Vancouver Island and the "Sunshine Coast"

I realize you are planning on travelling with your RV and that the BC Ferries option includes accommodation and automotive transport. The intent is to provide you with a tour concept that includes both the Sunshine Coast and The Island. I have done the circle via automobile but excluding the accommodations. That option may be available to you in which case the transportation package price will likely be less than the sum of the individual ferry fee charges. Self booking also allows you the luxury of determining your own timetable. You also need to pay attention to dates as I have no idea what the time availability of a package may be. They are not offered year round as I recall. The BC Ferries folks are pretty good at assisting us landlubbers!
Cheers;
Vic

http://www.bcferriesvacations.com/packages/package-details04271001.php/

MaverickBBD wrote:
... Even with a temporary bridge in place this is going to be a mess of a bottleneck for months.

http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/I5/SkagitRiverBridgeReplacement/default.htm

At 9:10 a.m., the Wednesday morning commute continues to be flowing smoothly on the northbound and the southbound detour routes with no back-ups or delays.

Right now there far greater delays around downtown Seattle due to a truck crash early this morning.

The bridge problem is no reason to avoid a trip to British Columbia. But taking US97 north instead of I5 is certainly a viable option if you want to bypass Portland and Seattle traffic. But there's no getting around Vancouver traffic on the way to the Sunshine Coast.

As I am sure you are aware the I-5 bridge In Burlington fell into the Skagit river. Folks from Mt. Vernon say it is taking an hour and half to get to Bellingham. Even with a temporary bridge in place this is going to be a mess of a bottleneck for months.

I'm sure others are going to be far more knowledgeable of specific areas you should consider, but I can't help but recommend Barkley Sound. When we were boating instead of RVing, we cruised up the west side of Vancouver Island to Ucluelet and Bamfield. It was a very enjoyable trip. I noticed the area was ideal for kayaking/canoeing, especially Nitinat Lake. It is a salt water lake that is in a Provincial Park. We were able to enter the narrow entrance at high tide and found out later from the only cabin owner (he was grandfathered in) that large boats normally can't come into the lake. We had a great visit. You can launch your trailerable boat from the ramp at the east end of the lake.

Sounds like you have found the main canoe routes in this area.

The first time we did this loop with a 4yr old child but no dog, we camped a couple of nights at Marine Prov Parks (i.e. small beaches) on Sechelt inlet.

http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/parkpgs/sechelt/

Then up to Powell River, over to the island, out to Tofino. At that time there was camping on the beach at Long Beach, now that access is blocked. We returned via Victoria to Vancouver.

On a later trip, we spent a night at one of the drive campgrounds on Powell Lake. On Vancouver Island we camped at Buttle Lake (and latter at the Ralph River campground). While staying in Victoria we drove out to Port Renfrew and the Botanical Beach. That trip we returned to Washington via the Port Angeles ferry.

In the Campbell River area, Elk Falls PP is a nice overnight stop.

In the south Island, the Gulf Islands have lots of kayaking options. Ruckle PP is one of my favorites in the area, though most of its camping is walk-in. Montague Harbor may be easiest park to camp on land, and kayak.

In recent years they paved the Lake Cowichan - Port Renfrew road, so it is easy to make the Duncan - LC - PR - Victoria loop. In fact the drive along the coast, hwy 14, may be roughest part, since it is old pavement.

I've also done Bamfield and Carmanah, but that involves a lot of gravel (and rougher) driving.

There are some good books on hiking and driving Vancouver Island. Most of the ones I have I've bought at gift shop on ferries. Backroads Mapbooks are also a must. Clubtread is the main BC hiking forum.