{"id":5787,"date":"2021-06-16T23:10:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-17T06:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sandysglobaleyes.blog\/?p=5787"},"modified":"2021-06-16T23:10:00","modified_gmt":"2021-06-17T06:10:00","slug":"beach-exploration-around-northern-vancouver-island","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sandysglobaleyes.blog\/?p=5787","title":{"rendered":"Beach Exploration around Northern Vancouver Island"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

One of the many advantages of living on beautiful Vancouver Island, B.C. Canada<\/strong>, is its endless and diverse selection of beaches<\/strong>. Vancouver Island is the largest island on the West Coast of North America<\/strong> stretching about 460 km long and 50-120 km in width. The Pacific Ocean<\/strong> surrounds us creating endless sandy and rocky beaches<\/strong>. Some are famous and well known internationally–Rathrevor Beach and Long Beach<\/strong> (Pacific Rim National Park). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Evening at Rathtrevor Beach <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

However, there are a multitude of other stunning, less known beaches if you are ready to explore our Island. This blog post will present a few other beach options at Port Hardy<\/strong> and Campbell River<\/strong> at Northern Vancouver Island. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Commencing in my home town of Port Hardy<\/strong> located on the northern end of Vancouver Island<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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If you plan to depart on B.C. Ferries<\/strong> heading north to Bella Bella (and area) or Prince Rupert<\/strong> you will be departing from the Port Hardy Bear Cove terminal<\/strong>. There is also a small airport<\/strong>. Port Hardy is the gateway to outdoor adventures<\/strong>: like kayaking, scuba diving, God’s Pocket Marine Provincial Park, fishing, whale watching, exploring First Nations culture, exploring the beaches, caving, or hiking to Cape Scott or the North Coast trail. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is much to see and explore in Port Hardy<\/strong> and the small communities on the northern tip of Vancouver Island<\/strong>. This informative website is packed with ideas and nature information. https:\/\/www.visitporthardy.com\/<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you prefer sandy<\/strong> beaches<\/strong>; kayaking<\/strong> around the nearby islands; and possibly seeing sea mammals<\/strong> (Seals, Sea lions, Pacific white sided Dolphins, Dall’s Porpoise, Humpback whales, or Orca whales then Storey’s Beach<\/strong> is an amazing place to experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo Credit to my friend, Dana Rufus, for these lovely photos of Storey’s Beach. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Storey’s Beach and the Tex Lyon trail hike are also favorite locations for north island locals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Mid tide…During low tide the sand extends far out into the bay. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

If you prefer Rocky shorelines<\/strong> abundant with fascinating sea life<\/strong> and beautiful views of mountains and down town activities, then the Port Hardy sea walk and beacon area<\/strong> is where you should explore. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Exploring Hardy rocky beach area… May <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There is an abundance of sea life<\/strong> around Port Hardy<\/strong> … from Moon Snail collars (egg casings), rock weed and tidal pools, chitons, shells, and whelk snail eggs. These are only a few of the fascinating things you could discover. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Check the tide schedules… this was a low tide in May. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

If you are lucky enough to discover a zero low tide, don\u2019t miss the opportunity to explore! We discovered ghost shrimp, shells, barnacles, crabs, sea stars, sea anemones, whelks, limpets, and so much more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Moon snail collars and moon snails, sea cucumbers, sea stars. Photos by Dana Rufus. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

If you are ambitious and hit the lowest tides of the year… you can cross from the sand spit over to the beacon. We just missed the opportunity this year, as the tide was not quite low enough and we could not quite pass from the spit to the beacon. The ocean water was over our boot level. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sea life species are incredible at the beacon. These photos were taken by my friend Dana Rufus who managed to hit the lowest tide and cross to the beacon for a limited time. Thanks Dana <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sea life at the beacon in Port Hardy. Photos by Dana Rufus. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Bat stars, bull kelp, sea squirts, crabs, sea anemones… even gumboot chitons can be discovered there! For decades I took my students across to the beacon on the zero tide each year. It truly is a remarkable experience!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One last look view of some of the scenic areas around my home town Port<\/strong> Hardy<\/strong>, as tomorrow we head southeast down Vancouver island<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Beach views around Port Hardy, BC in May <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Taking highway 19 down island from Port Hardy to Campbell River takes about 2 1\/2 hours (230 km). The trip can be quite challenging in rainy, foggy winter weather; but glorious and majestic otherwise. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fuel up prior to departure as there are only fuel stations in Port McNeill, Woss, and Sayward during the trip. Watch for nature and wild animals–particularly in May–as bears are often more visible eating fresh grass. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Highway 19 between Port McNeill and Sayward <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Campbell River<\/strong> is a lovely community with great fishing, and lots of beautiful walking trails. Instead of heading south on the inland highway, try the old highway<\/strong> which follows the ocean. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To get acquainted with some of the tourist options available in Campbell River<\/strong>, check out the informative website. https:\/\/www.campbellriver.travel\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We love stopping at Foggdukkers Coffee<\/strong> stop on the Campbell River Seawalk<\/strong> at Simms Creek<\/strong>. It is a favorite location for locals and a funky fun place to take a break and enjoy some great coffee! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Foggdukkers Coffee Stop at Campbell River <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Another favorite location in Campbell River<\/strong>, is the Baikie Island Nature Preserve and Campbell River Estuary<\/strong>. It is a beautiful location to walk or kayak and peacefully while enjoying the sounds and antics of ducks and birdlife. Float planes land periodically and Tyee<\/strong> boat history is displayed. Seals and even the odd beaver can be viewed here too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Campbell River Estuary in the evening \u2014May <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There are so many pristine beaches and wilderness options to explore on Vancouver Island<\/strong>. In this blog post I shared a few less travelled locations which truly are stunning. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My next blog posts will cover Sophia’s 1st year<\/strong> (our rescue kitten), and more gorgeous areas for nature walks\/hikes\/kayaking<\/strong> adventures around Vancouver Island<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Our province of British Columbia just moved into Stage 2 of B.C.’s Restart Plan after Covid. The future looks so optimistic! <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of the many advantages of living on beautiful Vancouver Island, B.C. Canada, is its endless and diverse selection of beaches. Vancouver Island is the largest island on the West Coast of North America stretching about 460 km long and 50-120 km in width. The Pacific Ocean surrounds us creating endless sandy and rocky beaches. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5793,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,27,28,58,72],"tags":[114,124,128,212,220,275,280],"class_list":["post-5787","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-adventure","category-exploring-outdoors","category-exploring-vancouver-island","category-pacific-ocean","category-seashore","tag-beach","tag-british-columbia","tag-canada","tag-nature","tag-outdoor-exploration","tag-travel","tag-vancouver-island"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandysglobaleyes.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5787","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandysglobaleyes.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandysglobaleyes.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandysglobaleyes.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandysglobaleyes.blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5787"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sandysglobaleyes.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5787\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandysglobaleyes.blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5787"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandysglobaleyes.blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5787"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandysglobaleyes.blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5787"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}