Coombs village itself has a small cluster of independent shops, studios, and a pub worth a brief look before or after the main market.
Combining Coombs with Cathedral Grove
The most natural pairing for a Coombs visit is a continued drive west on Highway 4 to Cathedral Grove, located within MacMillan Provincial Park roughly 25 minutes beyond Coombs. Cathedral Grove is a stand of old-growth Douglas fir forest on the floor of the Alberni Valley, with individual trees that exceed 800 years in age and reach heights over 70 metres. The forest walk is free to access and takes a minimum of about 30 minutes for a short loop through the main grove, though the trails can comfortably occupy an hour or more for those who walk slowly and stop to look properly at the trees.
The combination of Coombs and Cathedral Grove makes a satisfying half-day or full-day excursion from Nanaimo. Stop at Coombs on the outbound leg for food, browsing, and the goat encounter. Continue west along Highway 4 to walk Cathedral Grove before the midday crowds arrive. Return via Parksville and the highway, or extend further west toward Port Alberni and the Alberni Inlet if time allows. This is one of the better day-trip combinations available from Nanaimo, covering a genuinely distinctive piece of island character at each stop.
The goats on the roof at Coombs appear in virtually every Vancouver Island travel guide written in the past several decades, and the image has become a reliable shorthand for a certain kind of wonderfully odd island attraction. But the market beneath them has built its own reputation over more than fifty years of operation — the deli, the imports, the cheese counter, the gelato, the sprawling gift bazaar. A visit rewards time spent inside the building as well as in the parking lot looking up. Both halves of the experience earn their place in a day on the island.