Northern Vancouver Island offers prime ocean kayaking with areas and routes for the beginners to the more advanced paddlers. With so many exciting places to see, it's hard to pick just one area to explore! Northern Vancouver Island is the jumping off point for most of the spectacular paddling the BC coastline has to offer, much of it unspoiled by crowds. Whether you want to go out for the day, a weekend or an extended expedition this is the area to head for!
Johnstone Strait and the Broughton Archipelago are very well known for the proximity and number of Orca that are resident in the area. This area is one of the only places in the world that you can view these magnificent creatures in their own environment. The islands, intricate passages, abundant marine life, and rich native cultural history in protected waters make these two adjacent areas very popular.
For those that love the rugged west coast and the sound of surf as you close your eyes at night, the west coast of the island or the central coast areas are for you. Unspoiled by crowds, there are a multitude of areas to explore for all levels. Nuchalitz and Esperanza Inlet which open up into Kyuquot Sound and Rugged Point Marine Park. The Bunsby Islands, and South Brooks Peninsula. Continuing north you can access the beaches of Side Bay and North Brooks.
Beautiful Raft Cove Provincial Park, and then San Josef Bay marks the beginning of the Cape Scott Park shoreline which continues around the cape. Cape Scott area has over 23 kilometers of white sand beaches and many traces of the settlers that once tried to make a home in this remote wilderness area. An area that is much more protected but still offers access to the west coast is Quatsino Sound. Launching in Coal Harbor takes you through Quatsino Narrows where native warriors would ambush their enemies. The Marble River Canyon, old village sites, the hamlet of Quatsino, Sea caves and sandy beaches.
