Description of Port Alberni
Port Alberni (population: 17,548) and the pastoral Alberni Valley serve as the gateway to BC’s west coast. Just a 193-km drive northwest from the provincial capital, Victoria, Port Alberni boasts a magnificent, deep-sea port that opens to Alberni Inlet, Barkley Sound and the Pacific Ocean. The forest industry remains its economic mainstay, other economies include a growing retiree community and tourism.
Surrounded by freshwater lakes and streams, the area is popular for its salmon sports fishing, as well as for hiking, camping and kayaking. It is from Port Alberni that the sturdy wooden packet freighter MV Frances Barkley makes its daily excursions to Barkley Sound. Some of our kayak tours of the Broken Group Islands depart on these ships from the Quay in downtown Port Alberni.
