Vancouver Island and the "Sunshine Coast"

Gary,
Thanks for the reminder on the BIG logging trucks you guys have up there.

jehunt,
Great tips. Thank you.

Steve

I think i should add to what i previously posted & say that if you are going on ANY logging road, then take it slow! Also, pull right over when meeting the BIG trucks! Last year we met one on a blind corner (of course!) & lets just say it was a good thing the road was just wide enough at that point. Cheers, Gary

SteveAE wrote:
All,

Thank you to everyone who, last year, gave us some great suggestions for our trip to the Kooteny region of SE British Columbia.

This September we were thinking of taking a loop up Vancouver Island and then down the Sunshine Coast (or vice versa) and I am looking for suggestions on places to visit and/or route/travel hints.

We will have our travel trailer and recognize the expense of the ferry system (ouch). We are active, outdoor oriented, people and like to hike/backpack and paddle (canoe, kayak, and raft), using the trailer as a base camp to return to after getting tired and wet for a few days:) For this trip we were thinking of bringing backpacks and a tripping style canoe and maybe poke around in the following areas; Sayward Forest Canoe Route, Powell Forest Canoe Route, Main Lakes Canoe Chain (Quadra Island), and the Forbidden Plateau in Strathcona Provencial Park. Since we will have our dog (who is bear savvy), areas that don't allow dogs in the backcountry (such as the Broken Group) are out for us.

Any suggestions would be welcome,
Steve

I've lived on the Island my entire life, in my opinion Muchalat Lake near Gold River is the most beautiful place on the island. It can rain, of course, like anywhere on the wet coast. But absolutely amazing views. Also the drive around Cowichan Lake (the lake) and stopping at Jakes on the Lake in Lake Cowichan (the town) is a nice day trip, in fact I'm doing that tomorrow.

Gary,

Thanks. That is nice to know about the Gold River to Woss road.

Steve

Gold River to Woss is nice. There is a nice forestry site at Vernon Lake. We were there last year & had to move camp at 2 in the morning due to rapidly rising lake levels!! So, watch out for that. Also, Klaklakama lake is pretty. Another good (commercial) rv park is http://www.cluxewe.com/html/kwakiutl_welcome.htm
Enjoy your time up there!! Cheers, Gary

Gold River to Woss is one back road that I haven't done. I've been out to Gold River as a side trip from Buttle Lake. And in the north I towed a small sail boat out to Kyuquot Sound. On a more recent trip I took the back road from Comox to Port Alberni - during a loggers strike so there wasn't any logging traffic to deal with.

In the past decade BC Parks has added a lot units in this part of the Island, though many are ecological reserves rather than full blown parks.

The inside coast as far north as Campbell River has a lot of recreation and tourism, but further north around Woss, logging is supreme.

Thank you all for your many suggestions. Now now have several more days of research ahead of me to sort though it all. Paul, gravel roads are just fine with me....and am presently looking at the road north from Gold River to Vernon and Woss as a way to make a partial loop trip.

Steve

If you don't mind some gravel driving, you can go all the way to Cape Scott. San Josef beach camping only a 3 mile hike from the parking lot. The N tip of the island is further. But there are some nearly as nice spots at places like Sombrio Beach in the south coastal Juan de Fuca park.

AS long as you are going to be on the Island (and with the I5 problems I recommend the Black Ball Ferry from Port Angeles to Victoria for starters) you should see the north/wild end of the Island. There is a new CG around Port Hardy but we have used the one at Beaver Cove, adjacent to Telegraph Cove. By all means take the short ferry to Alert Bay( from Pt. Mc Neill) and see the First nation's Museum: "U'Mista" there.
Enjoy the Island then back to Comox take the ferry over to the sunshine coast Powell River and south.
John

SteveAE, you will find September generally a good time to travel in south coastal B.C. With your own trailer with you, you will have many of the comforts of home and the price you will be obliged to pay for BC Ferry travel will be negated with savings for acomadation. In my own neck of the woods here lies the Powell Forest Canoe Route which I have never done as I detest the concept of portage. Our canoes were always outfitted with well-stocked coolers. But the canoe route in question has them only in short distances as you go from lake to lake and finally into, and down a portion of, the bigger Powell Lake.

Another canoe trip that can be also done during summer months is a trip from Tofino, on the west coast of Vancouver Island, into Hot Springs Cove. We did it in four days, three overnights in tents, there and back, with one day largely a write -off because of wind (a trip in late July). This one requires some planning to get through passages affected by tidal flows, and some luck getting to the final destination from Flores Island, which we did in the open Pacific on water with swells, but otherwise smooth, accompanied for a minute by a huge basking shark. We did it in a group of three canoes. We still had cold beer for the paddle back into Tofino.