Although it’s contrary to my nature (just ask Eric!) I’m going to speed things up and post more frequently than usual. My preference is to linger over experiences, both as they’re occurring and when reflecting and writing about them. But I really don’t want to be blogging about this once we take to the road again in late November. So without further ado, here we go!
Gateway To The Wildness Of Vancouver Island
Arriving in Campbell River, just 95 miles from our last stop in Nanaimo, we both felt for the first time that we were glimpsing a hint of the wildness that we anticipated in our travels on Vancouver Island. The town of Campbell River, midway on the east coast of the island, is civilized—but it’s also the gateway to the wilderness of the remote north and western regions of Vancouver Island, and the rugged Discovery Islands just offshore.
Because we were moving quickly to catch the prime whale season further north, we had only a couple of days to explore. It was barely enough time to get a taste of this interesting town and nearby Quadra Island, the closest and largest of the Discovery Islands.
Vancouver Island, the Discovery Islands are in dark orange (courtesy of BC real estate website)
The Salmon Fishing Capital Of The World
For thousands of years, beginning with the First Nations villages, the rhythm of life here has followed the movement of the salmon. Campbell River is unique in that it is a migration route for all five major species of Pacific Salmon—Chinook, Coho, Sockeye, Pink, and Chum. Legend has it that at one time, the salmon run was so thick it was possible to walk on the backs of the fish in the river.
The fishing is still legendary here, and Campbell River has held the title as the “Salmon Fishing Capital of the World” for at least 100 years. In our afternoon walk along the waterfront, I was tempted to rent fishing gear. If it hadn’t been so late in the day, I would have tried to catch our dinner from the pier. Instead, we bought salmon on the dock. Not as exciting, but still delicious.
The Rotary Waterfront Walkway
Campbell River harbor and five kinds of salmon, drawings by a First Nations artist
Discovery Pier on the Campbell River
Fishing from Discovery Pier on a chilly but beautiful mid-September day
Hiking Along The Campbell River
We stayed at Elk Falls Provincial Park, just two miles from the town of Campbell River. A beautiful hiking trail from the campground winds along the river. Leaning over a bridge, we could see hundreds of salmon gathering on their way home to their spawning grounds.
On the Canyon View trail, heading the long way to Elk Falls from the campground
Fly fishing on the Campbell River
Crossing a bridge high above the Campbell River on the Canyon View Trail
Salmon heading home on the Campbell River
The hiking trail meets up with the trail to Elk Falls. The falls are rather modest, but the suspension bridge crossing the river is pretty spectacular. Built in 2015, it crosses Elk Canyon, with a dizzying view of boulders and rushing water 200 feet below. It was a great hike, we figured about seven miles in total, including hundreds of stairs (no exaggeration).
Elaborate stairways lead to viewing opportunities for Elk Falls
Crossing the Elk Falls Suspension Bridge
Elk Falls, most of the water is diverted for power
Culinary Offerings In Campbell River
We finished up the day with a tapas style meal at Beach Fire Brewing and Nosh House. It’s a fun locals scene, with very good craft beer and a menu that changes daily—the salmon potato cakes and salad with marinated lentils were delicious.
Beach Fire Brewing and Nosh House
No IPA’s here, but the High Tide Pale Ale was very good
A Visit To Quadra Island
Only a 15-minute ferry ride from the mainland, Quadra Island is the largest of the Discovery Islands. We started our day with a hike that turned out to be a bit more than we bargained for, given that we had a full day planned for exploring the island. Chinese Mountain is the highest point on Quadra, and starts off with a relentless steep uphill rocky trail and some interesting rock climbing obstacles. The view from the top is spectacular! It’s not a long hike, but it’s definitely a good workout. Three miles and three hours later, we returned to town.
Heading up Chinese Mountain, we chose to go counterclockwise; it’s steeper but easier going up than down this direction
The scrambling was a surprise, but fun
It’s a gorgeous trail all the way along
The views from the top are spectacular
Heading down the trail and ready for lunch!
Nuyumbalees Cultural Centre
While on Quadra, we intended to visit the Nuyumbalees Cultural Centre, home to a unique collection of repatriated First Nations cultural items that had been seized by the government during the years when the native peoples were displaced and not allowed to practice their traditional ways. The items were sold to collectors and museums, and only in recent years have been returned to their rightful owners.
As it turned out, the museum was unexpectedly closed for the day. But we were able to enjoy the garden outside with the wonderful welcoming totems. Welcome poles were traditionally placed on village beachfronts to hail visitors. Today, welcome poles are placed at important sites, such as museums, to welcome visitors onto First Nations land.
Welcoming figures at the Nuyumbalees Cultural Centre
Wonderful totems at the Nuyumbalees Cultural Centre
An offering
Where We Stayed
We really enjoyed our stay at Elk Falls Provincial Park. It was peaceful, beautiful, and well-located for our explorations of Campbell River. The sites are spacious and private, and although forested, most have plenty of light. No hookups and the facilities are primitive, but water is conveniently located throughout the campground. We had cell coverage close to the entrance station, but no internet, of course. In September mid-week, all of the river sites were reserved but we found a lovely site without having reservations.
Elk Falls Provincial Park campground
Incredible journey with you….we are in Texas and have just purchased a newer B+ Lexington RV which we hope gets us the same adventures. We will head south from San Antonio and refer to your past blogs. The peace of the road greets us and the smiling faces you meet make this adventure one to savor. We will be in SC for 6 weeks then in Florida on the space coast for the Birding Expo the end of January. We were coming through Philadelphia to catch that one. It was super fun….and we won a silent raffle for Ecuador within the next year. See you on the road….
Julie, how exciting, a new rig, more travel, and a journey to Ecuador coming up! Maybe we can meet up in Florida this winter? It would be great to see your smiling faces. :-)
Such interesting and unusual sites. Nice scramble for some very nice views.
Debbie, the Chinese Mountain hike was worth the scramble! Just enough challenge to make it interesting, and so beautiful.
All those salmon! What a treat to see so many doing what they are meant to do.
Lisa, it was such a treat to see the salmon! I really did want try my luck at fishing — next time.
Beautiful photos.
Thanks, Christine. Glad to have you along for the journey. :-)
As always, Awesome! I am glad to see Eric posing for more photos. He doesn’t have to smile but should say “whiskey” or “cheese”. Lol. The one of both of you is really great.
Haha, yeah! I’ll suggest “whiskey” to Eric. He’ll like that. I’m trying my best to get him trained, Brenda, but you know how that goes…
Lol…oh yes I do.
Five different salmon is amazingly wonderful. What a picture, so many you could walk on their backs. What a gorgeous forest on the Canyon View Trail. Love the pictures of the river. Very impressive stairs and Suspension Bridge. Great shots of both. Elk Falls is really beautiful. Doesn’t look so modest to me but if that’s with water diverted then in its full state it must be really something. I’m with you on wanting the steeper section up than down. Looks like quite a work out. Nice feeling of satisfaction. What a view. So glad you didn’t have fog for yours like we too often did in Acadia. What a disappointment that the Native Culture Center was closed. I can only imagine what wonderful things would have been there based on the fantastic pictures of gorgeous totems. Such a sad story about the attempt to wipe out such vibrant cultures. Their tenacity is amazing. Thanks for sharing this beauty.
Sherry, we were definitely disappointed that the cultural center was closed, but happy that the beautiful totems were on display. The museum apparently has some unique pieces. Gives us a reason to return! The tenacity of the native peoples to preserve their culture in the face of tremendous adversity is inspiring.
Fun times! Love all the salmon in the Campbell River! What a neat hike across that bridge. That was an expense with the great stairs and bridge.
Quatra Island must have been gorgeous with totems throughout. Eric did a great job of capturing the steepness of the trail in the photo of you coming down. Love the selfie with the totems:)
Pam, you guys would have loved both of those hikes. Both were beautiful, with just enough challenge to make them fun and interesting. A fellow photographer offered to take our photo with the totems — we rarely get photos together and my arms aren’t long enough for selfies! :-)
Thank you for the introduction this stunningly beautiful area… Your photos are awesome as usual… and the idea of all that salmon… wow. I could eat salmon three times a day for weeks and not get tired of it. Soooo good! Now we just need them to work on that internet thing.
Laura, I have a salmon addiction, too. I figure it kind of helps to balance my chocolate addiction, haha! We had fabulous wild caught salmon on the island — and the smoked salmon was out of this world. Yeah, that internet thing…next time we’ll have to spend more time in coffee shops where we can get internet.
The Columbia River is beautiful!! Wonderful views on the trail – thanks for sharing. Those totems are stunning. I love the vivid colors and the offering. How nice to be back home, and to have connectivity again :-)))
Jodee, the Columbia is beautiful, and so is the Campbell. I knew what you meant. :-)) They both have lots of salmon! I thought of Bill while we were there and how he would enjoy fishing that river. I thought the totems by the river were especially wonderful, too.
We really must explore Vancouver Island someday. Both hikes sound wonderful and those views worthy of the effort, along with the walk over the suspension bridge near Elk Falls. The totems are beautiful and so is the couple posing with them. :)
LuAnn, when you and Terry are ready for an adventure on Vancouver Island, let us know! It would be fun to go with you. So many gorgeous hikes, kayaking, and cultural adventures. You will love it. :-))
Geez, I had it in my mind that next summer while we are staying on the Olympic peninsula we would throw our tent camping stuff in the car and head over to Vancouver Island for about a week. After reading your posts it sounds like a week won’t even make a dent. I have always wanted to backpack the west coast trail over there too. Maybe I’ll get to work that in next summer. So much to do!
Henry, I’d say you need a month to really explore Vancouver Island — and even longer would be better. We were there for five weeks and it wasn’t enough! So much to do, indeed! Keeps life interesting. :-))
I’m catching up on your travels and looked liked you had a grand time at Vancouver Island. Do you think Betsy can make it there? Would love to visit the area as you have captured it beautifully and once again enticing me to include it on our must see travel.
ML, you could definitely take Betsy there. No problem with the ferries, and most of the places we stayed could accommodate a larger rig. I know you two have been to Victoria, but I think you would love exploring more of Vancouver Island!