BCeh! / Vancouver Island / Gulf Islands / Quadra / Free Adventures

• Rebecca Spit Marine Provincial Park. Sandy pebbled beaches layered in driftwood with trails following the coastlines of the peninsula leading to great island views when standing on the shore of the Rebecca Spit Marine Provincial Park on Quadra Island. The big plus is that the trails follow the coastline on both sides of the Rebecca Spit peninsula. The Rebecca Spit is located on Quadra Island in the Discovery Islands along the Johnstone Strait near Campbell River.
  [ more info about the Rebecca Spit Marine Provincial Park... ]
  
  
• Discovery Islands: The island Cortes helps force the ocean tides into a powerful bottleneck with the help of the other island creating small rip tides, upwellings and whirlpools. Some great waters for ocean kayaking and boating. The area of Bute Inlet, just tucked behind Stuart Island is a popular area for wildlife viewing kayaking especially Black Bears, Bald eagles, Blue Herons, Elk, etc.
  [ more info about the Discovery Islands ... ]
  
  
• Desolation Sound: Desolation Sound consists of many islands and ocean channels teaming with life around Copeland Islands, West Redonda Island and East Redonda Island. Navigational kayaking is an adventure of a lifetime exploring along the currents of Waddington Channel, Homfray Channel, Lewis Channel, Pryce Channel and Toba Inlet. [ more info about Desolation Sound... ]
  
  
• Beech Mountain Trail: One of the trails on Quadra Island is the Beech Mountain Trail which serves up some incredible views of the surrounding islands. Beech Mountain Trail is a round trip hike that takes about 4 hours covering over 6 Kilometres. Some areas of hike are very challenging. Beech Mountain Trail is accessed from the Chinese Mountain parking lot of Walcan Road.
  
  
• Cape Mudge Lighthouse: One of the few lighthouses available to view on the islands is the Cape Mudge Lighthouse. On Quadra Island there is an easy walking trail that can take anywhere from 1-3 hours. A short trail takes you to beach. A turn towards the north leads you to the Cape Mudge Village and turning south takes you to the Tsa-Kwa-Luten Lodge. At the Cape Mudge Lighthouse there are many opportunities to view marine birds and some petroglyphs at low tide. Cape Mudge Lighthouse can be accessed from Lighthouse Road.
  
  
• Chinese Mountains: A challenging trail leads you to the top of the Chinese Mountains which has two different view points. The main Chinese Mountains trail leads to a junction where one trail leads you to the north peak showing views of the Beech Mountains. The other trail at the junction leads you to the south peak which is a far tougher hike but has rewarding and stunning views over looking Rebecca Spit and the surrounding coastal and Vancouver Island mountains. The Chinese Mountains is access off Heriot Bay Road pass Walcan Road to Chinese Mountains signpost.
  
  
• Community Centre Trails: The trail system of the Community Centre Trails has two trails that are used for mountain biking, walking and horseback riding. Both of the Community Centre Trails are forested trails covering approximately 6 Km. The Homestead Trail in the north and the Community Centre Trail in the south are connected by the Black Jack, Sheppard and Daisy Trails. Easy walking but can get muddy.
  
  
• Haskin Farm Trail: A short, easy walking trail exploring meadows and an orchards following a 1.5 km trail that takes you through forests, over a bridge and down a rocky slope onto a beach with … ah, ya, you guessed it … more incredible ocean views of the Outer Islands. The Haskin Farm Trail is accessed at the corner of Smith Road and Heriot Bay Road.
  
  
• Heriot Ridge Trail: The Heriot Ridge Trail consists of some hard hiking up and down leading to viewpoint sign junction. The Heriot Ridge Trail separates into two viewpoints with one taking you to the right to overlook Hyacinthe Bay and the Breton Islands. The other Heriot Ridge Trail viewpoint takes you left which is a more challenging climb to another spanning view. Watch for unmarked off-shoot hiking trails. The Heriot Ridge network of trails is accessed from the HopeSpring Trail located off of HopeSpring Road and Thompson Trail off of Thompson Road. The Heriot Ridge Trail is really one big loop trail!
  
  
• Kay Dubois Trail: A more of a family walk along easy grade trails through old growth forests ending with pebbled beaches and more ocean views. The Kay Dubois Trail is accessed from 2 trailheads taking 1- 2.5 hours. The Kay Dubois Trail can be accessed from Sutil Road where the trail heads north with some steep trails leading down to the beach or from Wa Wa Kie Road where the trail goes south with some more access points to beach.
  
  
• Main Lake Provincial Park: One of the more popular areas for the some bird watching is Main Lake Provincial Park because of the over 70 bird species and 200 plant species found at the park. Main Lake Provincial Park is a 2450 Hectare Park that draws people from around the world for kayaking, hiking and camping. The rugged outdoors people come to kayak the multi-day trip exploring the Main Lake chain of interconnected lakes which forms the largest freshwater waterway in the Gulf and Discovery Islands. Access from Village Bay Road.
  
  
• Maude Island Trail: A difficult slog of a trail which guarantees a good work out hiking some rugged wilderness island back country. Maude Island Trail is a difficult 8 hour trail exploring an unmanaged 12 kilometre trek through many ecosystems reaching many amazing viewpoints. Maude Island Trail starts off following the Morte Lake Trail down to the Quadra Island Conservancy Land which is a good first taste of some views of open rock bluffs and marine activity. Continue on following the flagged trails to the causeway onto Maude Island and stunning views of the Seymour Narrows. Access at Morte Lake Trailhead off of Hyacinthe Bay Road.
  
  
• Morte Lake Trail: An easy, relatively light walking trail lasting 30 minutes until you reach Morte Lake. At Morte Lake there is a loop trail just before you reach the lake which adds another 3.5 Km to the trek for a total of 6 Km from the starting point. Morte Lake Trail loop is a difficult trail up to mountain views and then down to beach and onto the Quadra Island Conservancy Land and Mud Lake. Mud Lake is a favourite swimming hole of the locals. Access from Hyacinthe Bay Road off of Heriot Bay Road.
  
  
• Mount Seymour Trail: A hike with great views but it requires some climbing type hiking to take advantage of the views of the Mount Seymour Trail. This trail is serious elevation quickly leading to 3 viewpoints. The effort of hiking the Mount Seymour Trail is rewarded with views of Nugedzi Lakes, Coast Range Mountain, and Vancouver Island mountains. Mount Seymour Trail hike takes 4 - 5 hours. Mount Seymour Trail is accessed at the junction of Granite Bay Road and Village Bay Road.
  
  
• Newton Trail: Located in the Small Inlet Provincial Park, the Newton Trail is visited by many bird watchers observing the habits of the loon population that frequents the lake. The Newton Trail is not an easy hike but, again, it is not a difficult hike - the Newton Trail is somewhere in the middle on the difficulty scale. The Newton Trail takes 2-4 hours to reach the rock bluff over looking a lake. Good for picnics. Newton Trail is accessed from Granite Bay Road off of Village Bay Road.
  
  
• Nugedzi Lakes Trail: Another one of the many popular view hiking trails is the Nugedzi Lakes Trail which takes you through old growth forest visiting with two lakes and captivated at the end of the hike by two viewpoints – one of which is over looking the Discovery Passage. The Nugedzi Lakes Trail is difficult with some elevation hiking. Nugedzi Lakes Trail takes 4- 7 hours and accessed from Hyacinthe Bay Road to the Nugedzi Lake signpost.
  
  
• Octopus Islands Marine Park: A marine park, Octopus Islands, is located off of Quadra Island in the Discovery islands. The Octopus Islands Marine Park is a 360 hectare remote marine park found at the entrance of Waiatt Bay. Octopus Islands Marine Park is perfect for boaters, outdoor wildlife photographers, scuba divers, kayakers and hikers. The Octopus Islands Marine Park has no facilities and wilderness camping is permitted. Octopus Islands is best accessed by boat only and is best accessed coming from Quadra Island.
  
  
• Shellalligin Trail: Hiking Quadra Island's Shellalligin Trail enjoys views of Read Island, Breton Islands and of Village Bay. The Shellalligin Trail is a climbing hike with some small beaches for rest stops. Shellalligin Trail is a moderately difficult hike lasting 2-4 hours. Shellalligin Trail is accessed from Village Bay Road leading onto a logging road for 1.5 kilometres.
  
  
• Small Inlet Marine Park: Another marine park in the vicinity of Quadra Island. The Small Inlet Marine Park is a 487 Hectare Marine Park with anchorage in a sheltered bay with old growth forests and two lakes further inland to explore via some rough trails. Small Inlet Marine Park is known for archaeological sites and is visited by hikers, photographers and wilderness artists. Good area for kayaking, canoeing and boating. Access by boat only.