GOLD RIVER
Gold River is located at the west end of Highway 28, a scenic one hour drive from Campbell River. Many visitors use it as a base for exploring the surrounding wilderness and rainforest trails or as a gateway to Nootka Sound.
The Municipal Wharf at Gold River is home port to the MV Uchuck III, Air Nootka seaplane service, and the launch point for sportsfishing enthusiasts who know a secret that others are just discovering.
A relatively young community, Gold River was built in the 1960’s to house the workers in the local forestry-based industries. Recently the focus of the local economy has diversified to include adventure tourism, capitalizing on the incredible natural surroundings of the village and region.
Each year, hundreds of new visitors discover why this region is considered “The Cave Capital of Canada”. The Upana Caves are easily accessible and offer novices a safe, self-guided introduction to the sport of spelunking. If you would rather get your exercise above ground, choose from rock climbing at Crest Creek Crags, mountain biking on one of the most challenging trail systems in Western Canada, or hike one of our many picturesque trails.
For wildlife viewing opportunities take a prearranged tour of the Conuma Hatchery, located 36.5km past the Gold River Info Centre, and watch the spawning salmon, or drive 2.4km further and visit the Conuma River Estuary (take the Moutcha Bay access road) to catch a glimpse of a black bear, elk, or coastal black-tailed deer.
Gold River continues to impress fisherman with consistently large and lengthy runs of Chinook, Coho, Sockeye and Chum Salmon. Fisher men and women can enjoy sheltered, relaxed fishing in the protected waters of Nootka Sound or they can venture off-shore to enjoy a true wild west cost fishing or marine wildlife adventure.
Visitors to Gold River have a number of choices for accommodation in hotels and B&B’s as well as great restaurants to enjoy and galleries that exhibit the work of local artists. Other amenities include a Visitor Center, 2 campgrounds, aquatic and community centre, golf course, service stations, grocery store, liquor store, post office, drug store as well as other shopping opportunities. Within the community there are baseball fields, basketball and tennis courts, playgrounds, churches and incredible hiking and biking trails. So for a day trip or a longer excursion check out Gold River and the surrounding area. Consider also a visit to Antler Lake, Star Lake and Scout Lake.
For more information:
Village Office 250-283-2202
Visitor Info Centre 250-283-2418 (open mid May-Labour Day)
Chamber of Commerce 250-283-7333 www.goldriver.ca
TAHSIS
Tahsis means ‘Gateway’ or ‘Passage’ in the language of the Mowachaht First Nations people who have lived in the region for hundreds of years. They maintained a permanent winter settlement in the protected inlet, and used a network of trails up the Tahsis and Nimpkish River Valleys in order to cross the mountains and trade with the native villages on the eastern side of Vancouver Island.
Located in the heart of historic Nootka Sound, Tahsis Inlet and the surrounding Rugged Mountain Range, this area is becoming well known for scuba diving, caving, sea kayaking, hiking, bird watching and wildlife viewing plus excellent salt water fishing and the opportunity to land some of the largest Salmon and Halibut caught in B.C. Starting in May our resident six gill sharks and their inquisitive juveniles are seen regularly in 30 feet of water, right here in down town Tahsis. Tahsis has become known as the “Caving Capital of Canada” with its vast networks of caverns in near by hills, including Thanksgiving Cave the longest in B.C. at 3.4 miles. Black bears and eagles are especially plentiful and in the fall are drawn into the town site by the Chinook and Coho spawning in the Tahsis River which provide incredible photo opportunities!
For those who want to experience the wild Pacific coast at its most rugged, the Nootka Trail offers a challenging hike comparable to the West Coast Trail, but without the crowds, fees or reservations. The exposed western coastline of Nootka Island provides excellent conditions for expert kayakers and surfers seeking extreme sport, with waves arriving daily from Japan, and is known as a hot spot in the world wide surfing community.
For those who prefer to explore the picturesque original townsite, there is a leisurely historical walking tour and newly established Museum depicting life as it was since the 40’s.
A drive up to the Lookout offers a spectacular view of the Tahsis Inlet, and is a must during your visit. Enjoy a leisurely stroll on the Tahsis Leiner Estuary Boardwalk Trail.
The Annual Westview Marina Fishing Derby takes place the 3rd weekend of August with anglers competing for thousands of dollars in prizes. Past winners have hauled in Chinook salmon that tipped the scales at over 40lbs.
The starting point for your adventure is the “Tree to Sea Drive, The Road to Adventure.” Pick up your map at the visitor info centre in Gold River!
For more information:
Village of Tahsis 250-934-6344
www.VillageofTahsis.com
admin@villageoftahsis.com
ZEBALLOS
Flanked by towering forest-cloaked mountains, Zeballos sits at the head of Zeballos Inlet, gateway to Nootka Sound, world-famous for salmon fishing and kayaking opportunities. The inlet was named by Captain Alejandro Malaspina in 1792 after one of his lieutenants, Ciriaco Cevallos.
The road to Zeballos turns west off Highway 19 just north of Woss. The 40 km gravel logging road is well-maintained and continues beyond Zeballos to Fair Harbour. Along the way watch for bears, deer and elk crossing the road and eagles soaring overhead.
Today the village is fast becoming one of the favourite haunts of kayakers, sportsfishers and nature lovers who want to leave the crowds behind and experience the wild west coast of Vancouver Island. Comfortable accommodation and several cafes welcome visitors to Zeballos.
The discovery of gold in Zeballos in the 1920’s resulted in a massive influx of miners and adventurers. The historic buildings in the village are a living reminder of those frontier days. The small but informative Zeballos Heritage Museum tells the tales of the gold rush and the resulting boomtown with pictures and artifacts. Shady boardwalks and walking trails wind through the estuary and along the river, providing visitors with an opportunity to enjoy the native plants and wildlife of the rainforest.
The Zeballos River estuary, a bird watcher’s paradise, has been designated a Wetland Reserve by the Ministry of the Environment and the Nature Trust of BC.
With the river running through the center of the village there’s not much need for a nature channel on TV. The Village maintains a rustic campsite on the banks of the Zeballos River. Bring your flyfishing gear as the river boasts a run of steelhead. During salmon spawning season in the fall, the river teems with fish. Bears and eagles that arrive to partake of the annual feast can be watched from the Sugarloaf Bridge. Trumpeter swans drift down the river, competing with the seagulls for newly laid salmon eggs.
Tour the waters aboard your own vessel or arrange for an excursion with a local charter guide. For those with more time may want to arrive as a passenger on the M.V.Uchuck III, a working freight ship. The Uchuck sails weekly during the summer months from Gold River to Zeballos, with stops along the way at Tahsis and Friendly Cove.
Zeballos has become a hot spot for kayakers accessing Catala and Nuchatlitz provincial marine parks, the islands of Kyuquot Sound and the rest of the spectacular northwest Pacific coast of Vancouver Island. Kayaks are available for rent for visitors wanting to explore the estuary where kelp fronds sway in the waves. Kingfishers dart by by as you drift in the sun while seals and sea otters pop up and down checking your progress. Eagles soar overhead while great blue herons stalk through the tide flats.
A municipal dock can accommodate oceangoing ships, with full facilities for recreational boaters and floatplanes, including free showers. A Forestry Recreation site at Fair Harbour is ideally located for continuing your adventures with explorations of Tahsish and Amai Inlets or the beautiful ocean beaches of Rugged Point Provincial Park.
For the more adventurous, Rugged Mountain and the slab in the Nomash are well-known to rock-climbing enthusiasts. Erosion of the continuous band of limestone that runs down from Quatsino has produced thousands of caves. The Artlish River caves and Little Hustan caves can be accessed just off the road into Zeballos.
For More Information:
Zeballos Village Office 250-761-4229
Zeballos Heritage Museum 250-761-4070
www.zeballos.com
KYUQUOT
During the initial European contact period in the 1780s, sea otter traders in search of pelts ventured into the Kyuquot Sound area to trade with the Kyuquot and Checleset peoples. The rugged terrain and numerous reefs, however, made Kyuquot Sound difficult to navigate and with the extinction of the sea otter populations, Kyuquot Sound and Kyuquot soon fell back into obscurity.
In the mid-1850s, the lucrative seal fur trade, and the harvest of fish oil, brought trade back into the Sound. Fur sealing schooners began making routine stops at Kyuquot's fishing villages to take aboard First Nations men as hunters, and the sealing industry grew until 1911 when it was outlawed in an attempt to protect the species from extinction. Whaling replaced the sealing industry and in 1908, the Pacific Whaling Company constructed a whaling station on Cachalot Inlet to process humpback and blue whales into oil, fertilizer and meat.
Despite only seasonal hunting, the Kyuquot station processed 4,765 whales until poor markets and depleted whale stocks closed the station in 1925, and caused many of the Norwegian and Scandinavian whalers to turn to fishing for their livelihood. They and their families remained in Kyuquot Sound, many settling in Walter's Cove on the protected side of Walter's Island, across from Houpsitas, the traditional winter home of the Kyuquot people. These two communities form the Village of Kyuquot.
Today commercial fishing and the forest industry remain the major employers, with tourism increasing in popularity.
An archipelago of nine islands and the mainland make up Kyuquot, a village of 350 -- surely one of the most unique on the coast -- with the original First Nations village situated on the mainland and across from it on Walter's Island, with two dozen buildings connected by a boardwalk, sits the "central business district". Stop for a bite at "The best restaurant in town", Miss Charlie's, named after the town's mascot: Miss Charlie, a seal, saved as a pup despite the $5 bounty on her head, she continues to swim around the harbour scrounging a handout. With no streets, Kyuquot residents use boats to access the Red Cross Outpost, the school, the post office, the fishing lodges and stores around the various coves.
Tourism is slowly attracting more and more people to this remote, very unusual village, and to its surrounding area, for sport fishing, kayaking and enjoying outdoor adventures in an absolutely spectacular setting.
For more Information:
www.kyuquot.ca
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