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North Vancouver Island
The North Island region is a place of pristine natural splendour. It’s the last frontier, where massive expanses of lush wilderness beckon to outdoor adventurers, explorers, nature lovers, and wildlife watchers.
The spectacular wilderness of the North Island is the ideal setting for all kinds of activities from whale watching, fishing, and diving to kayaking and hiking. This is also one of the region’s best places to explore and learn about the ancient culture of the First Nations. In the midst of all this wild beauty are enclaves of civilization with comfortable places to tuck in for the night, restaurants with fresh seafood on the menu, and friendly locals willing to offer tips on the best views, walking trails, and fishing spots.
FACT > More coastline and more waterways than any other area within the Vancouver Island region make Vancouver Island North a premium destination for marine adventures.
Things to Do
Diving
North Island diving is world famous and noted for brilliant soft corals, countless marine species, and 100-foot-plus visibility. Unique opportunities include seeing Pacific white-sided dolphins and wolf eels and exploring shipwrecks. The region’s many dive sites include the Browning Wall, rated the best dive site in B.C. and one of the world’s top 10.
Kayaking
A regional specialty! Options include lessons, single or multi-day guided tours, self-guided adventures, and local sites for kayak camps. Opportunities for canoeing are also excellent.
Fishing
Amazing fishing is a specialty throughout the region. Halibut, which can weigh upwards of 59 kilograms (130 pounds), and chinook salmon weighing up to 28 kilograms (60 pounds) in the later summer months, are the most popular prizes. The region is also known for many other saltwater species, as well as excellent freshwater fishing.
Hiking
The 27-kilometre Cape Scott Trail and the 43.1-kilometre North Coast Trail are the region’s most famous treks. Many shorter trails are available to choose from; maps can be obtained at Visitor Centres.
Wildlife and Nature Viewing
This region is home to more than 200 northern resident orcas (killer whales) that return each summer. Quiet areas offer a natural viewing experience with little marine traffic and uncrowded viewing opportunities.
Caving
This region offers some great caving opportunities, particularly in Little Huson Regional Cave Park on the road to Zeballos, as well as in the Port Alice area. Visitor Centres have details.
Mountain Biking
Mountain bikers enjoy trails in the Sayward area, near Port McNeill and Port Hardy, and on the Rumble Mountain bike trails in Port Alice. Mountain bike touring opportunities are available on Cormorant Island (Alert Bay) and on Malcolm Island (Sointula) logging roads.
Windsurfing, Surfing, Paddle Boarding, Kiteboarding, and Rafting
Windsurfers love Nimpkish Lake, as well as the coast near Port McNeill, while surfers, paddle boarders, and kiteboarders test their skills at Raft Cove, Grant Bay, and San Josef Bay. White-water rafting is available on some rivers in the Nimpkish Valley.
Big, beautiful, and peaceful — for naturalists, explorers, and outdoor adventurers, the North Island region is truly paradise, and it is the place to go if you really want to experience the great outdoors. The fishing here is outstanding and options run the gamut from guided day charters to floating fishing operations and resorts accessible by floatplane. If it’s wildlife you want to see, this is your ideal destination. Orcas (killer whales), as well as humpback, grey, and Minke whales, seals, sea lions, Pacific white-sided dolphins, sea otters, porpoises, salmon, eagles, black bears, Roosevelt elk, and more inhabit the North Island region. Wildlife viewing opportunities also include grizzly viewing tours to sections of the Great Bear Rainforest wilderness refuge, Knight Inlet, and other sections of the mainland coast.
Historically, the North Island region is a fascinating place, home to several renowned First Nations cultural sites, as well as local museums displaying exhibits on early European settlement.
But just because this is a wilderness heaven, it doesn’t mean it hasn’t become civilized. Great accommodation and dining, a wide range of guided tours and adventures, shops and services of all kinds — North Island communities are known for their hospitality.
Sayward
With spectacular coastline and plenty of forest and parkland, Sayward and area is big on outdoor activities. Great ways to enjoy Sayward include hiking the 23-kilometre route up Mount H’Kusam (the route of the annual June Kusam Klimb Trail Race), bird watching at the Salmon River Wildlife Reserve; fishing and whale watching from the Port of Kelsey Bay wharf, where a new hydrophone lets you listen to the ocras; and signing up for guided marine wildlife viewing, bear watching, and salmon fishing. Garden touring, swimming, snorkelling, picnicking in H’Kusam Park, fishing for steelhead, browsing the summer Saturday farm market, viewing cruise ships, and golfing are just a few more ideas. Sayward also has some impressive attractions: the world’s only structure wrapped in logging cable, the world’s largest cypress tree, and an art gallery displaying a collection from Valley of a Thousand Faces by Hetty Frederickson. Restaurants, pubs, camping, accommodation, boat launches, and deep-water moorage are available.
Woss and the Nimpkish Valley
The hamlet of Woss is situated in the heart of the Nimpkish River Valley. For a look at some local history, check out Steam Locomotive 113, a now-retired steam train, built in 1920 for rail logging operations. Woss is a great base camp for adventurers, explorers, nature lovers, hikers, cavers, windsurfers, and kiteboarders. Freshwater fishing is big in these parts, and Nimpkish Lake is renowned for wind sports. The high alpine meadows and forests are excellent for hiking and wildlife viewing, while the nearby Little Huson Caves are a great introduction to the limestone features in the area. Woss is also close to Mount Cain Ski Area, which has a reputation for the best powder skiing on the Island. The ski season runs from December to April on weekends only, which means untouched powder remains untouched all week long. Mount Cain offers cabins, a hostel, and a weekend snow bus; new group hostel accommodation opened last season. In the summer, the Mount Cain area offers hiking and wildlife viewing.
Zeballos
Eco-touring, fishing, coastal rainforest hiking, rock climbing, caving, diving, and cruising aboard a coastal freighter — there is a lot to do in and around Zeballos. Sea kayaking is especially popular in Catala and Nuchatlitz Provincial Marine Park and among the islands in Kyuquot Sound. Round out your Zeballos adventure with bird watching along the estuary, wandering the walking trails, taking self-guided tours of the historic village, and visiting the museum to find out all about the local history, including the gold rush of 1938 to 1943.
Telegraph Cove
An iconic destination for thousands of visitors every year, Telegraph Cove is a paradise of outdoor adventure opportunities. Top activities are fishing, kayaking (rentals and guided tours), diving, hiking, whale watching (half-day tours with onboard biologists), and bear viewing (full-day tours by boat). Fully equipped vessels are used for wildlife viewing tours. Resident orca pods are found in the vicinity of Telegraph Cove, which has immediate access to Johnstone Strait. The Whale Interpretive Centre helps educate and communicate the community’s commitment to marine conservation.
History buffs will also enjoy this charming community named for a one-room telegraph station built there in the early 1900s. Telegraph Cove grew a little bigger when a fish saltery, sawmill, school, and general store were built over the years. Many of these historic buildings were built above the water on stilts and joined by a boardwalk. More recent developments include two marinas and a luxury oceanfront subdivision.
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