Nootka Sound
Kayaking in Nootka Sound   Nootka Sound is one of the most remote and rugged areas to kayak on the west coast of Canada. Paddlers who join our tours in this area seek the deep wilderness of the northwest coast: its remote beaches, dense rainforests populated with wolves and bears, and the lingering presence of aboriginal culture.
Located on the west coast of north Vancouver Island, Nootka Sound is approximately 70 kilometers north of Tofino and 460 kilometers north of Victoria. This secluded area features intact old-growth forest stands, rolling mountains and lush ecosytems where salal can grow up to ten feet. Coastal features include rocky headlands, winding fjords, long stretches of uninhabited beach, and an abundance of sheltered beaches. The closest town is Gold River, a start point for many kayak tours of Nootka Sound.  The first residents of Nootka Sound were the Mowachaht and Muchalaht peoples, who had a rich existence and culture based on whaling and river fishing. Nootka Sound became historically significant in 1778 when Captain James Cook and his crews on the H.M.S. Resolution and H.M.S. Discovery were the first Europeans to have sustained contact with B.C.'s coastal native people. While anchoring in Resolution Cove on Bligh Island, across from Friendly Cove, the natives hollered "itchme nutka, itchme nutka", meaning "go around" (to the more sheltered harbour at Yuquot). However, Cook misinterpreted their directions and named the area Nootka. Our kayak tours of Nootka Sound encounter some historical sites, including Friendly Cove. There are hieroglyphics on some rock faces and some caves contain Mowachaht burial sites and Spanish burial sites.
The 2,135-hectare Nuchatlitz Marine Park (803 hectares upland and 1,332 hectares foreshore) is becoming a popular west coast kayaking destination, offering both exposed coast and protected waters for paddling, quiet coves and a myriad of beaches. The Park protects a great diversity of flora and fauna within an extensive range of terrestrial, intertidal and marine environments vital habitat for BC's recovering sea otter population. One of the largest otter populations in the world lives in this area and rafts of a hundred are not uncommon. Ocra and gray whales can be spotted further offshore at varying times of the year. Along the shorelines, kayaking Nootka Sound provides opportunity to spot wolves, sea otter, sea lions, black bears, cougars, and bald eagles. By nightfall, kayakers and campers alike must hang their food and toiletries from trees to discourage predators. Stronger kayakers can circumnavigate Nootka Island (the largest island on the west coast of Vancouver Island) from the north end as well as explore the Nuchalitz Inlet and its many islands. On the shore of Nootka Island, Crawfish Falls marks where Calvin Creek enters the Pacific Ocean. Here, paddlers can alternate their bathing under the freshwater of the falls with a dip in the pounding surf. On the other side of the island, across Cook Channel, sheltered waters are offered by the Spanish Pilot Group Islands and Bligh Island Marine Park.
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