Where to kayak camp in B.C.?

I 'll have a week in sept. and would like to do some kayak camping in B.C.

Can you be more specific…
to explain what you want in terms of type of country side or interests. Are you wanting to be close to ocean, mountain peaks, major cities etc? Check out this site for a start: http://www.hellobc.com/en-CA/default.htm

I can suggest the Sunshine Coast
which is one of my favourite places for camping, there are a few marine parks on the Sechelt Inlet and September is a good time to go because is quiet and not many motor boats around.

Check this site for starters…
www.westcoastpaddler.com



Cheers…

Lots of places
It really depends on what exactly your looking for.



As renato suggests, the Sunshine Coast is a fantastic destination with gorgeous scenery (of which there is no shortage of anywhere in BC). The Gulf Islands are also a favourite destination for paddlers as is the Broken Group on the west coast of Vancouver Island (although a week may be a little short to really enjoy it fully).



If you check the Paddling Locations directory on our website, you’ll find lots of information about camping while paddling in BC (our sites primarly focus is on BC paddling destinations).



Hope this helps.



Dan



http://www.westcoastpaddler.com



*****

Thanks.
Am looking for solitude first. Coastal/island areas. Would prefer calm water but have experience with open coast.



Also, comming from California and can’t decide whether to drive up and schlep our boats, or fly up and rent gear. Or even just do an organized tour?


Vancouver Island a kayaker’s paradise
I spent about ten days paddling Vancouver Island a couple of summers ago. Check out www.easykayaker.com for a variety of paddling sites.

Another site…
www.thewildcoast.ca

It is a new site by a freind of mine who has a series of guidebooks for the BC coast. One is out now, the others are on the way.



Cheers…

The Wild Coast

– Last Updated: Jan-29-06 1:12 AM EST –

If you want to do anything on the west coast of Vancouver Island, you can't go wrong getting the first volume of 'The Wild Coast', by John Kimantas. To round it out, you might want to get 'Sea Kayak Around Vancouver Island' by Doug Alderson and 'Kayak Routes of the Pacific Northwest' edited by McGee--make sure and get the latest edition of this last one.

When this set of 'Wild Coast' guidebooks is complete (see website in last post), from what I've seen of the first one I bought recently, it'll be the most comprehensive and all around best set of guidebooks for the area that exist. The first version has created something of a stir in the area as no one has done anything that approaches the quality of this book. The maps and photos are heads and shoulders above anything else. Areas are covered that no other single book covers, at least with the same comprehensiveness. A great deal of historical and environmental information as well as what seems to me to be more usable information.

First timers to the west coast of Vancouver Island might take a good look at the Broken Group Islands in Barkley Sound or Clayoquot Sound.

The Broken Group in particular gives paddlers a 'sliding scale' of kayking from fairly protected inner islands to the outer islands open to the Pacific. This is a popular kayaking destination, but by September I would bet there wouldn't be too many folks around. An especially nice camp, we thought, is on the northeastish tip of Benson Island. If the weather is getting you there, try the beaches Clark Islan. A blowhole is in a rocky semi-enclosed pool on the ocean side of Benson. Depending on the swell, getting a 22' double in there and holding steady to watch the blow hole and getting back out can be fun. Some caves on Effingham that give you the 'dragons roar' in the right swell and tide. In late August and probably September, Wouwer Island has a sea lion colony that can be heard a couple of miles away and smelled from a little closer. Lots of whale activity and gorgeous locations all over.

If you'd like a trip on the outer coast, a trip from Tofino to Hot Springs Cove (Clayoquot Sound) is excellent. Hot Springs Cove is considered by many to be the best hot springs in B.C. No smell, a series of pools where you can pick your temp right down to the ocean--most pools include a view of the open ocean. Pretty nice after a couple of days kayaking as our group found out. Camping at Cow Bay on Flores is good (use the refraction) and contrary to what some guidbooks say, there are a couple of good little pocket beaches just north of the big beach north of Rafael Point (can be rough here). We saw a wolf on Vargas Island and there's plenty of bear.

Desolation Sound on the other side of the island on the mainland is a nice destination, but be prepared to share it with the powerboaters as it is a very popular powerboat destination. Pendrell Sound has the warmest salt water in the northern hemisphere north of the Gulf of Mexico in summer--78 F was reached several years ago. I was up there last year and swam for hours without dry gear or neo--a fairly unique experience in the region.

Hope these ideas help. Have fun planning...!

bc parks site at:
http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/index.html

Thank you all. Great info.

I’ll probably go up there this
summer to do some paddling also. Don’t have a sea kayak yet so my canoe will have to do so I’m limited to where I can paddle. Desolation Bay north of the city of Vancouver is where I’ll go. Also plan on doing the Powell River canoe route while up there. Myccr.com, a Canadian paddling forum, is a good source for info. I met a Canadian last year on the forum who also wanted to do a trip up there but the timing was off so we never connected. Researching paddling trips for that region convinced me I need a sea kayak. When that happens I’ll have to be called YakYes.

Great Advice
I’d suggest the Broken Group in Sept. Easy access via Toquart Bay, tons to see, and offers many options. Great rock gardening, outer coast paddling, or relatively protected waters. Also good camping, with Benson Is being my favorite. For a quick trip I like this area more than Clayoquot.

BC kayak camping…
I spent a week in Sept 2005 in the Broken group (west Coast of Vancouver Island). Weather tends to be good at that time. Great camping sites, old growth forest, sandy beaches, humpback whales, sealions, exposed coast, protected waters, sea arches and caves. Even enjoyed some kayak-caught fish and oysters on the beach over the fire.



It’s among the best places I’ve kayaked and has very few motorized boats.



Tom

We’re planning the Sunshine Coast…
…by car in late March, and in searching for info I notice a number of “marine” campgrounds accessible only by boat, as well as many on the shore. Just enter “Sunshine Coast”, and it will lead you to all sorts of sites.

Thanks again.
The Broken Group seems to be the place.



I usually like to find a good spot (island) and hang there for a about 5 days. Benson looks nice.

Like to unwind my civilization clock a bit and live with the rhythm of nature.



Go Canada!!!